Kristina Nicole Groves (born December 4, 1976) 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 ...

retired

speed skater Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors racing, race each other in travelling a certain distance on Ice skate, skates. Types of speed skating are long-track speed skating, short-track speed skating, and marath ...

. She is Canada's most decorated skater in the World Single Distances Championships with 13 career medals in this event.http://vancouver.sportingnews.com/wolympics/athlete.asp?type=&country=CAN&page=SS&id=530688 She won four Olympic medals: she won two silver medals 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 the 1,500 meters and team pursuit, and she won the silver medal in the 1500 m event and the bronze medal in the 3000 m event at the

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

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 ...

. As of 2012, she was ranked sixth on the women's Adelskalender, her teammates

Cindy Klassen Cindy Klassen, (born August 12, 1979) is a Canadian retired long track speed skater. She is a six-time medallist having achieved one gold, two silver, three bronze at the Winter Olympics. She is the only Canadian Olympian to win five medals in ...

and Christine Nesbitt were ranked first and seventh respectively.

Career

Groves made her

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

debut in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

for the

2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 (; Gosiute dialect, Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; ; Shoshoni language, Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), were an international wi ...

held in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. She finished 20th at 1500 m, 8th at 3000 m and 10th at 5000 m. Four years later, during the

games held in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, Groves participated in five events (1000 m, 1500 m, 3000 m, 5000 m, team pursuit). She finished 5th at 1000 m, 2nd at the 1500 m, 8th at the 3000 m, 6th at the 5000 m, and 2nd in the team pursuit with the Canadian team. She was the 2008 Single Distances World Champion on the 3000-m. She won a medal in every event that she skated at these championships, as she also won an additional 2 silver medals and 2 bronze medals. During the 2008–2009 world cup season, Groves won 12 medals including four gold. During the 2009 World Single Distances Championships held at the new

Richmond Olympic Oval The Richmond Olympic Oval () is an indoor multi-sports arena in the Canada, Canadian city of Richmond, British Columbia. The oval was built for the 2010 Winter Olympics and was originally configured with a speed skating rink. The venue has since ...

, near

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, Canada, her career took an amazing turn when Groves became the most decorated speed skating athlete in the country at this event, surpassing the well-known Jeremy Wotherspoon with 13 medals, compared to his 10. She is also the world cup winner for a second year in a row at 1500 m event. During the

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 ...

Essent ISU Worldcup held at the

Olympic Oval The Olympic Oval in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, is North America's first covered speed skating oval; it was built for the Speed skating at the 1988 Winter Olympics, 1988 Winter Olympics and opened on September 27, 1987.world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

on December 6, 2009, at the team pursuit with teammates Christine Nesbitt and Brittany Schussler with a time of two minutes 55.79 seconds. Groves qualified for 5 events for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games held in Vancouver and participated in the 1000 m, 1500 m, 3000 m, 5000 m and team pursuit, more than any other athletes on the Canadian speed skating team. In her first event at the Olympics, the

3000 metres The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000 m sho ...

, she won a bronze medal. On February 18 she finished fourth in the

1000 metres The 1000 metres, 1 kilometer run, or 1K run is an uncommon middle-distance running event in track and field competitions. It consists of two and a half laps around an outdoor 400 m track, or five laps around an indoor 200 m track. The 1000 ...

, .06 seconds behind the bronze medal winner. Her teammate Christine Nesbitt won the gold medal. On February 21, she won a silver medal in the

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1500-metre run is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletics since 1983. It is equivalent to 1.5 kilomet ...

. She became the 11th Canadian to win at least four medals at the Olympics (Summer or Winter).

Personal life

Born in Ottawa, Groves attended Fielding Drive Public School and Brookfield High School. She trained with the Ottawa Pacers Speed Skating Club. She majored in kinesiology at

University of Calgary {{Infobox university , name = University of Calgary , image = University of Calgary coat of arms without motto scroll.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms , former ...

and graduated in 2004. Groves was inducted into the Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame in 2014.

Personal records

Groves' current Adelskalender score is 157.616, which places 6th of all time. Source: SpeedskatingResults.com.

World records

Source: SpeedSkatingStats.com.

References and notes

External links

SpeedSkatingBase.eu PB's and link to results Kristina GrovesResults and records of Kristina Groves at SpeedSkatingStats.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Groves, Kristina 1976 births Living people Canadian female speed skaters Speed skaters from Ottawa Speed skaters at the 2002 Winter Olympics Speed skaters at the 2006 Winter Olympics Speed skaters at the 2010 Winter Olympics Olympic speed skaters for Canada University of Calgary alumni Olympic silver medalists for Canada Olympic bronze medalists for Canada Olympic medalists in speed skating Canadian people of Norwegian descent Medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2006 Winter Olympics World Allround Speed Skating Championships medalists World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships medalists 21st-century Canadian sportswomen