Sharon Firth

Sharon Firth
Full name	Sharon Anne Firth
nation	Canada
birthday	December 31, 1953
place of birth	Aklavik, Canada
size	164 cm
Weight	52 kg
Career
society	Inuvik Ski Club
National squad	since 1967
status	resigned
End of career	1985
last change: January 31, 2011

Sharon Anne Firth , CM (born December 31, 1953 in Aklavik , Northwest Territories ) is a former Canadian cross-country skier .

Firth belongs to the Gwich'in Indian tribe , which belongs to the First Nations . Together with her twin sister Shirley Firth , she was one of the first natives to represent Canada at the Olympic Games .

Career

When Firth was five years old, the family from Aklavik moved to Inuvik , where they were accepted into a training program to learn how to ski. At the age of 13, she took part in her first competition in Anchorage and finished in third place. In the course of her career, she took part in four consecutive Winter Olympic Games and three Nordic World Ski Championships . In total, she was able to win 37 medals at Canadian, university and Nordic championships - 19 gold, 14 silver and 4 bronze.

Awards

In 1972 Firth received the John Semmelink Memorial Award from the Canadian Ski Association. Nine years later, the Government of the Northwest Territories presented her with the Commissioner's Award . In 1987 she was awarded the Order of Canada and in 1990 she was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Canada Ski Museum . She has been the recipient of the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal since 2002 .

The Firth Award , named after Sharon and Shirley Firth, is given annually to women who have made an exceptional contribution to Canadian cross-country skiing.

Web links

• Sharon Firth in the database of the International Ski Federation (English)
• Sharon Firth in the database of Sports-Reference (English; archived from the original )
• Biography