This article first appeared in the December 2014 issue of Life in Québec Magazine.
Life in Quebec Magazine is a lifestyle publication covering the Quebec region and is currently published at least 3 times per year. Subscribers have their copies mailed directly to them.
Article aussi disponible en français
The Kim Lamarre Interview
By Kathleen Keller
Kim Lamarre is a Canadian freeskier from Lac-Beauport in Québec. This small town, 25 kilometers north from downtown Québec City, is also home to Le Relais ski centre where Lamarre, beginning at the age of two, spent much of her free time skiing.
According to her website, “Skiing brought a feeling of freedom to her life. Every day, out on snow, was a fun and unpredictable adventure.” Lamarre never joined an alpine or mogul ski club, enjoying the freedom of not being “restricted” on the mountain. When Lamarre was seven, she discovered snowboarding and continued to practice both snow sports.
In May 2013, Lamarre received a decisive phone call from her coach at Freestyle Canada. This call would drastically alter her plans for the upcoming year and threaten her hopes of becoming an Olympian. “You’re no longer on our list,” she was told.
It was that simple.
As a result of two back-to-back knee surgeries which had kept Lamarre off skis for almost two seasons, the coaches had no choice but to cut her from the team, and she was left with no funding for training expenses. “They were narrowing down the team to concentrate on Olympic hopefuls, and simply could not justify giving money to an athlete who had no results for that year,” she explained. “I was not only cut from the A Team; I was not on the B team either.”
Lamarre was on no team, and the Sochi 2014 Olympics were coming fast.
“I was sitting in the living room with some friends one night and they told me about crowdfunding.”
On February 11, 2014, Lamarre skied one of the best performances of her life. She took the world by surprise by scoring an 85 after her second run, and earned an Olympic bronze medal.
Read the original article here Crowdfunding your way to an Olympic medal
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