Megan FARRELL

OLYMPIC EXPERIENCE
Selected as a forerunner for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Missed Sochi 2014 due to studying at university and missed selection for PyeongChang 2018 after Canada declined the parallel giant slalom quota place.

2020/21 ACHIEVEMENTS
"Six months of incredible life experience, some good, some bad, and some where I questioned if I wanted to continue in sport. This season, I had huge milestones as an athlete. First Europa Cup podium, first World Cup finals, first top-eight and first top-four at World Championships." (Instagram, Mar 2021)

PANDEMIC STRESS
"Living away from family in a high-stress environment for six months during a pandemic was overwhelming. There are no breaks living on the road. I faced huge personal challenges, some of which I did not know if I would be able to overcome. Although it felt almost unmanageable at times, I am grateful for every moment. Growth doesn’t happen when you’re comfortable." (Instagram, Mar 2021)

ITALIAN HOME BASE
"Hannes Mutschlechner has been our coach for the last two season which has been awesome because now our home base is in San Vigilio, Italy. That’s been a huge game-changer for us because we often feel homesick in Europe almost every race in the season, so having Hannes in the team and having a home base in Italy kind of feels a little bit home." (Snowbeat TV magazine, Feb 2021)

ECONOMIC STRUGGLES
"In Canada, it’s pretty difficult to be snowboarding, we don’t get a lot of funding from the government and if we do qualify for funds there is no always enough funding to supply you, even if you meet the requirements. So we really do it for the passion, we don’t get money. We pay for everything, we pay for flights, we pay for accommodation, we pay for our lift tickets, we pay for World Cup entry fees. Everything is on us so we really have to decide if it is really worth it. So, I think this has actually helped me moving forward in snowboarding because I am doing this for me and it is hard work and it requires a lot, so that’s helped me succeed." (Snowbeat TV magazine, Feb 2021)

BREAK
After graduating high school and joining the national team to train full-time in Alberta, she decided to do things "differently" and begin studying at Queen’s University in 2011. Forced to give up her development team position, she balanced study and training for four years (2011-2015). With limited on-snow training and unavailability for competition, she managed 16 Nor-Am Cup podium finishes (eight wins), and finished the 2014/15 season first overall, with five victories (only missed the podium once). Returned to the national team upon graduation. (muskokaregion.com, 12 Mar 2021; YouTube, 1 Dec 2015)

FAVOURITE SPOT
"The Italian Dolomites have the best snow, the best views, and the best food." (canadasnowboard.ca, Apr 2021)

© Data by Sports Data Warehouse

Competed at the past three World Championships. Failed to reach the finals until 2021 (Rogla), where reached the quarterfinals in the parallel giant slalom, and lost the parallel slalom Small Final to Selina Joerg (GER) by 0.08 seconds.

Reached her first World Cup final in 2021 (Moscow), achieving the feat a week later in Bannoye and the following month in Rogla.

Finished the 2020/21 Europa Cup season third overall. Recorded her only podium finishes, second place in Simonhoehe and Funes/Villnoesses (both parallel giant slalom).

Three-time Nor-Am Cup parallel champion (2015, 2016, 2018), and finished second twice (2017, 2019). With 31 wins and 48 podiums, she finished on the podium in every race from April 2016 to March 2019, including a six-race winning streak in 2018. Had a career-high eight victories in 2016.

Competed at two Winter Universiade (2013, 2015), reaching the parallel giant slalom finals in 2013 (14th).

Competed at four successive Junior World Championships (2009-2012).

Austrian national champion (parallel slalom) and runner-up (parallel giant slalom) in 2021. Twice Canadian national runner-up in parallel giant slalom (2010, 2017).