Canada’s Phil Brown and Kelsey Serwa Announce Retirements

Canadian alpine skier Phil Brown and double Olympic skicross medalist Kelsey Serwa both announced their retirements from their respective sports this week.

The 27-year-old Brown, a native of Toronto, Ontario, has been a mainstay on the Canadian World Cup technical squad since making his debut on the circuit in the 2012 Adelboden giant slalom. Throughout his career, Brown represented Canada at three World Championships and two Olympics and was a member of Canada’s silver-medal winning team event squad at the 2015 World Championships in Beaver Creek, Colordo.

“I’ve been pretty quiet on social media the last couple months as I went through a very difficult and emotional process of accepting the fact that it is time to hang up the skis,” Brown wrote in a lengthy Instagram post. “But I am finally ready to announce my formal retirement from traditional ski racing.”

 

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It’s time…time to walk away from a sport that has guided me through life up until this point. • I write this post with mixed emotions. Sadness that I’ll be distancing myself from life on the road competing with so many great friends, teammates, coaches, and trainers. Yet, tons of excitement as I search for a new path to focus my energy on. • Thank you Ski Racing. Thank you to my teammates. Thank you to my coaches. Thank you to my competitors. Thank you to the many sponsors/donors who have contributed to the success of my career. Most importantly, thank you to my family for providing me with the opportunity to strive for greatness. • I’ve been pretty quiet on social media the last couple months as I went through a very difficult and emotional process of accepting the fact that it is time to hang up the skis. But I am finally ready to announce my formal retirement from traditional ski racing – @worldproskitour , I’ll be ready!! I’m fortunate to be leaving the sport in (relatively) good health and with plenty of support from my family/friends. • I didn’t accomplish all of my goals. That’s a reality I have to live with. But I will leave the sport proud of what I was able to achieve. Proud of the sacrifices, the commitment, the intensity, and the will to keep pushing myself – I am proud of my journey! • For now, I’ll continue to #PressOn ?? Over and out – Phil

A post shared by Phil Brown (@philbrown77) on Jul 4, 2019 at 5:26am PDT

Brown has indicated his intention to compete in various World Pro Ski Tour (WPST) events next season. Brown was the 2019 WPST champion and rookie of the year.

“I’m fortunate to be leaving the sport in relatively good health and with plenty of support from my family and friends,” he continued. “I didn’t accomplish all of my goals. That’s a reality I have to live with. But I will leave the sport proud of what I was able to achieve. Proud of the sacrifices, the commitment, the intensity, and the will to keep pushing myself. I am proud of my journey!”

Serwa, 29, was a former alpine racer before making the switch to skicross prior to the 2010 Vancouver Games, where she placed fifth. A silver medal at Sochi 2014 was followed up with a gold-medal performance at PyeongChang 2018. In total, Serwa amassed 20 World Cup podiums, A World Championship title, and two Olympic medals in her career.

“The best thing I’m taking away from my time as a ski racer are the lasting friendships I’ve been so fortunate to create along the way,” she told Alpine Canada. “I’ve had an incredible opportunity to experience countless ups and downs with a number of teammates I now consider golden, life-long friends.”

Serwa is currently working on completing her undergraduate degree from the University of British Columbia Okanagan and has hopes to also complete a Masters of Physiotherapy in the coming years.