Our Favourite Olympians' Day Jobs

On this Monday after the Olympics, there’s a very heavy “I can’t believe it’s over” that is setting in across the country. It’s only natural after perhaps the biggest Canadian party of the century (thus far) has come to a close. We’re all going back to “our regular lives.” But no one would be feeling this more than our athletes —some of whom could be heading back to their day jobs at this very moment.

Here’s a list of some notable athletes who replaced the shirt and tie with red and white jerseys over the past couple of weeks:

Jennifer Heil, freestyle skiing — Canada’s first medal winner in Vancouver! The podium isn’t the only place Heil sees silver, though. She is the ambassador for the jewelry company Birks and designed a sterling silver collection for the company’s Winter Games line. There’s buzz saying she could get back to it now that the Games are complete!

Jeff Pain, skeleton — Despite finishing 9th in Vancouver, Pain is one of Canada’s most successful athletes in skeleton. He has won world championships and received silver in Turin in 2006. Nonetheless, he has made a career out of landscape architecture and has managed to co-write a book with his wife, Aly, called “The Business of Marriage and Medals” in the process.

John Morris, curling — The new gold medal winner is a firefighter, and not only that, was dubbed one of Canada’s most eligible bachelors in Entertainment Tonight Canada’s Valentine’s Day show this year! Ladies, you can knock down his door in Chestermere, Alta. 

Dominique Maltais, snowboard cross — Maltais went into her event as a serious contender for gold, but finished 20th after an unfortunate disqualification. So, she may not have the bling around her neck that Morris does, but she’s also a firefighter (in Montreal) and is an ET Canada bachelorette.

Jon Montgomery, skeleton — Montgomery was one of the more famous Canadians over the past two weeks after his big gold medal win and public beer-chugging in Whistler Village. His job also gained some notoriety because it’s a pretty unique one: He’s a used car auctioneer!

Lyndon Rush, bobsleigh — Rush is part of Canada’s four-man bobsleigh team that won silver this year, but he’s also part of Royal LePage as a real estate agent in Red Deer, Alta., along with his father. Brokers had been posting a “Team Rush” icon on their websites linking to Royal LePage’s Olympic page for Rush. 

Photo by Paul Goyette