Jennifer Heil
Encyclopedia
Jennifer Heil is a Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 freestyle skier
Freestyle skiing
Freestyle skiing is form of skiing which used to encompass two disciplines: aerials, and moguls. Except the two disciplines mentioned earlier Freestyle Skiing now consists of Skicross, Half Pipe and Slope Style...

 from Spruce Grove, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

. Heil started skiing at age two. Jennifer Heil won the first gold medal for Canada in the 2006 Winter Olympics
2006 Winter Olympics
The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Turin, Italy from February 10, 2006, through February 26, 2006. This marked the second time Italy hosted the Olympic Winter Games, the first being the VII Olympic Winter...

 games in Turin, Italy and a silver medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics
2010 Winter Olympics
The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, were a major international multi-sport event held from February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University...

 in Vancouver, which was also Canada's first medal in those games. Heil is the reigning world champion in both moguls and dual moguls, she has three world championship titles in total and two silver medals from the Worlds as well. Over her career Heil has won a record-tying five overall, FIS World Cup Crystal Globe titles for freestyle skiing.

Heil is involved with several charitable organisations such as Because I am a Girl and Right to Play
Right to Play
Right To Play is an international humanitarian organization that uses sport and play programs to improve health, develop life skills, and foster peace for children and communities in some of the most disadvantaged areas of the world...

. During the 2010 Winter Olympics Heil donated $25,000 to Because I am a Girl. Heil also speaks to students across Canada along a theme of Dare to Dream, and hosts an annual "girls only" mogul skiing camp. B2ten, created with the help of Heil, is a privately run business model organisation with the intent of raising funds to support amateur Canadian athletes.

Early career

Heil competed in her first Olympics at the 2002 Winter Olympics
2002 Winter Olympics
The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event that was celebrated in February 2002 in and around Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Approximately 2,400 athletes from 77 nations participated in 78 events in fifteen disciplines, held throughout...

 at the age of 18, finishing fourth in the moguls, just one-hundredth of a point out of a bronze medal. She took the 2002–03 season off due to injury, and then won the World Cup in 2003–04, 2004–05 and 2005–06. Jennifer Heil then won the first gold medal for Canada in the 2006 Winter Olympics
2006 Winter Olympics
The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Turin, Italy from February 10, 2006, through February 26, 2006. This marked the second time Italy hosted the Olympic Winter Games, the first being the VII Olympic Winter...

 in Turin, Italy. Giving Canada its first victory on the first full day of competition, Heil placed her title in the moguls event. Following the Olympics, Heil completed the season by winning her fourth straight World Cup title.

B2ten

Jennifer Heil took part in extensive experimental training in order to prepare for the Olympic Games. She worked with one of Canada's leading sports psychologists, a strength trainer and an athletic therapist daily. After winning in 2006, Jennifer expressed her desire to build a program that would offer the same kind of support she got to other athletes in Canada. JD Miller and her coach Dominick Gauthier helped her build B2ten who now raised about 3 million dollars and supports 20 athletes from 13 different sports. Heil took the 2008 season off in order to help heal her injured knees. Following that year, Jennifer Heil had a very successful 2008–09 world cup season. This included a silver medal during the stop at Cypress Mountain
Cypress Mountain
- External links :* *...

 which was the site of the moguls competition for the 2010 Winter Olympics
2010 Winter Olympics
The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, were a major international multi-sport event held from February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University...

.

2010 Vancouver Olympics

Going into the 2010 Olympics, Heil won the last 4 2009–10 Freestyle Skiing World Cup events that she entered. She opted out of the last event before the games to give her fellow countrymen an opportunity to qualify for the games. The women's moguls qualifications began in unfavourable weather conditions with rain, sleet, and slushy conditions on the course. Heil finished the qualification in second place, meaning she ran second-to-last in the final. In the final Heil had a successful and fast run which put her in first place with one skier yet to go. Heil sat, watched, and waited as Hannah Kearney
Hannah Kearney
Hannah Kearney is an American mogul skier who won a gold medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics.-Personal life:Born in a hospital in Hanover, New Hampshire, Kearney grew up and still lives in Norwich, Vermont. She is the daughter of Tom and Jill Kearney, who met while attending McGill University in...

 of the US had her final run. Kearney finished first and displaced Heil for both the gold and as Olympic champion.

Heil was visibly distraught as many including herself expected her to win the gold medal. Heil had gone into the event as the reigning Olympic champion and favourite not only to win the gold, but Canada's first gold medal during a Canadian hosted Olympics ever. Heil's B2ten company was founded in part to win the first gold at home and assist fellow Canadians in their quest for medals. The honour of winning the first home-soil Olympic gold medal would go to Alexandre Bilodeau
Alexandre Bilodeau
Alexandre Bilodeau is a Canadian freestyle skier from Montreal, Quebec. Bilodeau currently resides in Rosemère, Quebec. Bilodeau won a gold medal in the men's moguls at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, becoming the first Canadian to win a gold medal at an Olympic Games held in Canada after...

 the next day on Sunday, February 14. Although Heil herself did not win it, Bilodeau's victory deserves some credit from Heil as he is a sponsored B2ten athlete as well. The next day Heil was seen on television celebrating her silver medal. She went on to say that she did not lose the gold but won the silver medal and was celebrating on stage at the medal ceremony.

