Travis Gerrits
Personal information
Born (1991-10-19) October 19, 1991
Milton, Ontario, Canada
Height5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight150 lb (68 kg; 11 st)
Sport
Country Canada
SportFreestyle skiing
Medal record
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2013 VossAerials

Travis Gerrits (born October 19, 1991 in Milton, Ontario) is a former Canadian freestyle skier.[1] Gerrits was the silver medalist from the 2013 FIS World Championships and was named the FIS Rookie of the Year in 2011.

Early life

Gerrits attended W.I. Dick Public Middle School and Milton District High School, both located in the Town of Milton.[2][3] He described missing half his classes in his school years due to his training and competitions.[2][3]

With an initial background in gymnastics and trampoline, the latter which Gerrits had competed at the provincial level,[3] he had begun skiing at the age of 6.[3][4] When he was 10, he competed at provincial skiing championships, where he had gained mentorship and support from fellow skier Nicolas Fontaine.[2][5] Gerrits had spent his initial ski training sessions abroad in Lake Placid, New York before the Canadian Freestyle Ski Association built a Quebec facility in 2004.[3]

Career

By the time when Gerrits was 15, he had gained a position on the Canadian National Development Team for aerials.[5][6] He was invited to the 2010 Winter Olympics as a forerunner for the men's aerials.[4][6] He was named the international rookie of the year following the 2010 season.[4]

Gerrits spent the end of his 2011-2012 season recovering from a MCL tear.[4][6]

During the 2012–13 FIS Freestyle Skiing World Cup season, Gerrits won two silver medals.[7][8]

Gerrits' next breakthrough came when he won silver at the 2013 World Championships in Norway,[9] which meant his qualification for the 2014 Winter Olympics as a representative for Canada. After he commented on his success saying, "To me, second place is a victory in my eyes (because) I qualified for the Olympics. To be honest, I couldn't be happier. I did everything I wanted to do today and this whole season. It's awesome."[10]

At the end of 2013, Gerrits won the World Cup aerials in Beijing, China.[11][12][13]

In the 2014 Winter Olympics, Gerrits had come in 7th place for the Olympic men's aerials final.[14]

Gerrits withdrew from the 2018 Winter Olympics qualifying to enter rehabilition for sustained inquires.[15]

According to a 2019 interview, Gerrits had retired from his skiing career after 14 years on the Canadian national team.[16]

Personal life

In 2017, Gerrits opened up about his experience living as an athlete with bipolar I disorder.[17] Diagnosed in 2014, he commented on his treatment management, and how his career results "came in spurts and peaks" due to his illness.[18]

In 2020, Gerrits was inducted into the Milton Sports Hall of Fame.[19]

Results

Top Five Finishes

  • Nor-Am Cup: 8
  • World Cup: 7
  • World Championships: 1
Season Date Location Result
2006-07
1 top five
January 28, 2007Canada Mont Gabriel, Canada Nor-Am Cup5th[20]
2007-08
1 top five
February 16, 2008Canada Apex, Canada Nor-Am Cup3rd[20]
2008-09
2 top five
January 11, 2009Canada Apex, Canada Nor-Am Cup3rd[20]
February 21, 2009Canada Canada Olympic Park, Canada Nor-Am Cup2nd[20]
2009-10
2 top five
December 21, 2010United States Utah Olympic Park, USA Nor-Am Cup2nd[20]
March 2, 2010Canada Apex, Canada Nor-Am Cup3rd[20]
2010-11
3 top five
December 18, 2010Canada Apex, Canada Nor-Am Cup2nd[20]
December 19, 2010Canada Apex, Canada Nor-Am Cup1st[20]
January 8, 2011Canada Mont Gabriel, Canada Nor-Am Cup3rd[20]
2011-12
1 top five
January 15, 2012Canada Mont Gabriel, Canada Nor-Am Cup3rd[20]
2012-13
4 top five's
January 12, 2013Canada Val Saint Come, Canada World Cup2nd[21]
February 1, 2013United States Deer Valley, USA World Cup2nd[21]
February 23, 2013Ukraine Bukovel, Ukraine World Cup5th[21]
March 7, 2013Norway Voss-Myrkdalen, Norway World Championship2nd[22]
2013-14
2 top five's
December 15, 2013China Beida Lake, China World Cup4th[21]
December 22, 2013China Beijing, China World Cup1st[21]
2014-15
1 top five
February 21, 2015Russia Moscow, Russia World Cup4th[21]
2015-16
1 top five
February 5, 2016United States Deer Valley, USA World Cup4th[21]

References

  1. ↑ "Travis Gerrits profile". Freestyle Skiing Canada. Archived from the original on April 16, 2016. Retrieved February 7, 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 Slack, Julie (June 5, 2015). "Travis Gerrits encourages Milton students to remember they're never alone". Inside Halton. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Canadian Champion (Milton, ON), 9 Feb 2007, p. 15". news.milton.halinet.on.ca. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Sochi 2014: Canada's Gerrits looking to put aerials on the map". thestar.com. January 16, 2014. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  5. 1 2 "Travis Gerrits Shares his Olympic Story and Living with Bipolar Disorder". Freestyle Ontario. January 31, 2018. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 "Canadian Champion (Milton, ON), 13 Feb 2014, p. 30". news.milton.halinet.on.ca. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  7. ↑ "Canada's Travis Gerrits wins World Cup freestyle aerials silver". CBC Sports. February 2, 2013.
  8. ↑ "Canadian Champion (Milton, ON), 7 Feb 2013, p. 42". news.milton.halinet.on.ca. February 7, 2013. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  9. ↑ "Canadian Champion (Milton, ON), 6 Feb 2014, p. 1". news.milton.halinet.on.ca. February 6, 2014. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  10. ↑ "Canada's Travis Gerrits wins silver at freestyle aerials world championships". CBC Sports. March 7, 2013.
  11. ↑ "Sochi 2014: Canadian Travis Gerrits wins World Cup aerials". thestar.com. December 22, 2013. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  12. ↑ LeBlanc, Steve (February 13, 2014). "Canadian Champion (Milton, ON), 13 Feb 2014, p. 1". news.milton.halinet.on.ca. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  13. ↑ "Canadian Gerrits Upsets Chinese Trio at Bird's Nest". www.eurosport.com. December 22, 2013. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  14. ↑ "Canada's Travis Gerrits rebounds from fall to finish seventh in men's aerials". thestar.com. February 17, 2014. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  15. ↑ "Travis Gerrits withdraws from Olympic qualifying to focus on injury rehab". CBC Sports. January 17, 2018. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  16. ↑ Chazonoff, Sami (September 11, 2019). "Olympic Skier Travis Gerrits on Shredding Mental Health Stigma, His Retirement, and His Next Adventure". Sharp Magazine. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  17. ↑ Dionne, Deidra (August 11, 2017). "Freestyler Travis Gerrits strikes a blow at stigma of mental illness". CBC Sports. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  18. ↑ Blum, Benjamin (December 14, 2017). "Learning to fly: Aerials skier Travis Gerrits embraces challenge of bipolar disorder". CBC Sports. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  19. ↑ LeBlanc, Steve (November 3, 2021). "Milton Sports Hall of Fame inducts 2020 class". Inside Halton. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on May 8, 2016. Retrieved April 20, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  21. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on May 8, 2016. Retrieved April 20, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  22. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on May 8, 2016. Retrieved April 20, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)


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