Ashleigh McIvor



Ashleigh McIvor (born September 15, 1983 in Vancouver, British Columbia) is a retired Canadian freestyle skier currently residing in Whistler, British Columbia. McIvor was a member of the Canadian national ski cross team and became the first gold medal winner of women's ski cross at the 2010 Winter Olympics. She is also a former world champion in ski cross and has a second place finish at the Winter X Games to her credit as well.



Contents
[hide]  *1 Career  ==Career[edit] == McIvor entered ski-cross at a young age, being one of the youngest on the World Cup circuit, and finishing second in her first overall race, she entered the X-Games soon after. She was soon a featured athlete during the X-Games, and became the face of women's ski cross. EXPN followed McIvor around and did a one-hour episode on her and what happens to X-Games athletes behind the scenes. McIvor has participated with fashion photographers, modeled on runways, and secured major sportswear sponsorships because of her popularity.[1]
 * 2 Personal
 * 3 References
 * 4 External links

McIvor on the World Cup stop in Les ContaminesMcIvor started competing in 2003. She has been to four Winter X-Games, with her best finishes being 7th in X-Games 10 and X-Games VII. McIvor won her first World Championship in 2009 at Inawashiro, Japan. She also has four podium finishes on the FIS World Cup circuit to her credit, including a silver medal at Cypress Mountain in 2009, the future site of the Vancouver Olympic Games. McIvor finished third overall on the 2008-09 FIS World Cup season.

Prior to the Winter Olympics, McIvor attended the 2010 Winter X Games as a final tuneup event. There, she and fellow countrywoman Kelsey Serwamanaged to finish second and third respectively to Ophélie David. McIvor's silver was her first X Games medal of any colour.[2]

McIvor was a member of Canada's freestyle skiing team at the Vancouver Olympics where ski-cross was making its debut as an official medal event.[3] Ashleigh McIvor qualified for the medal round with the second fastest time. In the finals McIvor got out to a fast start and won with some distance between herself and Hedda Berntsen. With the win McIvor won the first ever Olympic gold medal for ladies' ski cross.[4]

During the next season, McIvor suffered a catastrophic ACL injury in her knee, ending her season while on a practice run at the Winter X Games.[5]  In part to the injuries McIvor retired from competitive skiing in the fall of 2012, she said that "I’ve gone back and forth in my mind, wondering if I’m making the right decision to retire. But I’ve already done more in the sport than I ever imagined would be possible and there’s something to be said for going out on top, as the reigning Olympic champion."[6] ==Personal[edit] == <p style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">She had previously studied Business/Marketing<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-7" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[7]  at the University of British Columbia.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-8" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[8]  In 2012, she was named by Sportsnet Magazine as one of the 30 Most Beautiful Athletes on the Planet.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-9" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[9]  McIvor is currently married to Jay DeMerit, captain of the Vancouver Whitecaps.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-10" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[10]  Following the announcement of her retirement from competitive skicross in November 2012, Ashleigh is now focussing on speaking engagements and appearances for sponsors and partners, as well as charitable organizations, and freeskiing for various filmers and photographers. She is remaining involved in the sport of skicross by working as an analyst for CBC.