Kelly VanderBeek

Kelly VanderBeek was born on January 21, 1983, in Kapuskasing, Ontario, and started her skiing journey on a local hill with a rope tow. She later trained at Chicopee Ski Club in Kitchener, Ontario, which she still considers her home club. VanderBeek joined the Canadian National Ski team in 2000, where she remained for 13 years. She achieved significant success in her early racing career, including winning both Super-G and downhill events on the Nor-Am Cup circuit in Aspen, Colorado, in 2002. She continued this success in 2004, winning two Super-G races at Big Mountain, Montana. VanderBeek also secured bronze medals in Super-G at the FIS Junior World Ski Championships in Tarvisio, Italy (2002) and Puy St. Vincent, France (2003). Her FIS World Cup debut took place on December 3, 2002, in Lake Louise, Alberta, the same year she was named Canadian Junior Athlete of the Year.

Her career highlights include becoming the first Canadian woman to reach the podium on home soil with a 3rd-place finish at the World Cup downhill in Lake Louise on December 3, 2006. She subsequently achieved two 2nd-place finishes at World Cup events in Sestriere, Italy (2007) and St. Anton, Austria (2008). VanderBeek represented Canada at the 2006 Winter Olympics, where she achieved a 4th-place finish in the Super-G event, missing a medal by just 0.03 seconds. A significant injury in December 2009, involving a torn ACL and other ligament damage in her left knee, ended her chances for the 2010 Winter Olympics. She announced her retirement from competitive skiing on January 12, 2013, at Chicopee Ski Club.

Following her retirement from competitive skiing, VanderBeek embarked on a successful career in broadcasting. She served as an analyst and host for the Vancouver, London, Sochi, and PyeongChang Olympics for CTV and CBC. Her roles included hosting the ‘Raising an Olympian’ series and contributing to the PrimeTime Panel on sports discussions. She has also made appearances as a guest host for Sportsnet and The Shopping Channel, representing the Canadian-owned Karbon clothing line. In 2009, she established the Kelly VanderBeek Racing Club (KVR) to provide high-performance training for young racers in Southwestern Ontario, based out of Chicopee Ski Club. She also actively promotes youth fitness through KVR Kids Fit programs.