Anne Merklinger (born November 15, 1958) is CEO of

Own the Podium Own the Podium () is a Canadian not-for-profit organization. Originally created as Own the Podium - 2010 to prepare Canadian athletes to reach medal finishes at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, the program has since expanded to include a division f ...

. She is a retired

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

curler. She won the

Tournament of Hearts The Scotties Tournament of Hearts ('; commonly referred to as the Scotties) is the annual Canadian women's curling championship, sanctioned by Curling Canada, formerly called the Canadian Curling Association. The winner goes on to represent Can ...

, the Canadian women's championship, in 1990 and went on to win the bronze medal at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

. She curled out of the Rideau Curling Club. Before curling, Merklinger was a notable swimmer. In the late 1970s, she was a member of the Canadian national swimming team. Following her curling career, Merklinger served as director general of the

Canoe Kayak Canada Canoe Kayak Canada () is the governing body of competitive canoeing and kayaking disciplines in Canada. The three specific disciplines represented are flatwater, whitewater and marathon. Canoe Kayak Canada officially replaced the name "Canadian ...

. She also worked with the Commission for the Inclusion of Athletes with a Disability and served as a board member for Special Olympics Canada. Merklinger was named CEO of the

program on January 26, 2012, succeeding

Alex Baumann Alexander Baumann, (born April 21, 1964) is a Canadian sports administrator and former competitive swimmer who won two gold medals and set two world records at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. In 2007, he was regarded by the CBC, the ...

and following an interim period as co-CEO.

Curling career

In 1976, she skipped Prince Edward Island at the 1976

Canadian Junior Curling Championships The Canadian Under-20 Curling Championships, more commonly known as the Canadian Junior Curling Championships, is an annual curling tournament held to determine the best youth curling team in Canada. Junior level curlers must be under the age of ...

. After attending the and Tournament of Hearts as an alternate for

Alison Goring Alison Goring (born November 15, 1963) is a Canadian curler. Career Youth As a junior curler, Goring won a gold medal at the 1983 Canada Winter Games and followed that up with a win at the 1983 Canadian Junior Women's Curling Championship. 19 ...

, Merklinger skipped her first team to the Hearts in . Her team lost to Maureen Bonar of Manitoba in the semi-final. Her team qualified for the Hearts once again the , but they failed to live up to expectations, finished with a 4–7 record. Merklinger returned to the Hearts in . Capping off a season that included her team attending the 1997 Canadian Olympic Trials, Merklinger would go all the way to the final before losing to Cathy Borst of Alberta in the final. Merklinger attended her last Hearts in where she once again made it to the final. This time she lost to

Kelley Law Kelley Law (born January 11, 1966, in Burnaby, British Columbia), Atkins, formerly Owen, is a Canadian curler from Coquitlam, British Columbia. She grew up in Maple Ridge, British Columbia. Career Law is most notable for winning a bronze medal ...

's team from British Columbia. Merklinger failed to qualify for any further Hearts after that. After the 2005–06 season, where her team failed to even make the provincial championships, she decided to retire from the game.

Personal life

Merklinger comes from a large curling family. Her brother, Dave Merklinger is a high-profile ice maker, while her younger sisters

Breanne Breanne is a feminine given name. It may refer to: * Breanne Davis, American politician elected in 2018 * Breanne Dürenberger (born 1987), stage name Breanne Düren, American keyboard player and singer * Breanne Hill (born 1990), American actres ...

and

Lee Lee may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lee'' (2007 film), Tamil-language sports action film * ''Lee'' (2017 film), Kannada-language action film * ''Lee'' (2023 film), biographical drama about Lee Miller, American photojournalist * ''L ...

are curlers as well. Her other brother,

Bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Pl ...

was the alternate for the Northwest Territories at the

2015 Tim Hortons Brier The 2015 Tim Hortons Brier was held from February 28 to March 8 at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. In the final, the team of Pat Simmons (curler), Pat Simmons, John Morris (curler), John Morris, Carter Rycroft and Nolan Thiessen ...

Awards

* Marj Mitchell Sportsmanship Award (1998) * Scotties Tournament of Hearts Shot of the Week Award (1998) * Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame (2010) * Scotties Tournament of Hearts Builders Award (2010)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Merklinger, Anne Living people 1958 births Canadian female swimmers Summer World University Games medalists in swimming Canadian women curlers Curlers from Prince Edward Island Curling broadcasters Swimmers from London, Ontario Swimmers from Ottawa Curlers from Ottawa FISU World University Games silver medalists for Canada Canada Cup (curling) participants Medalists at the 1977 Summer Universiade 20th-century Canadian sportswomen 21st-century Canadian sportswomen