Join Me in Supporting Every Child's Right To Play
Britt Janyk grew up in North Vancouver, but father Bill and mother Andree moved the family to 2010 Alpine co-host city Whistler in 1995, so that Britt, her younger brother Mike and younger sister Stephanie could pursue skiing careers. Now 29, Britt is one of four Canadian Alpine team members tied to the Whistler Mountain Ski Club. The family home is only a few hundred feet from the finish line of the women's Olympic downhill course, Franz Run.
Although Mike became the first Olympian in the family in 2006, the Janyk family has been influential within winter sports in the region for a long time. Britt's maternal grandfather, Peter Vajda, built North America's first two-seater chairlift on Vancouver's Grouse Mountain in 1949, and was a part of two attempts to get the Winter Games to British Columbia in 1968 and 1976.
Janyk and her Canadian speed teammates Kelly Vanderbeek and Emily Brydon form the trio nicknamed the "Speed Queens." The Speed Queens joined Right To Play in 2007 to raise awareness for Right To Play. "I am inspired by the Right To Play initiative with the Women's Alpine Speed Team," Britt Janyk said. We are coming together as a team and giving to an organization that emulates the qualities we strive for as athletes. Through our goals in sport we can help children around the world to play."
Career Highlights
• Third overall in 2007-2008 World Cup Downhill
• Gold Medalist at 2007-2008 World Cup Downhill
• Bronze medalist at 2007-2008 World Cup Downhill in Lake Louise
• 12 top 10 finishes on 2007-2008 World Cup
• Fourth in super-G at 2007 World Ski Championships in Are, Sweden
• Nine-time Canadian Champion
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