Shirley Firth facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Shirley Firth
Country	Canada
Born	(1953-12-31)31 December 1953 Aklavik, Northwest Territories, Canada
Died	30 April 2013(2013-04-30) (aged 59) Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada
World Cup career
Seasons	3 – (1982–1984)
Indiv. podiums	0
Indiv. starts	17
Team starts	0
Overall titles	0 – (11th in 1982)

Shirley Firth (born December 31, 1953, in Aklavik, Northwest Territories – died April 30, 2013) was a famous Canadian cross-country skier. She represented Canada in four Winter Olympic Games in a row: 1972, 1976, 1980, and 1984.

Shirley Firth's Amazing Skiing Journey

Shirley Firth was a member of the Gwich'in First Nation and had Métis heritage. She was one of the first Indigenous North Americans to compete for Canada in the Olympic Games. Shirley received many important awards, including the Order of Canada, the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal, and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. Ski Racing Magazine also named her the Canadian Women's Nordic Skier of the Year six times!

Shirley had a twin sister, Sharon Firth, who was also a talented skier. Both sisters took part in the Territorial Experimental Ski Training program. This program helped introduce cross-country skiing to northern Canada. Because of this program, Shirley and Sharon became part of the first-ever Canadian cross-country ski team. They competed together in the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo. The sisters believed that the skills they learned from trapping and hunting in their home community helped them succeed in skiing.

Shirley and Sharon competed in four Winter Olympics and four World Ski Championships. They were part of the National Cross Country Ski Team for an amazing 17 years in a row. Shirley won 29 Gold medals, 10 Silver medals, and 3 Bronze medals at the Canadian National Championships. Together, the Firth sisters earned 79 medals at national championships, including 48 national titles. No other athletes have come close to matching this record! Shirley herself won 42 of these 79 medals.

In 1972, the Canadian Ski Association gave Shirley and her sister the John Semelink Memorial Award. This award recognized their important contributions to skiing in Canada. In 2015, they became the first Indigenous women to be added to Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. Shirley also received a National Aboriginal Achievement Award in the sports category in 2006. In 2008, Shirley Firth was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Banff Sports. Shirley Firth-Larsson was also inducted into the NWT Sport Hall of Fame in 2012.

Shirley Firth's Olympic Results

Shirley Firth competed in four Olympic Games. Here are her results:

Shirley Firth's World Championship Results

Shirley also competed in several World Championships:

Shirley Firth's World Cup Standings

Shirley also competed in the World Cup series:

Shirley Firth's Life After Skiing

After her amazing skiing career, Shirley Firth Larsson moved to France. There, she started a family and gave talks about the Dene and Inuit cultures. Shirley passed away at her home in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, on April 30, 2013. She was 59 years old.

The CBC made a documentary about Shirley and her twin sister Sharon called The Olympians: The Firth Sisters. To honor Shirley's memory, Canada Post even put her and Sharon's faces on a stamp! Shirley was honored at Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in Calgary's Olympic Park by her husband and daughters.