According to CTV an average of about 6.6 million and a peak of 8 million Canadians tuned into their television to watch Jennifer Heil try and break the gold medal slump. More Canadians watched Heil try to win gold than the 6 million that had watched the New Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....

 win Super Bowl XLIV
Super Bowl XLIV
Super Bowl XLIV was an American football game between the American Football Conference champion Indianapolis Colts and the National Football Conference champion New Orleans Saints to decide the National Football League champion for the 2009 season. The Saints defeated the Colts by a score of...

.

Following her 2010 Olympics Silver Medal win at the Cypress Mountain
Cypress Mountain
- External links :* *...

 venue near Vancouver, Heil went on to say that these are likely her last games. Heil said that she wants to win a third world championship next year in 2011, following that she would like to get on with her post-mogul career. Heil said she hopes to finish her degree in management studies at McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...

 after retiring following the 2010–11 season
2010–11 FIS Freestyle Skiing World Cup
The 2010–11 FIS Freestyle Skiing World Cup was a multi race tournament over a season for freestyle skiing. The season started on 12 December 2010 and lasted until 20 March 2011. The World Cup was organised by the FIS who also run world cups and championships in cross-country skiing, ski jumping,...

 and plans to continue her work in jewellery design. She also stated that she plans to continue her work in philanthropy
Philanthropy
Philanthropy etymologically means "the love of humanity"—love in the sense of caring for, nourishing, developing, or enhancing; humanity in the sense of "what it is to be human," or "human potential." In modern practical terms, it is "private initiatives for public good, focusing on quality of...

. Following the 2010 Olympics Heil again made a donation of $25,000, this time to Because I am a Girl, an organization that helps lift girls out of poverty. Heil said of her donation that “I’ve had the power in my hands to help and many young girls don’t have that same power. We want to make this Canada’s most giving Games ever.” Alexandre Bilodeau also made a donation but he made his to the Canadian Association of Pediatric Health Centres for cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy is an umbrella term encompassing a group of non-progressive, non-contagious motor conditions that cause physical disability in human development, chiefly in the various areas of body movement....

. They both went on to encourage others to give saying that they have the ability to give back and if others were to help in their own way it would make a difference.

Finishing her Career

During January of the 2010–11 World Cup
2010–11 FIS Freestyle Skiing World Cup
The 2010–11 FIS Freestyle Skiing World Cup was a multi race tournament over a season for freestyle skiing. The season started on 12 December 2010 and lasted until 20 March 2011. The World Cup was organised by the FIS who also run world cups and championships in cross-country skiing, ski jumping,...

 season, Heil officially announced her retirement prior to the Canadian stop at the Canada Olympic Park
Canada Olympic Park
Canada Olympic Park is located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The park is operated by WinSport Canada formerly the Calgary Olympic Development Association . It is currently used both for high performance athletic training and for recreational purposes by the general public...

 in Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...

. Heil would say of her retirement that "I'm definitely in good shape. I could go for one more Olympic Games. I'm still at the top of my game, but for me I feel it's an important time to build on my future. I want to be as successful off the slopes as I have been on the slopes and I feel that time is now. I feel that in my heart." After the announcement, Heil fell in the final of the World Cup moguls event and finished last.

Heil's next event was at the 2011 FIS World Championships
FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships 2011
The 2011 FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships were held at Deer Valley Resort, together with Park City Mountain Resort. The 2011 FIS Freestyle World Championships took place from January 30 until February 7, 2011, and included aerials, moguls, dual moguls and ski cross competitions at Deer Valley...

. In her last event there in the moguls final, Heil won her first ever gold medal and first ever medal having previously won only in the dual moguls event. Heil said of her win there that "It's a title I've never won before and there's been a lot of discussion about that in Canada. I've never been one to count my medals and count my titles, but I'm pretty happy that that conversation is over." For the last day of the World Championships, Heil competed in the dual moguls event. There she advanced to the final where she defeated young teammate Chloé Dufour-Lapointe
Chloe Dufour-Lapointe
Chloé Dufour-Lapointe is a Canadian freestyle skier.Her first Winter Olympics competition was at the 2010 Winter Olympics Women's moguls in Vancouver, where she finished in fifth place on 13 February 2010...

 to win her second gold medal of the competition. The victory was her third successive dual moguls crown, more importantly it ensured that Heil would end her career as a double world champion.

Personal

Jennifer Heil is a management
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...

 and political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...

 student at Desautels Faculty of Management
Desautels Faculty of Management
The Desautels Faculty of Management is one of the constituent faculties of McGill University. The Faculty has been host to the McGill Management International Case Competition since 2001...

 of McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...

 in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. Heil is involved in several charities including Right to Play
Right to Play
Right To Play is an international humanitarian organization that uses sport and play programs to improve health, develop life skills, and foster peace for children and communities in some of the most disadvantaged areas of the world...

, a sports-based humanitarian agency, and Plan Canada
Plan Canada
Plan Canada operates as the Canadian arm of Plan International, a not-for-profit global movement that promotes social justice for youth and their families in more than 65 developing countries and several continents...

’s Because I am a Girl, a program that promotes girls' rights internationally. She has stated that she wishes to continue her efforts in these charities following her retirement. In her spare time, Heil is an avid surfer.

Jennifer Heil's boyfriend, Dominick Gauthier, is also her coach. Gauthier is also the coach of men's mogul skier, Alexandre Bilodeau
Alexandre Bilodeau
Alexandre Bilodeau is a Canadian freestyle skier from Montreal, Quebec. Bilodeau currently resides in Rosemère, Quebec. Bilodeau won a gold medal in the men's moguls at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, becoming the first Canadian to win a gold medal at an Olympic Games held in Canada after...

.

External links

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