Zoe Bergermann

Biography

Zoe Bergermann made her World Cup debut in February 2013 on home snow in Blue Mountain, Ontario. In both 2012-13 and 2013-14 she finished second in the overall SBX standings on the NorAm Cup circuit, reaching the podium in six of seven races in the latter season, including four wins. She competed in three editions of the FIS Junior World Championships from 2012 to 2014, advancing to the small final each time. 

Bergermann was all set for her first season as a national team member in 2014-15, but while at a pre-season training camp in South America became exhausted and worn down. She was diagnosed with a rare form of arthritis called Still’s disease and endured months of rehab before her strength slowly returned. Her only competitive appearance in 2014-15 was her senior world championship debut.

Bergermann made a remarkable comeback in 2015-16, ending the season as the top-ranked Canadian woman in World Cup SBX standings, finishing a career-high ninth overall. She was helped by a then-career-best result in her first World Cup back, a fourth-place finish in Montafon, Austria. She made her sole appearance at the Winter X Games in Aspen in 2016, finishing eighth. 

In the leadup to PyeongChang 2018, Bergermann earned her first World Cup medals in the women’s team event with Tess Critchlow, taking silver in Montafon in December 2017 and bronze in Erzurum in January. In her Olympic debut, she was eliminated in the quarterfinal heats. In the first event following the Games, Bergermann earned her first career individual World Cup podium, taking the silver in Feldberg, Germany. She also won two more team medals as she finished the season ranked ninth again in the SBX World Cup standings for the second time in three years. 

Bergermann missed the entire 2018-19 season after having knee surgery in December. Returning to competition the following season, she finally got back into the top 10 in a World Cup event in January 2021. Two months later, she reached the small final at the World Cup in Veysonnaz and ended the season as the top-ranked Canadian woman in the SBX World Cup standings in 12th place. It was also in 2021 that she competed in her first world championships in four years.  

In her second Olympic appearance at Beijing 2022, Bergermann was again a quarterfinalist as she finished 15th overall.

A little more about Zoe

Getting into the Sport: Skied recreationally as a weekend activity with her family until her older brother told her snowboard was better and she made the switch at age 9… Entered her first snowboard cross competition at age 10 and won her very first race… Had only been racing SBX for three years when Maëlle Ricker won gold at Vancouver 2010, sparking her own Olympic dream… Outside Interests: Enjoys mountain biking, hiking, paddleboarding, playing Settlers of Catan and other board games… Odds and Ends: Favourite quote: “Success is not an accident and failure isn’t fatal”… Wears the same pair of long johns every race day; has had them since she was racing provincially…