“It takes a village”: Olympic medallist Cassie Sharpe returns to competition after becoming a mom

Freestyle skier Cassie Sharpe’s resumé has a lot of high points. She’s a two-time Olympic medallist in women’s ski halfpipe, winning gold at PyeongChang 2018 and silver at Beijing 2022, not to mention her five X-Games medals and two world championship medals.

In August 2023, Sharpe notched another milestone—welcoming her daughter, Lou, with husband and fellow Olympian Justin Dorey. When she first got pregnant, she thought retirement might be in the cards. But the more Sharpe thought about it, the more she felt like she wasn’t quite done competing yet.

After two seasons away from competition, Sharpe returned to the halfpipe at the FIS World Cup in Cardrona, New Zealand in September, joining a growing cohort of Canadian athletes returning to elite sport after giving birth.

Olympic.ca caught up with Sharpe to chat about her return to competition, incorporating Lou into her training and travel schedule, and how she thinks Team Canada is shaping up this season.

What were the emotions and the experience of competing again?

When I got pregnant, I kind of was just like “that’s all, I’m done.” At the time in my mind, there was just no way that [a return to competition] was going to work. I was like, “I can’t do that. I’m not a superhero.”

But then I was watching contests and thinking “Ooh, maybe I’m not done. Maybe I do want to keep it going.”

The actual return was all over the place. I was going into it kind of just like, “I just want to land a run and make finals.” And then I got into my contest mode and was like, “No, let’s do it. Let’s go, go, go.” 

But, separately from competition—a little background on what I was dealing with at the contest. There was influenza going around New Zealand, and Lou got so sick leading up to the contest, and they actually ended up bringing her to the hospital the day before the qualifiers. And then me personally, I was competing with a chest cold and a fever. So there were definitely some other external things. 

After my first run—I didn’t land a run. But when I got to the bottom, the whole crowd, even though I didn’t land, just went absolutely bonkers. And that moment was just like, “Whoa, I’m really doing it!” So that was pretty cool.

That’s a lot to navigate on your first competition back.

It was. Honestly, it was just kind of one of those things where so many things happen that you can’t control and you just have to do your best,

We’re seeing more and more women in all different sports returning to elite competition after having kids, but that process is certainly not without immense challenges. Can you talk a little bit about your return to training?

It definitely takes a village. It’s a lot of work and a lot of time. I’m super thankful to have a gym trainer that’s really, really supportive, and he hangs out with her. When she was really small, we set up the jolly jumper on one of the squat racks. So while I was working out, she was jolly jumping.  

So we are finding different ways to make it work, but it’s definitely a lot more planning. As any parent knows, before a child, you’re on your own program, you do what you want. And then all of a sudden, it’s like “Okay, I want to do this thing, but it’s going to take me 20 minutes longer to get there, because I need to put her shoes on. Oh, we need to change a diaper. Oh, she’s hungry.” 

I do like the image of Lou getting her own workout in on the jolly jumper. It feels like that is the baby equivalent of some sort of, I don’t know, cardio machine. 

Yeah, exactly. It was like, “You know what? She might as well get some juices out too!” And then when we drive home, then she’ll sleep for sure. 

Has becoming a mom changed your attitude towards sport and competition in any way? 

I think the biggest thing when I reflect on what I’m doing it’s that I assess risk differently—which I didn’t really expect. That wasn’t really my biggest concern about coming back to skiing, but it really does change the way that I think about taking risks and being in the halfpipe. If I get injured, I still have a child to look after—that doesn’t change. 

So it definitely adds a bit of a—I was going say a devil on my shoulder—but more of like a conscience that you have this little dependent sweetie now that needs you. I’m definitely out here looking to go to the Olympics again, and obviously to compete at my highest level. But also being able to give myself the grace that if something doesn’t feel right, that I don’t have to push it, whereas, before it was always go, go, go, go, go–do everything, do it fast and do it the best.

And I will do everything the best that I can. But I think it just changes my perspective on what the steps leading to my best are now.

Switching gears a little bit. What are you most looking forward to for this season?

An Olympic qualifying year is always one of the most stressful years. But, after being at home for two years, I definitely got into a bit of a homebody routine. So I’m actually just excited to travel and go back to some of my favorite places. I love what my sport allows me to do. 

Having my mom come to all these places with me [to help with childcare], there’s adversities in that, but there’s also so much beauty in it. I’ve been going to Wanaka [New Zealand] for the last 10 years training down there, [but this was the first time that] my mom was able to come down with me to help with Lou and all that. It was the first time she’d ever been to Australia or New Zealand, and I got to show her my favorite spots and the town and where I’ve spent all this time. 

So there’s some really cool, almost like, full circle moments that I’m able to have with [her mom] that feel really, really special. So that’s something I’m definitely looking forward to, and showing them to Lou, obviously! She’s just getting to an age where she’s starting to be really fun to be around. She’s seeing things and excited about things and starting to say some words, and that’s pretty fun.

How are you feeling about the strength of the broader Canadian team heading into this season?

I mean…strong. Obviously in New Zealand, Rachael [Karker] podiumed, Brendan [Mackay] podiumed, another one of my teammates, Andrew Longino did super, super well. He hit the podium for the first time in his career. So already, just coming into this year, we’ve got some heavy hitters starting us off. I think slopestyle is looking really good. I go to the gym with a bunch of the mogul girls, and everybody’s looking fit, strong, ready. 

Rapid Fire with Cassie Sharpe

Best skiing memory?

I’m trying to think of something other than, “Winning the Olympics!” But I mean, that’s a pretty good one…

Who’s an athlete you look up to?

I mean, this is a classic answer, but Sarah Burke, She was a pioneer for our sport and really fought for us, and I think she is one of the sole reasons our sport is in the Olympics, or has been for as long as it has. But currently on tour right now, I think [American freestyle skier] Alex Ferreira is someone who has a crazy work ethic and is super, super talented, and I aspire to have as much drive as he does.

If you weren’t an Olympian in your sport, what sport would you want to be one in?

Table tennis or rhythmic gymnastics!

You asked me what I would want to do, but another question I think is funny is what sport do I think I’m going to put Lou in? 

And that one—I’ve already looked it up—I’m putting her in fencing. First, it was because I thought it would be very fun to watch a tiny child do it. But then we got our first medal in fencing this year, and I was like, “I’m inspired!” This seems like something that we should try.