Sara Renner
Encyclopedia
Sara Renner is a Canadian
cross-country skier
who competed from 1994 to 2010. With Beckie Scott
, she won the silver medal in the team sprint event at the 2006 Winter Olympics
in Turin
and earned her best individual finish of 8th in the 10 km classical event in those same games. She was born in Golden, British Columbia
.
coach Bjørnar Håkensmoen
gave Sara Renner a ski pole
after hers was broken when a competitor stepped on it during the cross-country team sprint at the 2006 Winter Olympics. Norway's athlete ended up fourth, implying that this selfless act of sportsmanship
may well have cost the Norwegian team a medal. Renner gave Håkensmoen a bottle of wine as a thank you, while other Canadians responded with phone calls and letters to the Norwegian Embassy. Canadian businessman Michael Page donated 8,000 cans of Maple Syrup
to the Norwegian Olympic Committee to show his gratitude. The incident was immortalized in a 2010 Winter Olympics
television commercial.
Ladies' Team Sprint Free, placing 7th out of 10 teams, with 18:51.8
Ladies' Individual Sprint Classic, placed 34th of 54 in the qualification (Not Qualified, 30 best results advancing)
Ladies' 15 km Pursuit (7.5Classic+7.5Free), placing 10th of 62 finishers, with 41:37.9, her best result.
Ladies' 30 km, Mass Start, Classic placing 16th of 50 starters, with 1:34:04.2
, Milaine Thériault
, Jaime Fortier and sister Amanda Fortier also posed nude for the calendar.
Renner is married to retired Italian-Canadian alpine skier Thomas Grandi
. Grandi had family support out for himself and his wife during the Turin Olympics.
On September 18, 2006, Renner announced that she was taking the year off to have a baby with husband Thomas Grandi. Renner came back after her baby was born, and lead the women's team to Vancouver 2010.
On February 2, 2007, Renner gave birth to a girl named Aria at a hospital in Banff, Alberta
. She and Grandi live in Canmore, Alberta
.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
cross-country skier
Cross-country skiing
Cross-country skiing is a winter sport in which participants propel themselves across snow-covered terrain using skis and poles...
who competed from 1994 to 2010. With Beckie Scott
Beckie Scott
Rebecca "Beckie" Scott, MSM is a retired Canadian cross-country skiing athlete and as of February 23, 2006, an International Olympic Committee member by virtue of being elected to the IOC Athlete's Commission along with Saku Koivu....
, she won the silver medal in the team sprint event at the 2006 Winter Olympics
2006 Winter Olympics
The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Turin, Italy from February 10, 2006, through February 26, 2006. This marked the second time Italy hosted the Olympic Winter Games, the first being the VII Olympic Winter...
in Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
and earned her best individual finish of 8th in the 10 km classical event in those same games. She was born in Golden, British Columbia
Golden, British Columbia
Golden is a town in southeastern British Columbia, Canada, located west of Calgary, Alberta and east of Vancouver.-History:Much of the town's history is tied into the Canadian Pacific Railway and the logging industry...
.
Notable placings
- 2002 Olympic Winter Games (Salt Lake City)2002 Winter OlympicsThe 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event that was celebrated in February 2002 in and around Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Approximately 2,400 athletes from 77 nations participated in 78 events in fifteen disciplines, held throughout...
: 9th in the individual sprint - 2005 World Ski Championships (Oberstdorf, Germany)2005 FIS Nordic World Ski ChampionshipsThe FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2005 took place February 16-27, 2005 in Oberstdorf, Germany for the second time after hosting it previously in 1987. The ski jumping team normal hill returned after not being held in 2003...
: 3rd in the individual sprint (first WSC medal finish for a Canadian and for a female North American.) - 2005 World Cup (Vernon, BCVernon, British ColumbiaVernon is a city in the south-central region of British Columbia, Canada. Named after Forbes George Vernon, a former MLA of British Columbia who helped found the famed Coldstream Ranch, the City of Vernon was incorporated on December 30, 1892. The City of Vernon has a population of 35,944 , while...
, Canada): 3rd in the Sprints (first WC medal finish) - 2006 Winter Olympic Games (Turin, Italy)2006 Winter OlympicsThe 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Turin, Italy from February 10, 2006, through February 26, 2006. This marked the second time Italy hosted the Olympic Winter Games, the first being the VII Olympic Winter...
