Kelsey Serwa (born September 1, 1989) is a Canadian retired freestyle skier who was a member of the Canadian national ski cross team. She won a gold medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang and a silver medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. She is the 2011 FIS World Champion and two times Winter X Games champion. In addition, she has won a bronze medal at the 2010 X Games.
Competitive career Serwa won a national championship in 2009 at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, defeating world champion Ashleigh McIvor. Serwa won her first world cup event on January 13, 2009, at the Alpe d'Huez course after these finals were canceled on the 2009–10 Freestyle Skiing World Cup. Serwa won her first outright world cup race later that season at Lake Placid on January 24, 2010.
At the 2010 Winter X Games two weeks before the Olympics, Serwa managed to win a bronze at the famous cash event, fellow countrywoman Ashleigh McIvor had finished second. Serwa was a member of the Canadian Olympic team that competed in Vancouver in her home province of British Columbia. Serwa's bronze at the Winter X Games and third overall ranking on the world cup put her in as a medal favourite at the Olympics in Vancouver. She advanced to the semi-finals, but finished third in her heat and did not make the medal final. However, she competed in the "small final", which she won, finishing fifth overall.
During the next season Serwa won the gold at the X Games with a dramatic finish flying 150 feet in the air and crashing out badly injured, but the champion. Serwa carried her X Games winning momentum into the 2011 World Championships. There she qualified as the fourth fastest skier, Serwa then went on to finish first in the final ahead of teammate Julia Murray. With the victory she completed the seasonal sweep of the two biggest ski cross events in the world.
On February 21, 2014, Serwa won silver in women's ski cross during her second Olympics, finishing behind gold medalist and Canadian teammate Marielle Thompson.
Serwa suffered a training accident in December 2016 and considered retirement from ski cross, but ultimately returned to the sport following knee surgery. She subsequently earned a place on Canada's ski cross team for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. Serwa went on to win the gold medal in women's ski cross, with her teammate Brittany Phelan winning the silver medal.
On July 4, 2019, Serwa announced her retirement from competitive ski cross, after ten years on the national team.
Personal life Serwa's grandfather, Clifford Jack Serwa, was a co-founder of the Big White Ski Resort, and later a longtime member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia representing Okanagan. Serwa married Stan Rey, a retired competitive ski cross athlete, in 2019. , she was taking a break from studying kinesiology at the University of British Columbia at Okanagan, aiming to become a physiotherapist. She graduated with honours in November 2023 with a Masters of Physical Therapy, starting her career as a physiotherapist in Whistler, British Columbia.
World Cup results All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).
Season standings Season Age OverallSki crossCross Alps Tour 2009 19 12 3 2010 20 11 4 2011 21 7 3 2012 22 29 9 2013 23 19 4 2014 24 73 17 2015 25 did not compete 2016 26 31 8 2017 27 134 24 17 2018 28 27 7 6 2019 29 32 8
Race podiums 8 wins – (8 SX) 20 podiums – (20 SX) Season Date Location Discipline Place2008–095 January 2009 St. Johann in Tirol/Oberndorf, Austria Ski Cross 3rd20 March 2009 La Plagne, France Ski Cross 2nd2009–1013 January 2010 Alpe d'Huez, France Ski Cross 1st24 January 2010 Lake Placid, USA Ski Cross 1st12 March 2010 Grindelwald, Switzerland Ski Cross 1st2010–1118 December 2010 Innichen, Italy Ski Cross 2nd12 January 2011 Alpe d'Huez, France Ski Cross 1st16 January 2011 Les Contamines, France Ski Cross 2nd13 March 2011 Branas, Sweden Ski Cross 2nd19 March 2011 Myrkdalen-Voss, Norway Ski Cross 2nd2011–1217 December 2011 Innichen, Italy Ski Cross 1st18 December 2011 Innichen, Italy Ski Cross 1st2012–1323 December 2012 Innichen, Italy Ski Cross 1st15 January 2013 Megève, France Ski Cross 2nd19 February 2013 Sochi, Russia Ski Cross 1st2013–1421 December 2013 Innichen, Italy Ski Cross 2nd2015–1620 December 2015 Innichen, Italy Ski Cross 2nd28 February 2016 Bogwang, South Korea Ski Cross 2nd2017–187 December 2017 Val Thorens, France Ski Cross 3rd2018–1920 January 2019 Idre, Sweden Ski Cross 3rd
Olympic results 2 medals – (1 gold, 1 silver) Year Age Ski Cross 2010 Vancouver 20 5 2014 Sochi 24 2 2018 Pyeongchang 28 1
World Championships results 1 medal – (1 gold) Year Age Ski Cross 2009 Inawashiro 19 5 2011 Deer Valley 21 1 2013 Voss 23 2015 Kreischberg 25 did notcompete 2017 Sierra Nevada 27 2019 Solitude Mountain 29 5
a. Kelsey Serwa suffered a knee injury in training and was unable to compete in the race.
References
External links
CBC Sochi 2014 profile Alpine Canada profile