Whistler Athletes Heading to the Youth Olympic Games

Five Whistler athletes are headed to the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) being held in Gangwon, Republic of Korea, from January 19 to February 1, 2024.

The YOG is the world’s largest multi-sport event for high-performance young athletes aged 15 to 18. This year marks the fourth edition of the Winter YOG and the first in Asia, with 1,900 athletes competing in seven sports across 15 disciplines, for a total of 81 thrilling events.

Whistler has a bobsleigh athlete, a ski cross athlete and three snowboarders heading to the Republic of Korea this year. At the end of December, the Canadian Olympic Committee selected Whistlerites, Talia Melun (Monobob), Anne-Marie Joncas (Ski Cross), Amalia ‘Billy’ Pelchat (Slopestyle / Big Air), and Anthony Shelly and Hannah Turkington (Snowboard Cross). Whistler will certainly be cheering on their local athletes, as well as the rest of Team Canada and all the incredible youths taking part.

Team Canada’s Bobsleigh Team

Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton and the Canadian Olympic Committee announced that the two athletes will represent Canada at Gangwon 2024; Talia Melun (Whistler, B.C.) and Isaak Ulmer (Calgary, Alta.) The athletes were selected based on being the highest-ranked eligible Canadian athletes from the 2023-25 International Bobsleigh Skeleton Federation (IBSF) Youth Olympics Ranking List.

Named after the Greek word ‘mónos’ (single), the monobob is an individual event and the only bobsleigh event that will be contested at Gangwon 2024. The women’s monobob event made its Olympic debut at Beijing 2022, after having been on the Lillehammer 2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games sports program.

Fifteen-year-old Talia Melun recently earned a fourth-place finish at an OMEGA Youth Series event which was held in PyeongChang, South Korea in November – her final event of the eight OMEGA Youth Series events that she competed at throughout 2023 to qualify for Gangwon 2024.

“I have been working towards this goal since I first started, pretty much … but I never thought I’d actually reach it,” Melun told PiqueMagazine in a recent interview. “It took a lot of training, a lot of money and a lot of time, and I didn’t really think that I would be able to qualify, so it’s really, really amazing that I got to.”

Melun has lived her whole life in Whistler with the Whistler Sliding Centre (WSC) right in her backyard. Her father, Phillipe works there and encouraged Talia, and her older brother Noah, to try sliding sports. Sibling rivalry pushed them both to compete at their best, but it’s the tight-knit nature of the team at WSC that she attributes her success to. Melun is currently fundraising for her Olympic trip to Korea, so if you’re passionate about youth sports take a look at her page and consider donating.

Bobsleigh will take place January 22 and 23 (days 3 and 4 of the YOG) at the Alpensia Sliding Centre, the same sliding venue that was used at the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games.

Team Canada’s Snowboard Team

Amalia “Billy” Pelchat (Slopestyle / Big Air), Anthony Shelly and Hannah Turkington (Snowboard Cross) are the three Whistler-based snowboarders on the ten-strong team heading to Gangwon this January. The athletes were selected based on their results from eligible FIS competitions and standing on the World Snowboard Points List during the qualification period.

Hannah Turkington, won gold in snowboard cross at the 2023 Canada Games in PEI and earned a top-10 result at her first FIS Junior World Championship just three weeks later. When Hannah was three, she saw Whistlerite Maelle Ricker win gold at the 2010 Winter Olympics and knew that’s what she wanted to do. Support Hannah on her GoFundMe page.

“Having the opportunity to represent Canada at the Youth Olympics has been a goal of mine for four years. This is the accumulation of a huge amount of hard work and training,” said Turkington in a Team Canada press release. “I am incredibly appreciative of all those who supported me to reach this goal, including my family, coaches, trainers and physio. I’m also grateful for the outstanding Canadian athletes who are great role models for me, especially Meryeta O’Dine.”

Sixteen-year-old Anthony Shelly, who won a silver medal at the 2023 Canada Winter Games, has been an avid competitive snowboarder for 10 years and is excited to perform on the Youth Olympic Games stage.

“I have been doing snowboard competitions since I was six, and I feel like each event I’ve done has led to stronger and better performances at the next event,” said Shelly in a Team Canada press release. “Last season I was able to compete at the Junior World Championships, and while my result was not what I wanted, I really value the chance to see the next level and test myself there. I continue to attend events across the spectrum of snowboarding competitions, from grassroots to FIS, in banked slalom, snowboard cross and freestyle disciplines. All of these experiences since I was six have really brought me to this place of being part of Team Canada for the 2024 Youth Olympics.”

Amalia ‘Billy’ Pelchat came away with three bronze medals when she competed in her international debut for Canada in New Zealand at the 2023 FIS Junior World Championships. She added those to two golds at the 2023 Canada Winter Games in slopestyle and big air. Daughter of former professional snowboarder, Jean-Francois Pelchat, Billy grew up in a snowboarding family and hit the slopes at age three.

 

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Team Canada has won five Youth Olympic Games medals in snowboarding, including a silver in slopestyle and bronze in both half pipe and big air from Liam Brearly at Lausanne 2020 and two gold medals in slopestyle from Audrey McManiman and Michael Ciccarelli, both at Innsbruck 2012. To date, Team Canada has converted three Youth Olympic snowboarders into Olympians – Audrey McManiman, Tyler Nicholson and Liam Gill.

Snowboarding events will take place at Welli Hilli Park Resort. Snowboard Cross will be contested on January 20 and 21 (days 1 and 2 of the YOG), while Slopestyle / Big Air will take place from January 24 to 28 (days 5 to 9). The halfpipe event will be the final snowboard event of the YOG and will take place on February 1 (day 13).

Team Canada’s Ski Cross Team

The ski cross athletes were selected based on their performances and ranking during a selection camp and competition in Nakiska, Alberta in December last year. This is where Whistler’s Anne-Marie Joncas snagged the silver and bronze securing her spot on Team Canada for the YOG.

“I’m so proud to have been chosen to represent Canada at the Youth Olympics Games and strive to represent Canada in the best ways I can. I am so excited to experience the sport I love in Korea and to have the opportunity to have new experiences and meet new people from all over the world.”

Joncas’ parents taught skiing and had her on the slopes from when she was two years old, and competing when she was 10. She loves the atmosphere of ski cross, leaning into the discipline’s technicality to get ahead.

To date, two Canadian Youth Olympic Ski Cross athletes have been converted into Olympians – India Sherret who competed at Innsbruck 2012 and became an Olympian at PyeongChang 2018, as well as Howden, who became an Olympian at Beijing 2022.

Alpine Skiing will take place January 21 to 26 (days 2 to 7) at the Jeongseon High 1 Ski Resort. Ski Cross will take place on January 23 and 24 (days 4 and 5) at the Welli Hilli Park Ski Resort.

How Can You Watch the Youth Olympic Games?

CBC Sports and CBC Gem will be live-streaming all the events, and the Olympic Channel will also be streaming the events as well.