Many remarkable and inspirational women have trained and competed to be a part of Team Canada at this year’s Olympics, with 109 out of 215 athletes identifying as women. We celebrate their hard work and commitment, and are committed to creating unique spaces to train and achieve their Olympic dreams. Happy International Women’s Day to our female athletes!
This year’s Olympic Games have been the most gender-balanced Olympic Winter Games to date, with women accounting for a record 45 per cent of the overall athletes. This evolution comes to fruition through a new women-only event, the monobob sled competition, as well as an increase in mixed events where men and women compete together. As a result, the 2022 Winter Games boasted the highest total number of women’s events in Olympic Winter Games history. The Games achieved full gender balance for the first time in skeleton, individual luge, speed skating, cross-country skiing, alpine skiing, freestyle skiing, and snowboard, after changes to the athlete quotas in those respective disciplines. A significant step for women’s opportunities at the Games.
Fun Facts
- Of the 215 athletes the Canadian Olympic Committee sent to Beijing, 144 of them have either trained or competed at WinSport’s facilities at Canada Olympic Park or the University of Calgary’s Olympic Oval.
- 23 of these athletes have attended the WinSport-based National Sport School (NSS).
- The Canadian Sport Institute Calgary, located at WinSport’s Markin MacPhail Centre, is affiliated with 119 Canadian Olympians at the 2022 Winter Games.
- There were 144 Canadians at the Olympians 2022 Games with ties to WinSport. They represent alpine skiing, biathlon, bobsleigh, cross-country skiing, curling, freestyle skiing, hockey, luge, skeleton, ski cross, ski jumping, snowboarding, speed skating, and short-tracked speed skating.
- An amazing female athlete who represented Canada, is 16-year-old halfpipe snowboarder Brooke D’Hondt of Calgary. She made her Olympic debut this year, and is Canada’s youngest team member.
- Team Canada brought home 326 medals (71 Gold, 108 Silver and 147 Bronze).
- GEC is leading the design of the new Canmore Nordic Centre.
We are proud to be part of the design for some of Alberta’s premier high-performance sports facilities, including WinSport’s Markin MacPhail Centre, the University of Calgary’s Olympic Oval, and the Canmore Nordic Centre, that help foster the growth and development of Olympic, Paralympic, and international athletes, and have a lasting, positive impact on the community.
Photo Credits: Dave Holland, Speed Skating Canada and The Olympic Oval, Brooke D’Hondt and Luc Percival
