Kelsey Serwa


Kelsey Serwa is a retired Canadian 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.

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.

World Cup results

All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation.

Season standings

Race Podiums

SeasonDateLocationDisciplinePlace
2008–095 January 2009 St. Johann in Tirol/Oberndorf, AustriaSki Cross3rd
2008–0920 March 2009 La Plagne, FranceSki Cross2nd
2009–1013 January 2010 Alpe d'Huez, FranceSki Cross1st
2009–1024 January 2010 Lake Placid, USASki Cross1st
2009–1012 March 2010 Grindelwald, SwitzerlandSki Cross1st
2010–1118 December 2010 Innichen, ItalySki Cross2nd
2010–1112 January 2011 Alpe d'Huez, FranceSki Cross1st
2010–1116 January 2011 Les Contamines, FranceSki Cross2nd
2010–1113 March 2011 Branas, SwedenSki Cross2nd
2010–1119 March 2011 Myrkdalen-Voss, NorwaySki Cross2nd
2011–1217 December 2011 Innichen, ItalySki Cross1st
2011–1218 December 2011 Innichen, ItalySki Cross1st
2012–1323 December 2012 Innichen, ItalySki Cross1st
2012–1315 January 2013 Megève, FranceSki Cross2nd
2012–1319 February 2013 Sochi, RussiaSki Cross1st
2013–1421 December 2013 Innichen, ItalySki Cross2nd
2015–1620 December 2015 Innichen, ItalySki Cross2nd
2015–1628 February 2016 Bogwang, South KoreaSki Cross2nd
2017–187 December 2017 Val Thorens, FranceSki Cross3rd
2017–18----

Olympic results

Year Age Ski Cross
2010 Vancouver205
2014 Sochi242
2018 Pyeongchang281

World Championships results

Year Age Ski Cross
2009 Inawashiro195
2011 Deer Valley211
2013 Voss23 FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships 2013 – Women's ski cross|
2015 Kreischberg25did not
compete
2017 Sierra Nevada27did not
compete
2019 Solitude Mountain2910

a. Kelsey Serwa suffered a knee injury in the training and was unable to compete in the race.