HERE IS A LOOK AT OTHER ATHLETES COMPETING IN PYEONGCHANG WITH EDMONTON CONNECTIONS:
Keegan Messing FIGURE SKATING
Born in Anchorage,
Alaska, now lives in Sherwood Park. He qualified for his first Olympic Games by placing second behind Patrick Chan at nationals this year. A dual citizen — his mother was born in Edmonton — the 26-year-old began competing for Canada in 2014.
SCHEDULE:
Feb. 15: short program 6 p.m. Feb. 16: free skating 6 p.m.
Bryan Barnett BOBSLEIGH
Edmontonian is one of a handful of Canadian athletes who have competed at both the Summer and the Winter Olympics. Competed for Canada as a 200-metre sprinter at the 2007, 2009 and 2011 World Athletic Championships and at the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing. Took up bobsleigh in 2013 and is part of Canada’s four-man team, which includes pilot Chris Spring, Lascelles Brown and Neville Wright.
SCHEDULE:
Feb. 23: 5:30 p.m. Feb. 24: 5:30 p.m.
Christine de Bruin BOBSLEIGH
Former track star at the University of
Alberta, she took up bobsleigh six years ago. The 28-year-old will be competing in her first Olympics. Stony Plain resident is the pilot of a two-woman team, which also includes Cynthia Appiah of Toronto.
SCHEDULE:
Feb. 20: 4:50 a.m. Feb. 21: 4:40 a.m.
Melissa Lotholz BOBSLEIGH
Also a former U of A track-and-field athlete, the Barrhead product took up bobsleigh full-time in 2014. The 25-year-old has teamed up with two-time Olympic champion Kaillie Humphries.
SCHEDULE:
Feb. 20: 4:50 a.m. Feb. 21: 4:40 a.m.
Jesse Lumsden BOBSLEIGH
Former Edmonton Eskimos running back Jesse Lumsden took up bobsleigh when shoulder injuries derailed his football career. The 35-year-old was born in Edmonton, and made his Olympic debut in Vancouver 2010 as a brakeman for two-time Olympic champion Pierre Lueders. He finished seventh at the 2014 Sochi Olympics with Chris Spring in the two-man event. He also competed in the four-man event in the Canada-3 sled with pilot Justin Kripps. In Pyeongchang, he will be competing in both the two-man and the four-man events with Kripps.
SCHEDULE:
Feb. 17: 4:05 a.m. Feb. 18: 4:15 a.m. Feb. 23: 5:30 p.m. Feb. 24: 5:30 p.m.
Alysia Rissling BOBSLEIGH
Edmontonian was a basketball star at the U of A before taking up bobsleigh in 2014.The 29-year-old pilot placed in the top 10 in six of eight World Cup races this season with brakeman Heather Moyse. They will be competing in their first Olympic games together as one of three Canadian two-woman teams.
SCHEDULE:
Feb. 20: 4:50 a.m. Feb. 21: 4:40 a.m.
Neville Wright BOBSLEIGH
The 37-year-old Edmontonian will be competing in his third Olympic games and is a member of Chris Spring’s four-man team. The former U of A track star took up bobsleigh in 2009 and, less than a year later, was a member of Pierre Lueders’ team at the 2010 Olympics. The former world-class sprinter competed for Canada at the 2007 World Athletic Championships in the 4x100m men’s relay.
SCHEDULE:
Feb. 23: 5:30 p.m. Feb. 24: 5:30 p.m.
Kevin Boyer SKELETON
Sherwood Park product took up the sport of skeleton shortly after the 2010 Olympics. The 24-year-old is a three-year veteran of the World Cup circuit and will be competing in his first Olympics. SCHEDULE: Feb. 14: 6 p.m.
Josie Morrison SPEED SKATING
Edmonton product will be attending her first Olympics alongside husband
Denny Morrison.
