Dale Begg-Smith (born 18 January 1985 in Vancouver, Canada) is an Australian freestyle skier. Begg-Smith won the gold medal for Australia, his adopted country, in the men's moguls event at the 2006 Winter Olympics held in Turin, Italy. He is only the third Australian to win a gold medal in a Winter Games.1 In the lead-up to the 2006 Winter Games, Dale Begg-Smith had won three World Cup rounds and was ranked world number one in the moguls discipline.2
Early Years and Career
Begg-Smith was skiing for his native Canada as a teenager when his coaches told him he was spending too much time on his fledgling business, and not enough time in training. He subsequently quit the Canadian ski program because it clashed with his business interests and, along with his brother Jason, moved to Australia at age 15. The brothers chose to ski for Australia because the country had a smaller ski program that offered them more attention and flexibility. This ensured that they could still successfully manage their business. The brothers stayed out of competitive skiing for three years and instead trained with the Australian team, living in Jindabyne each winter. The pair qualified for Australian citizenship after these three years in 2003-04, and were then free to compete for their adopted country.
Alisa Monk, co-ordinator of the moguls program, says that she books Begg-Smith's hotels and flights economically, despite his wealth. "Wherever the team stays, he stays. There are certainly no big demands. You wouldn't know he had a bit of money". She also said "When he is at Perisher he stays in the same hut as the other mogul skiers and his brother which is small and old and almost falling down", and that "He just doesn't try to stand out at all."3
Business Controversy
His business has been linked to the distribution of software that is considered undesirable among the internet community4, and as The Sydney Morning Herald reports: 'The Herald has followed a trail of digital fingerprints scattered over the web which shows Mr Begg-Smith's long and rewarding involvement in the distribution of "malicious software" - otherwise known as malware, spyware and adware.'5 Although Begg-Smith's manager, Mr David Malina from IMG, said reports about his his client's business had been "exaggerated"6, since mid-February 2006, when Begg-Smith hit the limelight, domain name registration details on sites linked to his companies have been changed and most of the websites in the network have also been deactivated and stray web pages which were still visible on the net prior to his rise to Olympic recognition have been removed.
Honors
On 21 February 2006 Australia Post issued a postage stamp commemorating Begg-Smith's achievement, saying his gold put him in a "small and honoured group of athletes".7
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