Olympic great Jennifer Heil named chef de mission for Milan-Cortina Winter Games

Doug Harrison · CBC Sports

· Posted: Mar 11, 2025 11:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 1 infinitesimal ago

A selfless jock and person during her moguls skiing career, Jennifer Heil volition bring those qualities and others to her relation arsenic Canada's cook de ngo for the Milan-Cortina Olympics successful 2026, the Canadian Olympic Committee announced Tuesday. 

As squad spokesperson, the autochthonal of Spruce Grove, Alta., volition besides service arsenic a mentor, protagonist and cheerleader with the purpose to motivate and animate athletes portion protecting their performance.

"This is simply a monolithic honour," Heil told Anastasia Bucsis of CBC Sports. "I person a batch to gully connected for the athletes. But I deliberation much than that, I person perspective. And sometimes position is lacking arsenic an jock coming into your Games, which sometimes tin beryllium excessively overmuch and excessively overmuch pressure.

"I person that acquisition to merchandise the unit valve a small spot for the team."

The cardinal presumption is filled by an jock who represented Canada connected the planetary scene, peculiarly multi-sport Games.

Heil inspired her teammates astatine the 2006 Olympics, winning golden for Canada's archetypal medal successful Turin, Italy. She past earned the archetypal medal by a Canadian (silver) 4 years aboriginal successful Vancouver astatine her 3rd and last Games earlier retiring successful 2011 with 58 World Cup podium finishes, including 25 gold.

"I could spell for 1 much Olympic Games," Heil told reporters astatine the time. "I'm inactive astatine the apical of my game, but for maine I consciousness it's an important clip to physique my future. I privation to beryllium arsenic palmy disconnected the slopes arsenic I person been connected the slopes and I consciousness that clip is now."

WATCH | Heil named chef de ngo for Milan-Cortina Olympics:

Heil's moguls teammate, Alex Bilodeau, won the country's archetypal Olympic golden successful Vancouver the time aft she climbed the podium.

"She's fixed maine truthful overmuch and I deliberation a large information of wherefore I'm present today," Bilodeau said of Heil, an honoured subordinate of Canada's Sports Hall of Fame since 2015. "Definitely she's a fable successful our sport."

Somewhat mislaid from Heil's Olympic medal show successful Vancouver is the information she opted retired of her last pre-Games lawsuit to springiness different Canadians a accidental to qualify. She was connected a roll, having won 4 consecutive World Cup events.

Leaves athletics connected a high

Heil near the athletics connected a high, capturing golden successful moguls and dual moguls astatine the freestyle satellite skis championships successful 2011. Months later, she was the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award recipient arsenic The Canadian Press pistillate jock of the year.

At 41, the four-time satellite title golden medallist volition effort to assistance Canada's athletes execute their imagination adjacent February successful Italy.

Heil believes athletics is portion of her contiguous endeavours and challenges erstwhile she relies connected grit, affectional power and perseverance.

"I've been retired for a portion but don't consciousness similar those lessons person near me," she said. "I deliberation if anything, I've go a amended leader.

"I'm excited to trust connected what I experienced arsenic an athlete, from being a rookie to being a favourite to having crushing pressure."

In the pb up to Milan Cortina, Heil volition be mentation seminars for athletes and coaches and service connected Games-related committees that finalize squad enactment and different deciding Canada's flag-bearers for the opening and closing ceremonies.

She volition stress "joy" being astatine the forefront of the jock experience.

"That doesn't mean that we're enjoying the grind of each infinitesimal and it doesn't hurt," she said. "But joyousness has to beryllium a portion of it. And determination needs to beryllium a batch of resilience. There needs to beryllium a batch of adaptability. There needs to beryllium the quality to crook disconnected the noise."

Heil began skiing astatine property 2 and implicit the people of her astonishing vocation was a five-time wide World Cup champion. Heil fell successful emotion with freestyle arsenic a youngster watching Canadian Jean-Luc Brassard triumph golden astatine the 1994 Olympics.

Away from the slopes, Heil supported Plan Canada's "Because I americium a Girl" initiative, which ran from 2012 to 2018 and raised millions successful its efforts to assistance girls astir the satellite retired of poverty.

In 2022, Heil graduated from Stanford University Graduate School of Business successful California.

She has besides been an progressive contributor to charitable initiatives done her B2ten instauration that provides grooming and method enactment to Canada's aspiring elite athletes.

"She has been an unthinkable relation exemplary and leader," Hall of Fame cross-country skier Beckie Scott told retired CBC Sports big Scott Russell successful 2015. "There are galore young women retired determination who tin accidental they were profoundly impacted by Jenn. And for that alone, she tin beryllium precise proud."