View source for Helen Upperton

{{short description|Canadian bobsledder}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| name           = Helen Upperton
| image          = Helen Upperton.jpg
| imagesize      = 200px
| caption        = Helen Upperton in Calgary (2010)
| headercolor    = lightsteelblue
| full_name      = Helen Lesley Upperton
| nationality    = [[Canadians|Canadian]]
| collegeteam    =
| birth_date     = {{Birth date and age|1979|10|31}}<ref name=FIBTHelenUpperton>{{cite web|url=http://www.fibt.com/bobsleigh/athletes.html?athl_id=100099 |title=Helen Upperton |publisher=[[International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation]] |accessdate=December 10, 2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103213417/http://www.fibt.com/bobsleigh/athletes.html?athl_id=100099 |archivedate=January 3, 2014 }}</ref>
| birth_place    = [[Ahmadi]], [[Kuwait]]
| residence      = [[Calgary]], [[Alberta]]<ref name=FIBTHelenUpperton/>
| death_date     =
| death_place    =
| height         = {{convert|1.75|m|ftin|abbr=on}}<ref name=FIBTHelenUpperton/>
| weight         = {{convert|70|kg|lb stlb|0|abbr=on}}<ref name=FIBTHelenUpperton/>
| website        = 
| country        = {{CAN}}
| sport          = [[File:Bobsleigh pictogram.svg|25px|alt=|link=]][[Bobsleigh]]
| event          = 2-woman
| club           = 
| coach          = {{flagicon|CAN}} Dennis Marineau, Tuffy LaTour, Bruno Mingeon
| retired        = 
| olympics       = [[File:Olympic rings.svg|25px|alt=|link=]] {{silver2}}
| highestranking =
| pb             =
| medaltemplates =
{{MedalSport|Women´s [[Bobsleigh]]}}
{{MedalCountry|{{CAN}}}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[Winter Olympics|Olympic Games]]}}
{{MedalSilver| [[2010 Winter Olympics|2010 Vancouver]] | [[Bobsleigh at the 2010 Winter Olympics – Two-woman|Two-woman]]}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[List of Bobsleigh World Cup champions|World Cup Championships]]}}
{{MedalSilver|2005-06|Two-woman}}
{{MedalBronze|[[2007–08 Bobsleigh World Cup|2007–08]]|Two-woman}}
}}

'''Helen Lesley Upperton''' (born October 31, 1979) is a Canadian [[bobsled]]der who has competed since 2002. Upperton was born in [[Ahmadi]], [[Kuwait]] as her parents involvement in the oil industry meant they traveled abroad.<ref name="profile">{{cite web|title=Helen Upperton |url=http://www.bobsleigh.ca/AthleteBio.aspx?BiosID=lV1G1dPIOKM= |publisher=[[Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton]] |accessdate=February 5, 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101204134148/http://www.bobsleigh.ca/AthleteBio.aspx?BiosID=lV1G1dPIOKM%3D |archivedate=December 4, 2010 }}</ref> She holds dual citizenship of both [[United Kingdom|Great Britain]] and [[Canada]].<ref name="profile"/> Upperton won the silver medal at the [[2010 Winter Olympics]] after previously finishing fourth in the two-woman event at the [[2006 Winter Olympics]] in [[Turin]]. In 2020 Upperton won a Canadian Screen Award for “Best Sports Analyst” for her coverage of the Bobsleigh World Championship event with Mark Lee. She went to high school at [[Dr. E.P. Scarlett High School]] and graduated from the University of Texas in Austin with a BSc.

Upperton also competed in the [[FIBT World Championships]], earning her best finish of fourth in the two-woman event at [[Altenberg, Germany|Altenberg]] in [[FIBT World Championships 2008|2008]]. Her best overall [[List of Bobsleigh World Cup champions|Bobsleigh World Cup]] finish was second in the two-woman event in the 2005–06 season.

A former [[triple jump]]er at the [[University of Texas at Austin]], Upperton moved to [[bobsleigh]] in 2002. In the 2005–06 season she won four medals on the World Cup including a gold at an event in St. Moritz, [[Switzerland]], Canada's first women's World Cup win in bobsleigh. One month later she finished fourth in the [[Bobsleigh at the 2006 Winter Olympics – Two-woman|two-woman]] event at the [[2006 Winter Olympics]]. Upperton scored a total of six wins and over 20 podium finishes in World Cup competition.<ref name=retire>{{cite web |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/more-sports/canadian-womens-bobsled-duo-upperton-and-brown-announce-retirement/article4556627/ |title=Canadian women's bobsled duo Upperton and Brown announce retirement |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=20 September 2012 |website=[[The Globe and Mail]]|accessdate=20 December 2014}}</ref>

She won a silver medal in the [[Bobsleigh at the 2010 Winter Olympics – Two-woman|Two-woman]] competition at the [[2010 Winter Olympics]] with [[Shelley-Ann Brown]]. The gold medal was won by fellow Canadians [[Kaillie Humphries]] and [[Heather Moyse]]. It marked the first time of the 2010 Olympics that Canadians had won two medals in one event.<ref>{{Cite web |title= Canada finishes 1-2 in women's bobsleigh |author= Rutherford, Kristina |publisher=CTV Olympics |date= February 24, 2010 |accessdate= February 24, 2010 |url= http://www.ctvolympics.ca/bobsleigh/news/newsid=51482.html}}</ref>

