Kelly Clark
Kelly Clark
Kelly Clarkis an American snowboarder who won halfpipe gold at the 2002 Winter Olympics...
ProfessionSnowboarder
Date of Birth26 July 1983
girl love-you two
When I was 20, I was contemplating quitting. I was at the first event of the season and I overhead a conversation between two girls. One told the other, "God still loves you," and that caught my attention. Later that day, I caught up with the girl and asked her what she meant. Before then, I'd never really thought about God. But there was an undeniable stirring in me and I couldn't ignore it.
heart years world
By the time I was 18 years old, I had achieved everything that was in my heart to do and at the same time I wasn't finding the fulfillment I was expecting to get from it. All of the experiences were incredible and I wouldn't trade them for the world, but it wasn't fulfilling me. I went through the motions for a few more years, but I was looking for something more.
girl winter years
It's funny. I competed against a 13-year old girl at the Winter X Games. I looked down at her birth date and it said 2000. I was like, "Huh, I wonder if she even knows what Y2K is?" But I guess I've just been able to build a foundation.
running snowboarding skills
The foundational skills of snowboarding are what pay off in the long run. That's something I've been able to build over time and that's benefited me a lot. With my age and looking at my career, perhaps I'm more comfortable in my own skin than I've ever been.
growing-up people age
I'm not trying to snowboard for other people anymore. That just kind of comes with age and growing up. That's helped me a lot. Some of that started right after the last Olympics (in Vancouver).
teammate olympics strange
I was having a conversation with one of my teammates and she asked me, "Aren't you so glad it's over? We don't have to compete anymore." I thought that was a strange comment but in that moment I realized that I was doing it for the right reasons. I wasn't looking at the Olympics to define me. I wasn't to arrive somewhere by performing well in a contest.
fun years games
So after those Games, I continued to compete that season and the year after that. I really had the goal of being intentional. I didn't want to do big tricks because it was an X Games final or an Olympics final. I wanted to call my own shots. I started to do that and I started to have more fun than I ever knew I could have.
sports growing-up creativity
I've got to fight for that connection with God all the time no matter what you're going through in life. I'm growing up. I'm maturing. But I definitely think that the backbone of this is the freedom and creativity I have without the fear of failing. If I fail, what's going to happen? Nothing. I'm not looking for my self-worth in the sport.
successful hands snowboarding
Snowboarding was everything that I knew. That's what I did and I poured everything I had into it. I thought that being successful and achieving my goals would go hand-in-hand with being happy.
years careers three
I never planned to be at the height of my career when I was 30 years old and going to my fourth Olympics. I watched the 1998 Olympics when I was 14 years old. That's what I wanted to do with my life. I thought I might have a shot at three Olympics max. This is way beyond the parameters of what I set out to do.
hurt people needs
If there ever is a need or if anyone's hurting, I'm the person they come to because they know what they're going to get. They know I'll pray for them. They know I'll encourage them. It's amazing that I get to be there for people. I'm sure I'll hear later on how God was working in it all, but for me, it's really about loving people well.
people consistency talk-to-me
As I've been open with my faith, there's a consistency that almost disarms people. They know what they're going to get when they see me. They know what they're going to get when they talk to me.
believe goal people
I strongly believe in that saying, "People don't care what you know until they know that you care." That's been my goal and objective - to love people well. That's something I can bring to this community.
faithful purpose endeavor
I feel like there is great purpose in a lot of my endeavors. I've seen God in the middle of them. I've seen Him be faithful in those things.