Graphic Design Student Abigail Strate Sails to Three World Cup Ski Jump Podium Finishes
Online Graphic Design & Interactive Media student and Olympic medallist Abigail Strate claimed a career-high three World Cup ski jumping medals – a silver and two bronze – this past winter.
The 23-year-old Calgary native celebrated the first of her three consecutive FIS Ski Jumping World Cup podium finishes with a bronze medal in the large jump event in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany on December 30, 2023. She followed that up on January 1, 2024 with a silver medal in the women’s big jump event in Oberstdorf, Germany, and again the next day with a bronze medal in the women’s normal hill event in Villach, Austria.
“The podium streak I had in December and January were some of the most euphoric days of my life. I felt I could see the hard work, sacrifices and hardships of the past 18 years in sport pay off in a matter of days,” said Strate, who started ski jumping at age six and is nicknamed the ‘Bee’ after her beekeeping hobby back home in Calgary.
“Achieving a streak of consistent podiums last year really proved to me what is possible and became a huge motivator going into the Olympic run-up years. Knowing that if I am in my best mental and physical shape, I can take home gold is something that keeps me putting my absolute all into every day, both on and off the hill.”
Strate’s success, however, didn’t come easy – it has been filled with as many downs as there have been ups.
In 2017, she narrowly missed qualifying for the 2018 Olympics. The next year, the ski jumps in Calgary were decommissioned, forcing her team to relocate to Europe. In 2019, she suffered a year-long traumatic injury from a crash while training in Utah, tearing her ACL, LCL and meniscus in her right knee, then suffered a tibial stress fracture on her left leg the year after. With the pain from that injury continuing to bother her, Strate also had a less than successful season in 2021 with only one top 30 placing.
It wasn’t until 2022, she said, that she finally broke through.
“We got new coaches, and fully relocated to Europe, where I now spend more than 10 months of the year. I managed to qualify for the 2022 Olympic team and I won a bronze medal in the mixed team event,” said Strate, whose medal-winning teammates in Beijiing included Alexandria Loutitt, MacKenzie Boyd-Clowes and Matthew Soukup.
“In 2023, I continued to improve, securing over 15 top 10s, and my first World Cup podium, with bronze in Hinterzarten, Germany.”
Strate’s ultimate goal as an athlete, she said, is to win the crystal globe (overall 1st) and an individual Olympic medal – or medals. To those ends, she now lives 10 months of the year in Slovenia, where she continues to train in her bid to reach the podium again at the 2026 Games in Italy.
A career in graphic design wasn’t initially part of Strate’s long-term plan. An avid drawer, she nevertheless went to university to study Biology – but when she stumbled across an ad for Toronto Film School’s Graphic Design & Interactive Media program one day, she found herself intrigued.
“Admittedly, I had never even heard of nor considered graphic design until finding the program, and I am so glad I did! I have always had a creative edge, and I feel it is exactly what I am meant to be studying. I cannot wait to see where my skills take me,” she said.
Luckily for Strate, TFS offers its Graphic Design program online as well as on-campus, which allows her to juggle her studies with her intensive training schedule overseas.
“I see this as such a privilege, as school keeps my mind busy outside of training and gives me something to focus on while my body recovers between sessions,” she said.
“TFS’s flexibility is also a great advantage to me, as I am able to complete the program at my own pace and can take winters off from school to fully focus on competition,” she added, noting that she plans to pursue her Bachelor of Creative Arts degree at TFS affiliate, Yorkville University, once she completes her Graphic Design diploma this fall.
