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5 things you didn't know about Olympic skeleton racer Jon Montgomery

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Culture & Entertainment

5 things you didn't know about Olympic skeleton racer Jon Montgomery

Jon Montgomery   The skeleton racer originally from Russell, Manitoba might seem like a bit of a party animal (have you seen the video of him downing a pitcher of beer post-Olympic win?) but he's also a serious athlete.  Jon Montgomery has won eight World Cups and five Canadian National titles in addition to his Vancouver medal. You may have also seen him as the host of The Amazing Race Canada. Update on Jon's Olympic dream:  The news broke this week about Jon falling short of making the Canadian Olympic team. We still believe in you Jon! And have no doubt he'll get up to something fantastic. The words he told us during his interview about the Olympics ring true: "By challenging myself I found skeleton racing. I was in a position to live outside of my comfort zone and take a risk knowing this might never pay off but I’ll never know unless I try. I knew I could do this because I had a support network. I knew that if I failed there would always be someone to help me out when I failed. Just knowing that helped me to do a lot of things in my life." — Jon Montgomery 1. He's building his own sled. Montgomery has spent the past few years prepping for the Olympics but in more ways than one. Currently, he's building his own skeleton racing sled for the Sochi games. 2. He's a professional auctioneer. Jon went to auction school before he became an Olympian. He worked as an auctioneer before finding skeleton and has since utilized his vocal skills hosting shows like The Amazing Race. 3. His favourite foods are not what you'd expect. Jon's top 5 foods include:
  • Steak
  • His mom's chicken dinner
  • His Grandma Carol’s crepes
  • Chips
  • Beer
4. His wife is also a skeleton racer. "Having a partner who is involved in what you do makes it that much easier," says Montgomery. Find out more about Darla Deschamp here. 5. He wants people to find their passion.  When I asked Jon about his tips for aspiring athletes, he said: "It will start with finding something you can be passionate about. Whatever it is you do in life. Your job doesn't have to be your passion, your job certainly doesn't have to inspire you but find something you can do after work that you can call your own. You've got to really find something for you. Otherwise, you float through life without finding you. And I think finding something you can be passionate about helps with that." Read more about Jon Montgomery here and check out our February issue for our full Olympic package. While he may be retiring from skeleton racing, we can't wait to see what he gets up to next. Photo courtesy of Proctor & Gamble

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5 things you didn't know about Olympic skeleton racer Jon Montgomery

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