Upperton and Brown announced their retirements from the sport in September 2012.<ref name=retire /> After retiring Upperton became manager of community relations with [[WinSport Canada]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.canada.com/olympics/news/qa-helen-upperton-former-olympian-and-broadcaster |title=Q&A: Helen Upperton, former Olympian and broadcaster |last1=Wake |first1=Bev |date=2 January 2014 |website=[[canada.com]] |accessdate=20 December 2014 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150222034611/http://www.canada.com/olympics/news/qa-helen-upperton-former-olympian-and-broadcaster |archivedate=22 February 2015 }}</ref> Subsequently, she became head coach of WinSport Academy's  bobsleigh programme, training developing bobsledders.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.piquenewsmagazine.com/whistler/program-hoping-to-develop-bobsleigh/Content?oid=2635123 |title=Program hoping to develop bobsleigh |last1=Falloon |first1=Dan |date=18 December 2014 |website=[[Pique Newsmagazine]]|accessdate=20 December 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://vancouversun.com/sports/stigma+challenge+Whistler+track/10668149/story.html |title='Bad stigma' a big challenge for Whistler track |last1=Kingston |first1=Gary |date=19 December 2014 |website=[[Vancouver Sun]] |accessdate=20 December 2014}}</ref>

Upperton was a commentator for men's and women's bobsleigh and skeleton at the [[2014 Winter Olympics]] and [[2018 Winter Olympics]] with [[Mark Connolly (sportscaster)|Mark Connolly]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Helen Upperton bio |url=http://www.cbc.ca/mediacentre/helen-upperton.html |website=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC]] |accessdate=2018-02-18}}</ref>

==Career highlights==
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
;World Championships:
:2005 - [[Calgary]], 12th with Jill Salus
:2007 - [[St. Moritz]], 6th with [[Jennifer Ciochetti]]
:2008 - [[Altenberg, Germany|Altenberg]], 4th with [[Jennifer Ciochetti]]
:2009 - [[Lake Placid, New York|Lake Placid]], 4th with [[Jennifer Ciochetti]]
:2011 - [[Konigssee]], 5th with [[Shelley-Ann Brown]]
;World Cup:
:2005 - [[Calgary]], {{bronze3}} 3rd with [[Heather Moyse]]
:2005 - [[Igls]], {{silver2}} 2nd with [[Heather Moyse]]

:2006 - [[Königssee]], {{silver2}} nbn 2nd with [[Heather Moyse]]
:2006 - [[St. Moritz]], {{gold1}} 1st with [[Heather Moyse]]
:2006 - [[Park City, Utah|Park City]], {{bronze3}} 3rd with [[Jennifer Ciochetti]]
:2006 - [[Lake Placid, New York|Lake Placid]], {{silver2}} 2nd with [[Jamie Cruickshank]]
:2007 - [[Cortina d'Ampezzo]], {{bronze3}} 3rd with [[Jennifer Ciochetti]]
:2007 - [[Calgary]], {{gold1}} 1st with [[Jennifer Ciochetti]]
:2007 - [[Lake Placid, New York|Lake Placid]], {{silver2}} 2nd with [[Jennifer Ciochetti]]
:2008 - [[Cortina d'Ampezzo]], {{silver2}} 2nd with [[Heather Moyse]]
:2008 - [[Cesana Pariol|Cesana]], {{gold1}} 1st with [[Jennifer Ciochetti]]
:2008 - [[St. Moritz]], {{bronze3}} 3rd with [[Heather Moyse]]
:2008 - [[Winterberg]], {{gold1}} 1st with [[Jennifer Ciochetti]]
:2008 - [[Igls]], {{gold1}} 1st with [[Heather Moyse]]
:2009 - [[Altenberg, Germany|Altenberg]], {{silver2}} 2nd with [[Jennifer Ciochetti]]
:2010 - [[Calgary]], {{bronze3}} 3rd with [[Shelley-Ann Brown]]
:2010 - [[Lake Placid, New York|Lake Placid]], {{bronze3}} 3rd with [[Shelley-Ann Brown]]
:2011 - [[Cesana Pariol|Cesana]], {{gold1}} 1st with [[Shelley-Ann Brown]]
{{colend}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{COC profile|helen-upperton}}
* {{Olympics.com profile|helen-upperton}}
* {{FIBT profile|100099|Helen Upperton}}
* {{cite Sports-Reference |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/up/helen-upperton-1.html |title=Helen Upperton |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025134442/http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/up/helen-upperton-1.html |archive-date=2012-10-25 |url-status=dead}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20111105081037/http://sports123.com/bob/wwc-2.html List of two-woman bobsleigh World Cup champions since 1995]

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Upperton, Helen}}
[[Category:1979 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Track and field athletes from Calgary]]
[[Category:Canadian female bobsledders]]
[[Category:Canadian female triple jumpers]]
[[Category:Bobsledders at the 2006 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:Bobsledders at the 2010 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:Olympic bobsledders for Canada]]
[[Category:Olympic silver medalists for Canada]]
[[Category:University of Texas at Austin alumni]]
[[Category:Olympic medalists in bobsleigh]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:Canadian sports coaches]]
[[Category:21st-century Canadian sportswomen]]
[[Category:Texas Longhorns women's track and field athletes]]
[[Category:Canadian Screen Award winning sportscasters]]