Gary Athans (born 12 June 1961 in

Kelowna Kelowna ( ) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan, Okanagan Valley in the British Columbia Interior, southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

) is a

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 ...

former

alpine skier Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether ...

who competed in the

1984 Winter Olympics The 1984 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIV Olympic Winter Games (Serbo-Croatian language, Serbo-Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; Serbian Cyrillic alphabet, Serbian Cyrillic: ; ) and commonly known as Sarajevo '84 (Serbian Cy ...

. Athans was a water-ski champion, and then spent eight years on the Canada national team and later represented his nation at the 1984 Winter Olympics, where he finished 26th. In 2009, Athans along with his family, were inducted into the Central Okanagan Sports Hall of Fame. His father George Athans, was captain of the Canadian Olympic team in 1948 and was a gold medal diver at the 1950 British Empire Games. His mother Irene was a Manitoba champion in swimming and synchronized swimming and a Canadian record holder in masters swimming. His brothers George Junior (water skiing) and Greg (ballet skiing) were also world champions. In 2010 he helped carry the Olympic torch as it made its way to Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Games. After retiring, he now works in real estate. He has 4 children.

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* 1961 births Living people Canadian male alpine skiers Olympic alpine skiers for Canada Alpine skiers at the 1984 Winter Olympics Sportspeople from Kelowna 20th-century Canadian sportsmen {{canada-alpine-skiing-bio-stub