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Dale Begg-Smith

Personal information
Date of birth	January 18, 1985 (1985-01-18) (age 25)
Place of birth	Vancouver, British Columbia Canada
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight	75 kg (170 lb; 11.8 st)
Sport
Country	Australia
Sport	Freestyle skiing
Medal record Men's freestyle skiing Competitor for  Australia Gold 2006 Turin Moguls Silver 2010 Vancouver Moguls FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships Gold 2007 Madonna di Campiglio Dual moguls Silver 2007 Madonna di Campiglio Moguls Bronze 2005 Ruka Moguls

Dale Begg-Smith (born 18 January 1985 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) is an Australian-Canadian^{citation needed} freestyle skier. Begg-Smith won the gold medal for Australia, his adopted country, in the men's moguls event at the 2006 Winter Olympics held in Turin, Italy. He is only the third Australian to win a gold medal in a Winter Games.¹ In the lead-up to the 2006 Winter Games, Dale Begg-Smith had won three World Cup rounds and was ranked world number one in the moguls discipline.² He later won silver in the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games.³⁴

Early years and career

Begg-Smith was skiing for his native Canada as a teenager when his coaches told him he was spending too much time on his fledgling business, and not enough time in training. He subsequently quit the Canadian ski program because it clashed with his business interests and, along with his brother Jason Begg-Smith, moved to Australia at age 16.¹ The brothers chose to ski for Australia because the country had a smaller ski program that offered them more attention and flexibility. This ensured that they could still successfully manage their business. The brothers stayed out of competitive skiing for three years and instead trained with the Australian team, living in Jindabyne each winter. The pair qualified for Australian citizenship after these three years in 2003-04, and were then free to compete for their adopted country.^{citation needed}

Alisa Monk, coordinator of the moguls program, says that she books Begg-Smith's hotels and flights economically, despite his wealth. "Wherever the team stays, he stays. There are certainly no big demands. You wouldn't know he had a bit of money." She also said, "When he is at Perisher he stays in the same hut as the other mogul skiers and his brother which is small and old and almost falling down", and that "He just doesn't try to stand out at all."⁵

He is considered a recluse by many, and has repeatedly refused to communicate with non-Australian media, Canadian media in particular.⁶ NBC dubbed him "the most mysterious man of the Winter Olympics" in a piece aired on February 14, 2010, during the Vancouver games.⁷

Business controversy

There are claims that his internet advertising business had been linked to the distribution of malware⁸⁹. The Sydney Morning Herald reports that they had "...followed a trail of digital fingerprints scattered over the web which shows Mr Begg-Smith's long and rewarding involvement in the distribution of "malicious software"¹⁰. Begg-Smith's manager, David Malina, said reports about his client's business had been "exaggerated", and that "it's not really something that he's involved with anymore ... he's minimised his involvement to concentrate on his sport."¹⁰

Honours

On 21 February 2006 Australia Post issued a postage stamp commemorating Begg-Smith's achievement, saying his gold put him in a "small and honoured group of athletes".¹¹

References

External links

• NBC Olympics Profile: Dale Begg-Smith
• Dale begs the question: can Australia win a mogul medal in Turin? The Sydney Morning Herald, 24 January 2006.
• 'Spam man' wins gold The Age, 16 February 2006.
• AP Winter Games Profile: Dale Begg-Smith