4-TIME OLYMPIAN GEORGIA SIMMERLING ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT

Ottawa, ON (September 14, 2021) – 4-time Olympian Georgia Simmerling has announced that she will be retiring from professional sport in order to focus on exciting new projects as she relocates to Europe with fiancé and PSG goalkeeper Stephanie Labbé. Simmerling made history in 2016 by becoming Canada’s first athlete to compete in three different sports at three different Olympic Games.

The BC native started her illustrious career by competing in alpine skiing at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics before switching over to ski cross in 2011. One year later, she earned her first of 13 World Cup podiums, only a few months after breaking three vertebrae in her neck and back. She competed at her first ski cross world championships in 2013, qualifying for the Sochi Games in 2014 where she made the 1/8 finals.

In 2015, after several years plagued with injuries, Simmerling decided to shift her focus to summer sports and to give track cycling a try. She quickly rose through the ranks and started competing internationally with the women’s Team Pursuit squad in 2016, winning silver at her first world championships. Later that year, she competed at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and clinched her first Olympic medal, claiming bronze in the Team Pursuit.

Immediately after Rio, she resumed her ski cross career and had her best season ever, collecting multiple world cups finishes and securing her place on the PyeongChang Olympic team. However, she crashed heavily a few weeks before the Games and was left with two broken legs and a long road to recovery. Never one to give up, she returned to her bicycle after announcing her retirement from ski cross in 2018 and won silver in the Team Pursuit at her first international competition since Rio. She went on to compete at Tokyo 2020, finishing fourth and breaking the Canadian record by several seconds.

“I am thrilled to end my career on such a strong note,” said Simmerling. “I personally left the Tokyo Games feeling very satisfied with how I rode and had absolutely no regrets. I felt ready to close this chapter of my life and move on to new adventures; I am thrilled to announce my retirement from sport and share what I have been working on. All I can say for now is it’s time to invest in women’s sports, and I’m looking forward to being part of the change.”