Jane Channell

Biography

Jane Channell was instantly addicted to skeleton the first time she took a run down an ice track, loving the adrenaline that came with riding the fine line between being in control and out of control. That need for speed was something she had always felt as a varsity sprinter for Simon Fraser University, feeling most free when she was running as fast as possible. It was a feeling she had relied on to get through one of the most difficult periods of her life after her boyfriend passed away suddenly in November 2009. It was also in 2009 that Channell attended two national bobsleigh camps but found herself more enthralled with skeleton. 

After graduation in 2011, she moved to Whistler to fully immerse herself in the sport, working and training full time for two winters. She made the national development team in her second year, prompting a move to Calgary. In her first international competition season, she won the overall North American Cup title in 2012-13 thanks to a gold medal at the last race in Lake Placid. She advanced to the Intercontinental Cup circuit in 2013-14 and got into her first World Cup race in Kõnigssee. She started the 2014-15 season on the Intercontinental Cup but after a silver medal in Winterberg, she joined the World Cup for the second half of the season. 

Channell had her breakout moment at the 2015 World Championships where she finished fourth, missing the podium by 0.06 seconds in her debut at the event. She built on that success in 2015-16, standing on her first World Cup podium in December 2015 with a third-place finish in Winterberg. She added a second-place finish in January 2016 in Park City. Both results helped her to rank third in the overall World Cup standings, despite having come into the season with a lingering hamstring problem stemming from a tear that had occurred late in the summer. 

Channell competed at the 2016 and 2017 World Championships before making her Olympic debut at PyeongChang 2018 where she finished 10th. She won her first world championship medal in 2020 when she and Dave Greszczyszyn took the silver in the non-Olympic mixed team skeleton event. 

Channell competed in just one World Cup in the pandemic-impacted 2020-21 season, but made it count, winning a bronze medal in Kõnigssee. At the 2021 World Championships, she finished eighth for the second straight year. She made her second Olympic appearance at Beijing 2022 where she placed 17th. 

A Little More About Jane

Getting into the Sport: While watching the skeleton competition from Salt Lake City 2002 on TV with her grandfather, he turned to her and said “They’re crazy”; she immediately knew it was something she needed to try… Was further inspired by Jon Montgomery winning gold at Vancouver 2010… Outside Interests: Graduated from Simon Fraser University with a Bachelor of Science in Physical Geography in 2011… Works in health and safety at an environmental consulting firm… Would like to pursue a career as a TV meteorologist… Volunteer coach for Special Olympics Calgary softball program… Athlete ambassador for Fast and Female; classroom mentor for Classroom Champions… Enjoys reading, watching movies, doing puzzles… Odds and Ends: Favourite motto: “Stop. Breathe. Take it all in. Appreciate the moment. Live in the moment. Leave nothing undone. Have no regrets. Live out loud”… Always puts her left sock, shoe and glove on first; if the right one goes on first she will take it off…