Caledon’s Jake Holden will snowboard at Sochi Olympics

January 24, 2014 · 0 Comments

After years of tireless commitment to his dream of going to the Olympics, Belfountain native Jake Holden is headed to the Winter Games on the men’s snowboard cross team.
Joining Holden will be Chris Robanske, Kevin Hill and Rob Fagan.
Holden is a long-time member of the C3 High Performance Team and his parents (Rene and Waldo) are over the top that their son’s hard work has paid off on making the team.
“Jake is just half way there,” commented C3 head coach Barrie Shepley. “He has made the team. Now its time to rock the best performance he is capable of in Sochi in three weeks.”
Holden grew up in Caledon, where he competed in judo for 11 years before switching full-time to snowboarding. He started dreaming about the Olympics when his former judo coach talked to him about a major tournament called the Junior Olympics. At the time, Holden was crowned the Canadian Junior National champion in Judo. When the idea of racing against his friends down the same track, over obstacles and features, came to his mind, he committed to the sport and his rise in the snowboardcross world started. In 2009, he received the Neil Daffern Award, given to the top snowboard prospects who show an outstanding level of commitment and competency in the sport.
Holden made the Canadian National Snowboard Team in 2010.
Kinetico Canada has been a huge supporter of Holden over his development years and should be recognized for their vision of helping him get to Sochi.
“I can’t say enough great things about Phillip, Ed, Kevin and the entire Kinetico Team,” Shepley said. “While Jake had the raw tools, we have seen far too many athletes miss making major games simply due to finances. Through the combined help of Kinetico and C3’s Judy Riseborough, Jake has been able to focus on his dream of going to the Winter Olympics.”
One has to get started on the snow some place, and Caledon Ski Club has been a great home for Holden’s career.
He will be the second Caledon resident in four years to go to the Olympic Games, as Mayfield’s Britney Webster made the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Cross Country Ski Team.
“Jake making the Olympic team will only motivate his C3 summer triathlon teammates that much more,” Shepley remarked. “When you see a young man from your area have a dream, do the hard work, then make it to the top, you realize that you can do it as well.”
In the off-season, Holden works as landscaper and stonemason at the family business, where he owns and operates a division of the company called Stoney Links.
Those who have been to the C3 Fund Raising Golf Tournament and the yearly Kids of Steel Race will have seen the humble (soon to be Olympian) helping out in any way he can.
“I know that all 50,000 residents of Caledon and Olympic fans all over Canada will be proud as can be when Jake is in Sochi in two-plus weeks, realizing a dream that many of his Caledon friends, family and C3 supporters have wanted for him,” declared Shepley.