John Fennell
John Fennell (born May 28, 1995 in Evergreen, Colorado) is an American-Canadian luger who has competed since 2011.[1]
Personal information | |
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Born | May 28, 1995 25) Evergreen, Colorado, United States of America | (age
Sport | |
Country | United States |
Sport | Luge |
He competed for Canada in the first ever Youth Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, where he finished 7th, and at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia,[2] finishing 27th.
He is the son of former Canadian Football League player Dave Fennell and mother Lynne Fennell.[3][4] His brother David Fennel Jr. played fullback on the Michigan State Football team.[5]
In May 2014, several months after competing at Sochi, Fennell came out as gay.[3]
Fennell competed well at the Sochi Olympics, but since he did not finish in the top 10. As a result, in order to fulfil his funding needs, Fennell launched a fundraising campaign on the sports crowdfunding platform MAKEACHAMP on December 12, 2014.
In 2016, Fennell took advantage of his dual Canadian-U.S citizenship and competed for a spot on the U.S. National team. However, during the 2018 US Olympic trials, he crashed his sled and did not make the Olympic team.[6]
References
- John Fennell at Canada Luge
- Calgary's John Fennell makes first Olympic luge team Archived 2013-12-24 at the Wayback Machine. Calgary Sun, December 17, 2013.
- "Luger John Fennell tells the world he's gay" Archived 2014-05-29 at the Wayback Machine. Regina Leader-Post, May 28, 2014.
- http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/olympian-wants-to-help-tackle-homophobia-in-sport-ahead-of-pride-parade-1.2749943
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-05-30. Retrieved 2018-01-18.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- https://www.outsports.com/2017/12/14/16778420/john-fennell-olympic-gay-luge-usa