Abigail Strate

Biography

Abigail Strate was part of a history-making moment in her Olympic debut at Beijing 2022. She and teammates Mackenzie Boyd-Clowes, Alexandria Loutitt, and Matthew Soukup won bronze in the inaugural Olympic mixed team ski jumping event. It was Canada’s first ever Olympic medal in ski jumping.

Strate made her FIS World Cup debut during the 2016-17 season. She broke into the top 10 individually for the first time in late February 2022, just two weeks after standing on the Olympic podium. After a couple of fourth place finishes in December 2022, Strate earned her first World Cup podium in late January 2023, finishing third in the large hill in Hinterzarten.

She enjoyed a streak of success as the calendar flipped from 2023 to 2024, reaching three straight World Cup podiums between December 30 and January 3, highlighted by a second-place finish in the large hill in Oberstdorf. She had spent her Christmas holidays resetting her mind after a disappointing start to the season for which she had set great expectations and ended up surprising herself by getting into a competitive flow.

After another third-place finish in February 2025, Strate headed into the 2025-26 season in fine form. She reached the podium in five summer Grand Prix events in August and September, including two victories against top tier competitors, one of which was at the Olympic venue in Val di Fiemme. She then finished second at the World Cup season opener on the large hill in Lillehammer. That started an impressive run in which she only placed outside the top 10 once and had eight top five finishes (as of mid-January). She posted another second-place finish on the large hill in Wisla. On New Year’s Day, she celebrated her first career World Cup victory on the large hill in Oberstdorf. It was her ninth career World Cup podium.

Strate competed at her first senior FIS World Championships in 2021. She was the top Canadian in both the women’s individual normal hill and large hill events. She was also part of Canada’s 10^th-place finish in the mixed team event.  Strate was the top Canadian in the women’s normal hill at the 2023 World Championships where she finished 10^th. At the 2025 World Championships, she and Loutitt tied for fifth place in the women’s normal hill.

Strate entered her first FIS-level competition at 14 years old. She began competing on the Continental Cup circuit in 2016. She went on to compete at three FIS Junior World Championships in 2017, 2018 and 2020. Her best individual result was a 15^th-place finish in the normal hill in 2018 when she was the top non-European. 

Strate went through a period of adversity from 2018 to 2021, coinciding with the closure of the ski jumps in Calgary. In 2019, she tore her ACL, LCL, and meniscus in her right knee, requiring major surgery. It took 11 months for her to resume ski jumping and it wasn’t until March 2021 that she finally got back into the top 30 in a World Cup event for the first time since January 2018.

A Little More About Abi

Getting into the Sport: Started ski jumping at age 6… Tried ski jumping at a summer camp on alpine equipment and was recruited to Altius Nordic Ski Club that same day… Had always been intrigued by the ski jump towers in Calgary before she even knew about the sport and wondered what they could be for… Entered her first international competition at age 10 in Park City, Utah… Outside Interests: Enjoys reading, drawing, playing guitar, and doing freelance design projects during the competitive season… Off-season hobbies include mountain biking, beekeeping, gardening… Pursuing a Bachelor of Creative Arts (specializing in graphic design) online through Yorkville University… Graduated from Toronto Film School in December 2024 with a Diploma in Graphic Design… Odds and Ends: Favourite motto: “Go as a river” …