Mollie Jepsen

Mollie Jepsen
Personal information
NationalityCanadian
Born (1999-09-17) September 17, 1999
West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Height4 ft 8 in (142 cm)
Sport
SportPara-alpine skiing
Coached byJean-Sebastien Labrie
Medal record
Women's para alpine skiing
Representing  Canada
Winter Paralympics
Gold medal – first place2018 PyeongchangSuper Combined standing
Gold medal – first place2022 BeijingDownhill standing
Silver medal – second place2018 PyeongchangSlalom standing
Silver medal – second place2022 BeijingGiant slalom standing
Bronze medal – third place2018 PyeongchangDownhill standing
Bronze medal – third place2018 PyeongchangGiant slalom standing

Mollie Jepsen (born September 17, 1999) is a Canadian alpine skier, who competed at the 2018, 2022 and 2026 Winter Paralympic Games.

Early life

Jepsen was born in West Vancouver, British Columbia without several fingers on her left hand. She learned to ski by the age of two and also took gymnastics classes.[1] Growing up, she attended West Vancouver Secondary, from which she graduated in 2017.[2]

Career

She was influenced to start competitive skiing after watching the 2010 Winter Olympics and joined the Whistler Mountain Ski Club.[3] However, when she was 13 she tore her right anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and again when she was 15.[1]

Despite this, she was selected to compete with Team Canada during the 2018–19 season.[4] Upon returning to British Columbia after partaking in Team Canada's summer training camp in Chile, she was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease.[5] She qualified for the 2018 Winter Paralympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, where she won her first gold medal in the super combined event.[6] She also won a silver medal in the slalom and two bronze medals in downhill and giant slalom.[7]

She was named the Female Para-Alpine Athlete of the Year at the Audi 2018 Canadian Ski Racing Awards[8] and the Best Female Athlete at the 2018 Canadian Paralympic Sport Awards.[9]

She won Canada's first gold, the gold medal in the women's downhill standing event at the 2022 Winter Paralympics held in Beijing, China.[10][11] She also won silver in the giant slalom and was honoured to be chosen to be Canada's flag carrier in the closing ceremonies. [12]

Jepsen qualified to compete in the 2026 Winter Paralympics.[13] After finishing fourth in the downhill, it was announced that she wouldn’t compete in any other events, after aggravating a previous knee injury in the downhill.[14]

References

  1. 1 2 Lungen, Paul (April 13, 2018). "MOLLIE JEPSEN – THE VANCOUVER SKIER WHO WON GOLD AT THE PARALYMPICS". Canadian Jewish News. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  2. ↑ "Highlander Grad Off to Paralympics" (PDF). westvancouverschools.ca. March 1, 2018. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  3. ↑ Prest, Andy (March 6, 2018). "West Vancouver teen races to Paralympic Games". nsnews.com. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  4. ↑ "2018-19 ALPINE CANADA TEAM NOMINATIONS". alpinecanada.org. May 14, 2018. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  5. ↑ "Mollie Jepsen: My Crohn's challenge". paralympic.org. January 7, 2019. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  6. ↑ "Canadian roundup: Mollie Jepsen speeds to gold in alpine super combined". cbc.ca. March 12, 2018. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  7. ↑ "JEPSEN WINS HER FOURTH MEDAL OF PARALYMPICS WITH SILVER IN WOMen's SLALOM". alpinecanada.org. March 18, 2018. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  8. ↑ "Audi 2018 Canadian Ski Racing Awards presented by Helly Hansen Winners". sirc.ca. March 19, 2018. Archived from the original on December 12, 2019. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  9. ↑ "Mollie Jepsen named Best Female Athlete". paralympic.org. October 31, 2018. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  10. ↑ Burke, Patrick (March 5, 2022). "Slovakia's Farkašová wins first gold medal of Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  11. ↑ "Skier Mollie Jepsen speeds to Canada's 1st gold medal of Beijing Paralympics". CBC. March 4, 2022. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  12. ↑ "Mollie Jepsen named Canada's Closing Ceremony flag bearer for Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games | Canadian Paralympic Committee". March 12, 2022.
  13. ↑ "Mollie Jepsen named to Canadian Paralympic ski team". Pique Newsmagazine. February 26, 2026. Retrieved March 10, 2026.
  14. ↑ "Canadian Paralympic Committee and Alpine Canada Media Statement – Mollie Jepsen". Canadian Paralympic Committee. March 8, 2026. Retrieved March 10, 2026.
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