| 
  • If you are citizen of an European Union member nation, you may not use this service unless you are at least 16 years old.

  • You already know Dokkio is an AI-powered assistant to organize & manage your digital files & messages. Very soon, Dokkio will support Outlook as well as One Drive. Check it out today!

View
 

Michelle Kelly: 2010 Olympic Athlete

Page history last edited by TS30 13 years, 11 months ago

 

Michelle Kelly: Two Skeletons. One in Body, One in Olympic Heart 

 

Shooting down an ice hill on a small sled, and hearing the cheers of the crowd brings up Michelle Kelly's spirit as she races for Olympic gold. Michelle Kelly was born November seventh 1974. Her home town is Fort St. John, British Columbia, but she now lives in Calgary Alberta. Michelle started Skeleton after a group of Swiss athletes told her that she could never do the sport. Immediately afterward, She applied to go to a Skeleton class in Calgary, Alberta, but sadly missed the deadline and had to wait all through the summer to re-apply. The sport skeleton is where an individual person lays on their stomach on a small flat sled and slides down an ice track without a brake or steering mechanism.

    Coming from a family of four girls, Michelle Kelly was the second youngest. While growing up, Michelle would tell her friends and family her personal motto, "There are many things in life that will catch your eye...but only a few will catch your heart. Pursue those." She loves to do more sports than just Skeleton such as: gymnastics, diving, acro-tumbling, track and field, soccer, and bowling. Michelle attended Grand Prairie College for two years, and the University of Calgary in Alberta for broadcasting. If not an Olympic athlete, maybe a broadcaster for the Olympics. Michelle is a determined person because she waited through the whole summer to apply for the skeleton class again; she was determined to be a skeleton athlete. Her role model is Mark Messier (retired Edmonton Oilers hockey player). She liked how he persevered and wanted to be just like him. 

 

    Being an Olympic Skeleton athlete isn't the only thing on Michelle's mind. Her goal is to succeed as a broadcaster. She believes that being and Olympic athlete is an honor, but it won't last forever. In 2009 Michelle was disqualified from the Olympic qualifiers after a post race testing. The runners in her sled were said to be in violation of  the official skeleton rules, and improving her run time. However, after Michelle's coach, Willi Schneider, filed and appeal saying that there was nothing tampered with, Michelle was allowed her place back in the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

    She has competed in the World Championships and the World Cup since 1996. In 2003 she won gold in the skeleton individual at the World Championships in Nagano, Japan with a result of 2:50.63. In 2007 to 2009 she won three gold medals in Winterberg, Germany; Park City, USA; and Calgary, Alberta. But Michelle didn't just compete in the World Championships and World Cup as she was also in the 2002 Olympic Winter Games and placed tenth in Skeleton. Michelle has received every kind of  medal. She got a gold in 2003 for Women's skeleton, a silver in 2008 for mixed Skeleton team, and bronze in 2005 for Women's Skeleton.

    Michelle Kelly teaches us two important things about life. One, that you shouldn't give up, and if you don't make it the first time, you  should try again until you succeed. Second, that once you make it where you want to go, you shouldn't stop believing in yourself. Michelle never stopped believing in herself that she could win a medal in the World Cup, and she succeeded. Michelle's accomplishments help others succeed because she believed that she could do the sport Skeleton even if others thought she couldn't. This teaches others to believe in themselves and not listen to what others say, unless it has to do with your parents and chores.

 

 

Comments (0)

You don't have permission to comment on this page.