Chandra Crawford

Olympic gold medallist Chandra Crawford was born and raised in Canmore, Alberta, providing endless opportunities to hike, bike, run, kayak, climb, camp and ski in the Rocky Mountains. 

Chandra’s well-rounded upbringing also included piano, choir, French immersion, drama classes and playing saxophone in the concert and jazz bands.

In 2006 at the age of 22, Chandra won the Olympic gold medal in cross-country skiing and captured many hearts when she belted out the national anthem from the top step of the podium. On the start line of the 1.1 km sprint race final, the announcer on CBC pointed out her big smile, saying “this young lady is having a blast and showing it.” In her career, she made seven trips to the World Cup podium, with two victories in 2008.

Chandra missed most of the 2008-09 season – including all the World Cups – when she required surgery for compartment syndrome in her shins, but was a member of Team Canada at Vancouver 2010 where she competed in the classic sprint and relay. After competing at the Sochi 2014 test event, Crawford chose to bring an early end to her 2012-13 season, which included skipping the World Championships, to give herself a chance to physically and mentally recover in advance of the Olympic season. 

In 2005, before even qualifying for her first Olympics, she founded “Fast and Female,” an organization dedicated to empowering girls in sports that reached over 20,000 participants between age 8 to 18 all over North America with the help of hundreds of athlete ambassadors. Fast and Female is a registered Canadian charity on a mission to keep girls healthy and active in sports.

In March 2014 she retired from ski racing after three Olympics and 13 years of international ski racing with the Canadian cross country national team. In 2016, she graduated from the University of Calgary executive MBA program.

Chandra’s main interests consist of a variety of activities with friends and family: yoga, camping, dancing, reading, languages, eating seafood, concerts and any kind of adventure in the mountains with her husband Jared and children Kyla, Bruce and Margot, along with their dog, Stella. In August 2021 the family welcomed their fourth baby. 

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

• Three-time Olympian ( 2006, 2010 and 2014).
• gold medalist at the 2006 Olympics. Two-time World Cup champion.
• Founder of “Fast and Female”, which aims to increase the participation of young women in sports.
• Inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame (2018).

Note: The information gathered in this biography was compiled from a number of sources; it may not be inclusive of all accomplishments. Copyright © Canadian Ski Hall of Fame & Museum. For personal and/or educational use only. All rights reserved.