Olympic athlete and Georgian graduate Jon Montgomery is golden! He has won the gold medal in the men’s skeleton competition at the 2010 Winter Olympics.
A native of Manitoba, Jon graduated from Business Administration – Automotive Marketing at the Barrie Campus in 2000. He has been a skeleton competitor since 2003.
READ MORE ABOUT JON’S OLYMPIC JOURNEY
Jon Montgomery remembers July 3, 2003, like it was yesterday.
“That’s the day they announced the 2010 Winter Olympics would be in Vancouver,” said Montgomery, a graduate of Georgian’s Canadian Automotive Institute. “That was the day I decided I would do everything in my power to make the Canadian Olympic team.”
The only problem?
Montgomery didn’t know what winter sport he wanted to master. The one-time hockey player gave speedskating a try but it wasn’t his thing. He took a stab at bobsledding before finally trying skeleton racing. He quickly decided that hurtling down an icy mountain at high speeds could be his ticket to the podium.
“You just can’t sit around and wait for opportunity to knock,” said Montgomery, who was fortunate to live in Calgary, home to world-class winter sports facilities. “I actively looked and pursued a sport until I found the right one.”
Skeleton racers use a unique, lightweight sled – with no brakes and no steering mechanism – and hurl themselves down the same tracks used by bobsledders and lugers, racing down the mountain at speeds of up to 140 kilometres an hour, steering by slightly shifting their weight while facing up to 5Gs of gravitational force.
“It is an incredible feeling and the adrenaline rush is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced,” said Montgomery.
The affable five-foot-nine, 30-year-old athlete from Russell, Manitoba, has always liked to test the limits.
When he was a student at Georgian, he heard stories about people jumping off a bridge north of town. So, with some friends, he decided to check out the well-known Green River bridge in Washago.
“I remember I was up on the train tracks, standing at the very top and this boat went by underneath and the guy in the boat yells up, encouraging me to jump,” recalls Montgomery. “So I jumped. I love stuff like that,” he said, recalling similar experiences skydiving at Base Borden – fond memories from a time in his life that he loved.
“I loved my time at Georgian,” said Montgomery. “I really enjoyed the school and exploring places like Wasaga Beach. It was one of the best experiences I’ve had.”
And now, he’s chasing his dream and while the sport may seem dangerous, he says it’s worth the risk.
“I like to scare myself and challenge my fears and get myself out of my comfort zone,” concedes Montgomery. “Skeleton is a perceived risk. Yes, you speed down the hill at up to 140 kilometres an hour and you’re pulling 5Gs, but it’s a controlled atmosphere and it’s designed to keep you on track. I’ve got beaten up and banged around but I can tell you that I’ve got hurt a lot worse playing hockey.”
Although he’s a newcomer to the sport, he has been incredibly successful.
He earned four straight second-place finishes on the America’s Cup tour a few years ago but just missed making the 2006 Olympic team. However, in 2007, he won a World Cup gold medal – one of four World Cup medals he won that season, in addition to a silver medal at the world championships. It was good enough to be ranked second in the world by the sport’s governing body.
Last year he won two gold medals, one at the Whistler Sliding Centre, which will be home to the Olympic races this winter. He earned a spot on the Olympic team during a recent selection race.
“I have the utmost confidence, but I’m not over-confident,” said Montgomery, who is taking a break from his automobile auctioneering career to focus on training.
Making the team was the first part of his goal but, ultimately, he hopes to win an Olympic medal.
“I think the ultimate goal is to win a gold medal,” said Montgomery. “That’s what I’m working for. I’m excited. I want to be the best in the world. That’s what I’ve been working toward the last six years.”
For further details on the skeleton event, visit www.vancouver2010.com/olympic-skeleton/.