Justin Kripps competing in four-man bobsleigh at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Canadian Olympic Committee
February 08, 2018 - 4:30 PM
The 2018 Winter Olympic Games are starting this week, and with the world watching, the Thompson-Okanagan region will be well represented.
The Canada Olympic roster has been finalized and there are numerous local athletes in South Korea for the winter games.
Andi Naude from Penticton was named to the Women’s Freestyle Skiing team. The 22-year-old narrowly missed out on Sochi 2014 and will be competing in her first Olympic games. She will be skiing in the moguls competition for team Canada.
Summerland’s Justin Kripps qualified for the two-man bobsleigh event at the Winter Games. This will be Kripps’ third Olympic Games and he will be looking to win his first medal. Kripps most recently won silver at the 2017 World Championships with CFL star Jesse Lumsden as his partner.
Tess Critchlow from Kelowna will be competing in women’s snowboard cross in Pyeongchang. This will mark the first Olympic Games for Critchlow. She had finished 24th overall in the 2017 World Championships, but had four separate top 10 finishes over the course of that season.
Kelowna’s Julia Ransom will be making her Olympic debut this year. Ransom will be competing in the biathlon event. Ransom finished 18th in the individual event at the 2017 World Championships and helped Canada finish eight in the team event at the World Cup.
Kelsey Serwa from Kelowna will compete in freestyle ski cross. Having won the silver medal at the 2014 Sochi Games, and finishing fifth at the 2010 Vancouver Games, Serwa could be poised for another podium finish.
Another competitor in biathlon will be Vernon’s Emma Lunder. The 26-year-old will be making her Olympic debut in South Korea. Her best result came in December 2017 when she finished 18th at a World Cup even in France.
Vernon’s Andrew Ebbett will represent Canada in men’s ice hockey, having been recently named an alternate captain for the team.
This will be his first Olympic games. Having played professional hockey for over ten years with various stops around the NHL including the Vancouver Canucks and Pittsburgh Penguins, Ebbett currently plays for SC Bern in Switzerland. A former junior player for the Salmon Arm Silverbacks, Ebbett will help Canada try to win their third straight gold medal in men's hockey.
Another Olympic hopeful is Kevin Hill from Vernon.
Hill competed in the 2014 Sochi Games in snowboard cross. Hill finished eighth at those games, but won the silver medal in the world championships in 2015 and won gold in the Winter X Games that same year. Currently Hill is the top Canadian in the Snowboard Cross World Cup standings, and sits 17th overall.
Josie Morrison, from Kamloops, was named to the long track speed skating team for the Winter Olympics. As part of the 19-person squad, Morrison will look to help Canada reach its projected total of 28 medals at these games. Morrison won her first World Cup medal in November of last year and won the bronze medal at an event in the Netherlands.
The PyeongChang Winter Olympics begin on Friday, Feb 9. and run until Sunday, Feb. 26.
For a complete list of Canadian athletes, go here.
For the schedule of events taking place at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, go here.
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