The 24-year-old has been skating on the World Cup circuit since 2013 and had her breakthrough in November, when she won her first career medal: a bronze in team pursuit. SCHEDULE: Feb. 12 - 1500m: 5:30 a.m. Feb. 19 - Team Pursuit: 4 a.m. Mike Riddle FREESTYLE SKIING One of the pioneers of freestyle skiing when the half pipe made its World Cup debut in 2005, he is one of Canada’s medal hopes. The 31-year-old Edmontonian is the defending Olympic silver medalist. Overcame multiple shoulder injuries to win a silver medal at the 2018 FIS World Championships. SCHEDULE: Feb. 19: 6:30 p.m. Kevin Koe, Marc Kennedy, Scott Pfeifer CURLING Koe, an Edmontonian who now lives in Calgary, will try to add an Olympic gold medal to his impressive resume, which already includes three Brier championships and two world titles. His rink includes third Marc Kennedy and alternate Scott Pfeifer — both of St. Albert — along with lead Ben Hebert and second Brent Laing.
SCHEDULE:
Feb. 13 vs Italy: 5:05 p.m.
Feb. 14 vs Great Britain: 4:05 a.m. Feb. 14 vs Norway: 10:05 p.m. Feb. 16 vs Korea: 4:05 a.m.
Feb. 16 vs Sweden: 10:05 p.m. Feb. 17 vs Switzerland: 5:05 p.m. Feb. 18 vs United States: 10:05 p.m. Feb. 19 vs Japan: 5:05 p.m.
Feb. 20 vs Denmark: 10:05 p.m.
Joanne Courtney CURLING
The Edmontonian will be participating in her first Olympics as a member of Rachel Homan’s team. Homan, who is currently attending the U of A, will be skip for Canada, which also features lead Lisa Weagle, third Emma Miskew and alternate Cheryl Kreviazuk. Courtney, 28, is Canada’s second. SCHEDULE: Feb. 14 vs. Korea: 5:05 p.m. Feb. 15 vs. Sweden: 4:05 a.m. Feb. 15 vs. Denmark: 10:05 p.m. Feb. 17 vs. United States: 4:05 a.m. Feb. 17 vs. Switzerland: 10:05 p.m. Feb. 18 vs. Japan: 5:05 p.m. Feb. 19 vs. China: 10:05 p.m. Feb. 20 vs. Great Britain: 5:05 p.m. v 21 vs. Russia: 4:05 a.m.
Meaghan Mikkelson, Shannon Szabados WOMEN’S HOCKEY
The Canadian women’s hockey team will attempt to defend its 2014 gold medal from Sochi, where they beat the U.S. 3-2 in overtime. Squad is led by veteran defenceman Mikkelson, 33, of St. Albert and backstopped by goalie Szabados, 31, of Edmonton. Each are two-time Olympic gold medalists.
SCHEDULE:
Feb. 11 vs. Russia: 5:10 a.m. Feb. 13 vs. Finland: 12:40 a.m. Feb. 14 vs. United States: 8:10 p.m. Rene Bourque, Gilbert Brule, Derek Roy, Ben Scrivens, Rob Klinkhammer MEN’S HOCKEY The Canadian men’s hockey team will feature plenty of former National Hockey League players with ties to Edmonton. This year’s team features Edmonton-born Bourque, 36, who played 14 seasons in the NHL with Chicago, Calgary, Montreal, Columbus and Colorado, and now plays for Djurgardens IF in the Swedish Hockey League. The Canadian team also feature four former members of the Edmonton Oilers: forwards Gilbert Brule, Rob Klinkhammer and Derek Roy, and goalie Ben Scrivens. Brule was born in Edmonton; Scrivens hails from Spruce Grove.
SCHEDULE:
Feb. 15 vs. Switzerland: 5:10 a.m. Feb. 16 vs. Czech Republic: 8:10 p.m. Feb. 18 vs. Korea: 5:10 a.m.
There are also a handful of athletes with ties to Edmonton who will be competing for other countries at Pyeongchang.
Speed skater Cheyenne Goh, 18, was raised in Edmonton and will be representing Singapore at the Games.
Hockey players Alex Plante, Brock Radunske and Bryan Young have been recruited to play for the host South Korea in the Olympic hockey tournament.
Plante and Young had brief stints with the Edmonton Oilers, while Radunske played for the Edmonton Roadrunners of the AHL during the 2004-05 NHL lockout.