: 2nd in the team sprint with Beckie Scott, 8th in 10 km classical - 2010 World Cup (Canmore, AlbertaCanmore, AlbertaCanmore is a town in Alberta, Canada, located approximately west of the City of Calgary near the southeast boundary of Banff National Park. It is located in the Bow Valley within Alberta's Rockies. The town shares a border with Kananaskis Country to the west and south and the Municipal District of...
, Canada): Bronze Medal in the Ladies 1.4 km Classic Sprint
2006 Winter Olympics
NorwegianNorway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
coach Bjørnar Håkensmoen
Bjørnar Håkensmoen
Bjørnar Håkensmoen was the head coach of the Norwegian cross-country skiing team at the 2006 Winter Olympics...
gave Sara Renner a ski pole
Ski pole
Ski poles are used by skiers to improve balance and timing. Early ski poles were simply sticks, then bamboo , then steel . In 1958, Ed Scott invented the aluminium ski pole...
after hers was broken when a competitor stepped on it during the cross-country team sprint at the 2006 Winter Olympics. Norway's athlete ended up fourth, implying that this selfless act of sportsmanship
Sportsmanship
Sportsmanship is an aspiration or ethos that a sport or activity will be enjoyed for its own sake, with proper consideration for fairness, ethics, respect, and a sense of fellowship with one's competitors...
may well have cost the Norwegian team a medal. Renner gave Håkensmoen a bottle of wine as a thank you, while other Canadians responded with phone calls and letters to the Norwegian Embassy. Canadian businessman Michael Page donated 8,000 cans of Maple Syrup
Maple syrup
Maple syrup is a syrup usually made from the xylem sap of sugar maple, red maple, or black maple trees, although it can also be made from other maple species such as the bigleaf maple. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before the winter; the starch is then...
to the Norwegian Olympic Committee to show his gratitude. The incident was immortalized in a 2010 Winter Olympics
2010 Winter Olympics
The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, were a major international multi-sport event held from February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University...
television commercial.
2010 Winter Olympics
Sara took part in four events:Ladies' Team Sprint Free, placing 7th out of 10 teams, with 18:51.8
Ladies' Individual Sprint Classic, placed 34th of 54 in the qualification (Not Qualified, 30 best results advancing)
Ladies' 15 km Pursuit (7.5Classic+7.5Free), placing 10th of 62 finishers, with 41:37.9, her best result.
Ladies' 30 km, Mass Start, Classic placing 16th of 50 starters, with 1:34:04.2
Retirement
She announced her retirement in Vancouver following her finish in the Ladies' 30 km, Mass Start event. She said: "I just left everything out there today," Renner said after carrying her three-year-old daughter, Aria, in her arms through a series of TV interviews. "It was a beautiful race in the pouring rain — quite the way to go out. To hear everyone cheering for me, it was absolutely inspiring."Personal life
In 2001 Renner posed nude in a calendar called "Nordic Nudes" to help raise money for the Canadian women's Nordic ski team. Teammates Beckie ScottBeckie Scott
Rebecca "Beckie" Scott, MSM is a retired Canadian cross-country skiing athlete and as of February 23, 2006, an International Olympic Committee member by virtue of being elected to the IOC Athlete's Commission along with Saku Koivu....
, Milaine Thériault
Milaine Thériault
Milaine Thériault is a Canadian skier.In February, 2004 Thériault won her second consecutive women's five km free technique at the Haywood NorAm Canada Cup competition in Kelowna, British Columbia...
, Jaime Fortier and sister Amanda Fortier also posed nude for the calendar.
Renner is married to retired Italian-Canadian alpine skier Thomas Grandi
Thomas Grandi
Thomas Grandi is a retired Canadian alpine skier. He specialized in technical skiing giant slalom and slalom.-Skiing career:...
. Grandi had family support out for himself and his wife during the Turin Olympics.
On September 18, 2006, Renner announced that she was taking the year off to have a baby with husband Thomas Grandi. Renner came back after her baby was born, and lead the women's team to Vancouver 2010.
On February 2, 2007, Renner gave birth to a girl named Aria at a hospital in Banff, Alberta
Banff, Alberta
Banff is a town within Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. It is located in Alberta's Rockies along the Trans-Canada Highway, approximately west of Calgary and east of Lake Louise....
. She and Grandi live in Canmore, Alberta
Canmore, Alberta
Canmore is a town in Alberta, Canada, located approximately west of the City of Calgary near the southeast boundary of Banff National Park. It is located in the Bow Valley within Alberta's Rockies. The town shares a border with Kananaskis Country to the west and south and the Municipal District of...
.