Kylie Gill
1974 -
Discipline: Freestyle Skiing Olympic participations: Albertville 1992 Medal awarded in: 2020 Kylie Gill joined the Thredbo Freestyle program when she was 10 years old. Growing up she had the opportunity to train at the Winter Sports Club, in Steamboat Springs (Colorado, USA), one of the leading Freestyle programs in the USA. The experience allowed Gill to work with some of the top coaches of the discipline and helped take her skiing to the next level. Through that program, Gill was also able to compete in some high-calibre junior and senior events at State level, which led her to eventually medaling in the US Junior Nationals. Gill travelled and trained with a number of different teams, amazed at the camaraderie existing amongst athletes from all over the world united in the big Freestyle family. Canadian Head Coach Peter Judge, in particular, took her under his wing and provided a lot of support during her career. Overall Gill competed in 85 World Cup events across all Freestyle disciplines, winning a Silver medal and a Bronze medal in combined events. Gill was selected to represent Australia at the 1992 Albertville Olympic Games and competed in Aerials, included in the Olympic program as a demonstration event for the second and last time. A dual citizen of Australia and New Zealand, Gill started representing the Silver Fern in 1993 and until the end of her career. In 1998 Gill participated in her second Olympics at Nagano, Japan, this time under the New Zealand flag. Days before her appearance in the Moguls event she fractured her back in training. Not new at competing with injuries - she had once won an Aerial competition with broken ribs and a concussion! - Gill presented to the start wearing a back brace, plaster casts on her shins, knee braces and shoulder taping. Her injury was so severe, however, that she had to retire from skiing at age 24. Gill moved into sports management and administration, working with the Organising Committee for the 2000 Sydney Olympics. She later founded a consultancy business to assist retiring elite athletes to transition to a new career. She still enjoys skiing with her husband and kids, despite claiming that competition in her family is no less fierce than it was on the World Cup tour. |
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