Jon Montgomery facts for kids
Jon Montgomery sings the Canadian national anthem at his 2010 Olympic medal ceremony.
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Birth name | Jonathan Riley Montgomery | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | May 6, 1979 Russell, Manitoba, Canada |
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| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 74.7 kg (165 lb; 11.76 st) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country |  Canada |
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| Sport | Skeleton | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Jon Montgomery (born May 6, 1979) is a Canadian skeleton racer and television host. He is famous for winning a gold medal in skeleton at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia. After his big win, he became well-known for his exciting celebration. He was seen celebrating with fans while they sang the Canadian national anthem. Since 2013, Jon has also hosted the TV show The Amazing Race Canada.
Contents
Skeleton Racing Career
Jon Montgomery started skeleton racing after visiting Canada Olympic Park in Calgary around 2002. He was working as an auctioneer nearby. He quickly fell in love with the sport and began competing.
Early Competitions and First Wins
At first, Jon didn't do very well in his first two seasons on the World Cup tour. But he kept working hard! In 2008, he won his first World Cup race in Cesana, Italy. That same year, he earned two silver medals at the 2008 FIBT World Championships in Altenberg, Germany. One was for men's skeleton, and the other was for a mixed bobsleigh-skeleton team event. His best overall World Cup finish was second place in the 2007–08 Skeleton World Cup season.
Winning Olympic Gold in 2010
Jon Montgomery qualified for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. In the Olympic skeleton event, he was behind another racer, Martins Dukurs, after the first run. But Jon showed amazing speed in the next two runs. He even set a new track record on his third run!
On February 19, 2010, in the final run, Jon was still a bit behind Dukurs. However, Dukurs was slower on his last run. This meant Jon Montgomery won the gold medal by a tiny amount – just 0.07 seconds! He was incredibly excited after his win. He later apologized to Dukurs for his loud celebration, saying he "lost his mind" when he saw the winning time. Jon received his gold medal at a ceremony in Whistler the next day. He became the second Canadian in a row to win gold in men's skeleton.
The Famous Celebration
After winning his gold medal, Jon walked through a crowd of cheering Canadian fans. They were singing the national anthem. During this moment, a fan handed him a celebratory drink, and he shared in the excitement with the crowd. This spontaneous moment was caught on camera and became very famous in Canada. Jon later said that if this moment is what he's remembered for, he feels like "the luckiest fella on Earth."
Inspiring Others
Jon has a tattoo of a maple leaf with the word "Canada" above it on his chest. He got it with his mom after finishing high school. He hopes his Olympic win inspires more young people to try amateur sports. He also wants to show that skeleton is a safe sport for kids.
Jon also wore an image of a painted turtle on his helmet during races. He chose this because he found one trying to cross a road in British Columbia. This helped bring attention to the conservation of this endangered species.
After not qualifying for the 2014 Winter Olympics, Jon felt his skeleton racing career was likely over. In 2019, he was honored by being inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame.
Television Career
After his Olympic win, Jon Montgomery started a career in television.
Best Trip Ever and Top Chef
In the summer of 2010, Jon and his friends filmed a TV special called Best Trip Ever. This show was about their adventures trying different summer sports. It aired on Discovery Channel Canada in November 2010. In 2011, Jon also appeared as a judge on an episode of Top Chef: Texas.
Hosting The Amazing Race Canada
On June 5, 2013, it was announced that Jon Montgomery would be the host of CTV's The Amazing Race Canada. This is a popular reality competition show where teams race across Canada and the world. Jon has hosted every season of the show since it began.
Personal Life
Jon Montgomery is married to Darla Montgomery, who is also a skeleton athlete. They have two children: a son named Jaxon Mark, born in 2016, and a daughter named Lennon, born in 2019.
When he's not busy with sports or TV, Jon works as a sales consultant and an automobile auctioneer in Calgary. He looks up to fellow athlete Theoren Fleury, who is also from his hometown of Russell. Jon is also a graduate of the Automotive Business School of Canada at Georgian College.
See also
- List of Canadian sports personalities
