Sara Renner
Sara Renner (born April 10, 1976) 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 eight in the 10 km classical event in those same games. She was born in Golden, British Columbia.
| Sara Renner | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country | Canada | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 10 April 1976 Golden, British Columbia, Canada | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Ski club | Canmore Nordic Ski Club | ||||||||||||||||||||
| World Cup career | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Seasons | 13 – (1996–1998, 2000–2006, 2008–2010) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Individual wins | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Team wins | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Indiv. podiums | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Team podiums | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Indiv. starts | 141 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Team starts | 18 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Overall titles | 0 – (10th in 2006) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline titles | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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2006 Winter Olympics
Norwegian 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.[1][2] Renner gave Håkensmoen a bottle of wine as a thank you,[3] while other Canadians responded with phone calls and letters to the Norwegian Embassy and sent 7,400 cans of maple syrup to Håkensmoen.[4] The incident was immortalized in a 2010 Winter Olympics television commercial.[5]
Retirement
She announced her retirement in Vancouver following her finish in the Women's 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."[6]
Cross-country skiing results
All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).[7]
Olympic Games
- 1 medal – (1 silver)
| Year | Age | 5 km | 10 km | 15 km | Pursuit | 30 km | Sprint | 4 × 5 km relay | Team sprint |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 21 | 74 | — | — | 64 | 54 | — | 16 | — |
| 2002 | 25 | — | 13 | — | 17 | DNS | 9 | 8 | — |
| 2006 | 29 | — | 8 | — | 16 | — | 16 | 10 | Silver |
| 2010 | 33 | — | — | — | 10 | 15 | 34 | — | 7 |
World Championships
- 1 medal – (1 bronze)
| Year | Age | 5 km | 10 km | 15 km | Pursuit | 30 km | Sprint | 4 × 5 km relay | Team sprint |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 20 | 61 | — | 58 | 54 | DNF | — | 14 | — |
| 2001 | 24 | — | 37 | — | 37 | CNX[a] | 38 | 6 | — |
| 2003 | 26 | — | 16 | — | 17 | 12 | 7 | — | — |
| 2005 | 28 | — | — | — | 22 | — | Bronze | — | 10 |
| 2009 | 32 | — | 9 | — | 21 | DNS | — | — | 6 |
- a. 1 Cancelled due to extremely cold weather.
World Cup
Season standings
| Season | Age | Discipline standings | Ski Tour standings | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | Distance | Long Distance | Middle Distance | Sprint | Tour de Ski | World Cup Final | ||
| 1996 | 19 | NC | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1997 | 20 | NC | — | NC | — | — | — | — |
| 1998 | 21 | NC | — | NC | — | — | — | — |
| 2000 | 23 | NC | — | — | NC | — | — | — |
| 2001 | 24 | 63 | — | — | — | 54 | — | — |
| 2002 | 25 | 47 | — | — | — | 30 | — | — |
| 2003 | 26 | 35 | — | — | — | 21 | — | — |
| 2004 | 27 | 28 | 33 | — | — | 23 | — | — |
| 2005 | 28 | 26 | 35 | — | — | 14 | — | — |
| 2006 | 29 | 10 | 15 | — | — | 11 | — | — |
| 2008 | 31 | 46 | 36 | — | — | 43 | — | — |
| 2009 | 32 | 22 | 18 | — | — | 45 | 15 | 31 |
| 2010 | 33 | 39 | 40 | — | — | 41 | 16 | — |
Individual podiums
- 4 podiums – (4 WC)
| No. | Season | Date | Location | Race | Level | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2005–06 | 11 December 2005 | Vernon, Canada | 1.3 km Sprint F | World Cup | 3rd |
| 2 | 5 February 2006 | Davos, Switzerland | 10 km Individual C | World Cup | 2nd | |
| 3 | 7 March 2006 | Borlänge, Sweden | 0.75 km Sprint F | World Cup | 3rd | |
| 4 | 2009–10 | 6 February 2010 | Canmore, Canada | 1.45 km Sprint C | World Cup | 3rd |
Team podiums
- 2 podiums – (1 RL, 1 TS)
Personal life
Renner grew up at remote Mount Assiniboine Lodge, the oldest backcountry ski lodge in the Canadian Rockies, located southwest of Banff and Canmore, Alberta, just across the British Columbia provincial border. Her parents ran the high-altitude lodge for three decades, and she credits her youth there for her skiing success.[8]
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 Scott, Milaine Thériault, Jaime Fortier and sister Amanda Fortier also posed nude for the calendar.[6]
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.[9]
Notes
- ^ Håkensmoen assists Renner.
- ^ Jones, Terry (February 15, 2006). "Thank you, Norway!". Canoe.ca. Retrieved February 13, 2014.
- ^ Wise, Mike (February 26, 2006). "Honorable Move Made in a Snap". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 13, 2014.
- ^ "Norwegian coach honoured for sportsmanship". Cross Country Canada Ski. April 21, 2006. Retrieved February 13, 2014.
- ^ Sara Renner VISA Commercial on YouTube
- ^ a b "Emotional Renner caps career in final race". CBC.ca. February 27, 2010. Retrieved 6 March 2011.
- ^ "RENNER Sara". FIS-Ski. International Ski Federation. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
- ^ Brooks DeCillia (August 16, 2012). "Historic backcountry ski lodge gets facelift". CBC News. Retrieved August 17, 2012.
- ^ FIS Newsflash 143. September 5, 2007.
References
- Sara Renner at the International Ski and Snowboard Federation
- Cross Country Canada – Canada's Cross Country Ski Program
- CBC Athlete Bio