Name: Heidi Widmer

Birth date: February 28, 1991

Category: U23/Open Woman

Team: Alberta World Cup Academy
Club: Foothills Nordic Ski Club

2010-11 Season Goal: Top 12 finish at U23 World Championships in Erzurm, Turkey

Banff, Alberta is where I was born and raised as the youngest of four children. My dad is originally from Switzerland and met my mom, originally from Ontario, in the Rocky Mountains. In fact, in the same restaurant my family owns today, Ticino Swiss-Italian restaurant (I hear it’s pretty good). Growing up in a postcard setting meant that there were always adventures to be had in the outdoors. I started cross-country ski racing at 9 years old, choosing it over Alpine because I was never in the mood for lineups or chairlifts.

Credit: Dan Roycroft

Since graduating honors from Banff Community High School in 2008, I have been training full-time with the Alberta World Cup Academy. The Academy was started in 2008 as part of the Alberta World Cup legacy, to provide a focused environment for elite athletes to train and compete.

Committing to pursue skiing as my full-time job was set in my mind well before I graduated, and I’m grateful that I have had the opportunities and support to pursue it. I have represented Canada at the past four World Junior Championships (2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011) as well as in four World Cup events in Canmore, Whistler and Otepaa, Estonia. I have 17 National Championship medals to my name and the Olympics in my sights. My favored event is sprinting but I am working at improving my distance results as well.

Courtesy of Cueto Photo

My training season lasts from May until October at which point we put on a race bib and start the racing season; which lasts from late November to late March. That leaves April, the month to cram everything else I could be doing into one month. The usual vocabulary of race, train, travel, pack, sleep, eat, recover are switched with the April vocabulary of beach, powder, party and chill. With over 500 hours in my usual training plan over the 11-month cycle, it’s a good thing I love what I do. I hope this gives you a general idea of what my life consists of!

Siblings!


Parents!

Kiska!