From summer to winter, Simmerling is back in action
Just a month after wrapping up Rio 2016 with a bronze medal, Georgia Simmerling is back training, but this time she’ll be on the slopes.
This summer Simmerling won bronze with Jasmin Glaesser, Kirsti Lay, Allison Beveridge and Laura Brown in women’s team pursuit. However, after winning her first Olympic medal – at her summer Games debut – Simmerling is returning back to the world of winter sports.
Related: Women’s team pursuit wins Rio 2016 bronze
Simmerling’s Olympic career began at Vancouver 2010, when she made her first team as a downhill alpine skier. A year later, the Canadian suffered a knee injury, after which she decided to switch to freestyle, to try out ski cross.
Related: Serwa and Simmerling finish 1-2
Simmerling’s switch paid off, because when Sochi 2014 rolled around, she had qualified for her second Olympic Games. The new freestyle skier had an impressive finish in Sochi, placing 14th in ski cross, just a few years after picking up the sport.
So how did a two-time winter Olympian end up making the switch to summer?
At the 2015 World Championships Simmerling broke her wrist, and once again her injury was followed up with big changes. Simmerling had taken part in Cycling Canada‘s training camps while training for skiing, and took her injury as an opportunity to work on qualifying for her first summer Games.
Related: Simmerling: Olympic skier turned cyclist
Simmerlings’ impressive career met a new milestone in Rio, when she became the first Canadian to compete at three Olympic Games, in three different sports.
With just 17 months to PyeongChang 2018, Simmerling is back on the slopes training with her winter teammates. Although Canada’s most versatile Olympian doesn’t appear to be picking up a new sport this season, Simmerling will definitely be working towards a spot on the podium, just like at Rio 2016.
