Where are they now? Alex Harvey
In this “Where are they now?” series, Olympic.ca gives you a glimpse at what’s new in the lives of some great Team Canada Olympians since they said goodbye to their careers as athletes.
The most successful cross-country skier in Canadian history, Alex Harvey got the chance to finish off his career in front of a home crowd in Quebec City in the winter of 2019. Since then, according to his own words, he has been busier than during his sporting career.
If there was one person who well prepared for retirement, it was Harvey. He didn’t stop competing as a cross-country skier because of injuries or because he was overtaken by successors – after all, he capped his career with two World Cup medals in one weekend. It was just time to live a more normal life, one that would allow him to spend more time with his family, with whom he had not celebrated Christmas in 10 years.
Read more about Alex Harvey’s accomplishments
Way before he retired from skiing, he began studying law at the Université de Laval back in 2008. In December 2019, he completed his bachelor’s degree, then started working at a Quebec law firm the following month.
“I’m in the office until 7pm. I like this. This is a new challenge. At the same time, I have less time to play sports,” the skier told French media outlet Le Soleil in early 2020. Don’t worry too much. If you take a look at his Instagram, you’ll quickly realize Harvey still loves cross-country skiing. He also enjoys mountain biking, and even wakeboarding and surfing!
In addition to his new career in law, Harvey still has his hand in the sporting world by giving lectures in many places. He is also a mentor to one of Canada’s top prospects in cross-country skiing, Antoine Cyr.
Harvey and his family helped create a podcast series on QUB Radio in which they discuss his road to glory. He is also an ambassador for Sépaq, the society that manages and protects Quebec’s national parks (hard to think of a better fit) and you may even run into him if you attend a cross-country skiing competition taking place in Quebec!
Harvey had the honour of being named Athlete of the Decade by readers of La Presse. The daily newspaper had a vote among 16 candidates and it was the cross-country skier from St-Ferréol-les-Neiges who walked away with the title.
Follow Alex’s journey:
Check out the first two stories from this series to see what Joannie Rochette and Mariane St Gelais are up to now.
