Deidra Dionne

Vice-Chair
Athletes’ Commission

Deidra Dionne is vice-chair of the COC’s Athletes’ Commission, which she joined in 2006.

Dionne, an Olympic bronze medallist, spent 10 years with the national aerials freestyle ski team. At her first Olympic Winter Games, in 2002 in Salt Lake City, she captured a bronze medal in aerials. After suffering a neck injury in September 2005 and undergoing spinal surgery, Dionne was still able to compete for Team Canada at the Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games (where she finished 15th). Poised for a chance to ski on Canadian soil at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, a benign right temperal lobe brain tumor forced her to retire in October 2009.

During the 1999-2000 World Cup season, Dionne was a rookie sensation in aerials. She won bronze at her first-ever World Cup that season and the following weekend won a silver medal. Dionne was named Freestyle Rookie of the Year. In the next few years, she rolled that success into World Championship competition. She won two bronze medals at the 2001 and 2003 World Championships. Over her career on the World Cup circuit, Dionne won eight total medals, the final one being a silver medal in 2008 at an event in Moscow.

Dionne credits her parents with having the greatest impact on her life through support and understanding as she competed for her country on the world stage. Raised in Red Deer, Alta, Dionne has a bachelor of arts from the University of Athabasca. She is currently finishing her common law degree at the University of Ottawa with an expected graduation date of April 2013.