Justin Wadsworth

Justin Wadsworth
Personal information
Born (1968-08-14) August 14, 1968 (age 56)
La Jolla, San Diego, United States
Sport
SportCross-country skiing

Justin Wadsworth (born August 14, 1968) is an American former cross-country skier and coach.[1] He competed at the 1994 Winter Olympics, the 1998 Winter Olympics and the 2002 Winter Olympics.[2] He is also known for an act of sportsmanship at the 2018 Winter Olympics, when as head coach of the Canadian ski team, he rushed to hand one of his charges' spare ski to Russian Anton Gafarov after he had fallen and broken one of his skis at the Sochi Olympic Games in 2014.[3]

Biography

Wadsworth was born in La Jolla, San Diego in 1968.[1] He competed in nine events at three Winter Olympics in cross-country skiing.[1] While at a skiing competition, he met his future wife Beckie Scott.[1] Wadsworth later became a coach, and moved to Canmore, Alberta with his wife.[1] In 2010 in Canada, he became the head coach of the Canadian cross-country ski team.[1]

At the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Wadsworth was the head coach of the Canadian cross-country skiing team.[1] During the men's sprint event, Russian skier Anton Gafarov broke a ski as he was approaching the finish line.[1] Wadsworth witnessed the incident and gave Gafarov a spare ski from Canada's stock.[1][4] Wadsworth later said that he could not do nothing in the situation and that he "wanted him to have dignity as he crossed the finish line".[5]

After becoming the head coach of the Canadian cross-country ski team in 2010, Wadsworth left the role in 2016,[6] to focus his time on his young family.[7] In late 2019, Wadsworth was named as the head coach of Biathlon Canada ahead of the 2019/2020 season.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Justin Wadsworth". Olympedia. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  2. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Justin Wadsworth Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
  3. ^ "Canadian ski coach plays Good Samaritan to fallen Russian". The Globe and Mail. February 11, 2014. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  4. ^ "Canadian Coach Helps Russian Skier Finish Heat by Giving Him Ski". Bleacher Report. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  5. ^ "Justin Wadsworth, Canadian Olympic ski coach and prime example of Sportsmanship". Sport Values. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  6. ^ "Justin Wadsworth steps down as Canada's cross-country ski team coach". CBC. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  7. ^ "Accomplished Ski Coach Justin Wadsworth Presses Pause on Coaching Career to Put Focus on Young Family". Sport Information Resource Centre. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  8. ^ "Biathlon Canada Names Head Coach for Season: Justin Wadsworth". Faster Skier. Retrieved February 6, 2022.