Helen Lesley Upperton (born October 31, 1979) is a Canadian

bobsled Bobsleigh or bobsled is a winter sport in which teams of 2 to 4 athletes make timed speed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobs ...

der who has competed since 2002. Upperton was born in

Ahmadi Ahmadiyya, officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ), is an Islamic messianic movement originating in British India in the late 19th century. It was founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835–1908), who said he had been divinely appointed a ...

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

as her parents involvement in the oil industry meant they traveled abroad. She holds dual citizenship of both

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Upperton won the silver medal at the

2010 Winter Olympics The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...

after previously finishing fourth in the two-woman event at the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics (), officially the XX Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February in Turin, Italy. This marked the second time Italy had hosted the Winter O ...

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

. In 2020 Upperton won a Canadian Screen Award for “Best Sports Analyst” for her coverage of the Bobsleigh World Championship event with Mark Lee. She went to high school at Dr. E.P. Scarlett High School and graduated from the University of Texas in Austin with a BSc. Upperton also competed in the

FIBT World Championships The IBSF World Championships (known as the FIBT World Championships until 2015), part of the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation, have taken place on an annual basis since FIBT World Championships 1930, 1930. Starting with 2002, no Wo ...

, earning her best finish of fourth in the two-woman event at Altenberg in

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

. Her best overall Bobsleigh World Cup finish was second in the two-woman event in the 2005–06 season. A former

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down the tr ...

er at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

, Upperton moved to

bobsleigh Bobsleigh or bobsled is a winter sport in which teams of 2 to 4 athletes make timed speed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobslei ...

in 2002. In the 2005–06 season she won four medals on the World Cup including a gold at an event in St. Moritz,

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, Canada's first women's World Cup win in bobsleigh. One month later she finished fourth in the two-woman event at the

. Upperton scored a total of six wins and over 20 podium finishes in World Cup competition. She won a silver medal in the Two-woman competition at the

with Shelley-Ann Brown. The gold medal was won by fellow Canadians

Kaillie Humphries Kaillie Humphries ( Simundson; September 4, 1985) is a Canadian-American bobsledder. Representing Canada, she was the 2010 and 2014 Olympic champion in the two-woman bobsled and the 2018 Olympic bronze medalist with brakewoman Phylicia George. ...

and

Heather Moyse Heather Moyse (born July 23, 1978) is a Canadian athlete and two-time Olympic gold medalist, representing Canada in international competition as a bobsledder, rugby union player, and track cyclist and competing at the Canadian intercollegiate ...

. It marked the first time of the 2010 Olympics that Canadians had won two medals in one event. Upperton and Brown announced their retirements from the sport in September 2012. After retiring Upperton became manager of community relations with WinSport Canada. Subsequently, she became head coach of WinSport Academy's bobsleigh programme, training developing bobsledders. Upperton was a commentator for men's and women's bobsleigh and skeleton at the

2014 Winter Olympics The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXII Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Sochi 2014 (), were an international winter multi-sport event that was held from 7 to 23 February 2014 in Sochi, Russia. Opening ro ...

and

2018 Winter Olympics The 2018 Winter Olympics (), officially the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (; ) and also known as PyeongChang 2018 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held between 9 and 25 February 2018 in Pyeongchang County, South Ko ...

with Mark Connolly.

Career highlights

;World Championships: :2005 -

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

, 12th with Jill Salus :2007 -

St. Moritz St. Moritz ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is a high Alpine resort town in the Engadine in Switzerland, at an elevation of about above sea level. It is Upper Engadine's major town and a municipality in the administrative region of Maloja in the Swiss ...

, 6th with Jennifer Ciochetti :2008 - Altenberg, 4th with Jennifer Ciochetti :2009 - Lake Placid, 4th with Jennifer Ciochetti :2011 - Konigssee, 5th with Shelley-Ann Brown ;World Cup: :2005 -

, 3rd with

:2005 -

Igls Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

, 2nd with

:2006 -

Königssee The Königssee () is a natural lake in the southeast Berchtesgadener Land district of the German state of Bavaria, near the Austrian border. Most of the lake is within the Berchtesgaden National Park. Description Situated within the Bercht ...

, nbn 2nd with

:2006 -

, 1st with

:2006 - Park City, 3rd with Jennifer Ciochetti :2006 - Lake Placid, 2nd with Jamie Cruickshank :2007 -

Cortina d'Ampezzo Cortina d'Ampezzo (; , ; historical ) sometimes abbreviated to simply Cortina, is a town and ''comune'' in the heart of the southern (Dolomites, Dolomitic) Alps in the province of Belluno, in the Veneto region of Northern Italy. Situated on the ...

, 3rd with Jennifer Ciochetti :2007 -

, 1st with Jennifer Ciochetti :2007 - Lake Placid, 2nd with Jennifer Ciochetti :2008 -

, 2nd with

:2008 - Cesana, 1st with Jennifer Ciochetti :2008 -

, 3rd with

:2008 -

Winterberg Winterberg (; Westphalian: ''Winnenmerg'') is a town in the Hochsauerland district of North Rhine-Westphalia, central Germany and a major winter sport resort of the Wintersport Arena Sauerland. Geography Winterberg is located in the middle ...

, 1st with Jennifer Ciochetti :2008 -

, 1st with

:2009 - Altenberg, 2nd with Jennifer Ciochetti :2010 -

, 3rd with Shelley-Ann Brown :2010 - Lake Placid, 3rd with Shelley-Ann Brown :2011 - Cesana, 1st with Shelley-Ann Brown

References

External links

* * * *
List of two-woman bobsleigh World Cup champions since 1995
{{DEFAULTSORT:Upperton, Helen 1979 births Living people Track and field athletes from Calgary Canadian female bobsledders Canadian female triple jumpers Bobsledders at the 2006 Winter Olympics Bobsledders at the 2010 Winter Olympics Olympic bobsledders for Canada Olympic silver medalists for Canada University of Texas at Austin alumni Olympic medalists in bobsleigh Medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics Canadian sports coaches 21st-century Canadian sportswomen Texas Longhorns women's track and field athletes Canadian Screen Award winning sportscasters