Rodolfo Dickson
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Rodolfo "Rudy" Roberto Dickson Sommers (born 11 July 1997) is a male Mexican Canadian
alpine skier Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for ...
representing
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
. He was the first Mexican to win an international ski race, winning in
Super-G Super giant slalom, or super-G, is a racing discipline of alpine skiing. Along with the faster downhill, it is regarded as a "speed" event, in contrast to the technical events giant slalom and slalom. It debuted as an official World Cup event d ...
in January 2015.


Personal life

Dickson was born on July 11, 1997, in Puerto Vallarta,
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
. He was orphaned at nine months, and as an orphan, he was referred to as "Jesús de Dios" (English: Jesus of God). He was named Rodolfo Roberto after his Mexican godfather and his Canadian adoptive grandfather, Brian Robert Dickson. Dickson was adopted by a
Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
couple at age three. He was later diagnosed with learning disabilities, having not spoken and still wearing diapers. He moved to Oakville, Ontario, Canada, with his adoptive parents. In 2015, after graduating from National Ski Academy, Collingwood, he moved to Europe to enter full-time FIS ski training with Ambition Ski Racing, Leogang, Austria. As of 2017, Dickson lives in
Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
,
British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
, Canada.


Skiing career

Dickson started skiing at age 6, on a family vacation to Mont Tremblant Resort in
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
. He continued skiing the Milton Heights Racing Club in
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
and won several medals and trophies. He graduated from Mountain View Public School in
Collingwood, Ontario Collingwood is a town in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada. It is situated on Nottawasaga Bay at the southern point of Georgian Bay. Collingwood is well known as a tourist destination, for its skiing in the winter, and limestone caves along the Nia ...
in 2011. He later joined the National Ski Academy under academy head Jurg Gfeller, located in
Collingwood, Ontario Collingwood is a town in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada. It is situated on Nottawasaga Bay at the southern point of Georgian Bay. Collingwood is well known as a tourist destination, for its skiing in the winter, and limestone caves along the Nia ...
, where he remained for five years. While at the academy, he won bronze, silver and gold medals in K2 and U18 age classification races. In 2015, the final year of academy, he won an Overall FIS Gold Medal at a race at Whiteface in
New York State New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...
. The win at Whiteface in January 2015 represents the first time a Mexican national has won an international race on a FIS circuit. He graduated from the academy with the highest FIS points of the class of 2015 for the 2014-2015 FIS season and with honours as an Ontario Scholar. After graduating from high school, he then moved to train in Switzerland and the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, as well as
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. In October 2015, he moved to Ambition Ski Racing Academy in the UK and started training full-time at the FIS program in
Leogang Leogang is a municipality in the district of Zell am See (Pinzgau region), in the state of Salzburg in Austria. It is a famous winter sports and summer mountain hiking resort. Population Sights :Mining and Gothic Museum :tourist mine Schwarzle ...
, Austria, representing Mexico as a FIS alpine ski racer. Dickson qualified for the
2018 Winter Olympics The 2018 Winter Olympics ( ko, 2018년 동계 올림픽, Icheon sip-pal nyeon Donggye Ollimpik), officially the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (french: Les XXIIIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver; ko, 제23회 동계 올림픽, Jeisipsamhoe Donggye Ollimpi ...
in men's giant slalom and slalom. His Olympic effort is self-funded. He represents the Mexican team of Alpine skiing, along with Sarah Schleper. Another two athletes also hope to make the Olympics for Mexico,
Robby Franco Robert "Robby" Franco (born August 23, 1993) is a Mexican-American freestyle skier. He competed for the United States of America in the 2015 FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships, and for Mexico in the 2017 championships. He represented Mexic ...
in freestyle skiing, Sandra Hillen in snowboard. He qualified for the 2018 Olympics, alongside alpinist Sarah Schleper, freestyler Roberto Franco, and cross-country skier Germán Madrazo.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dickson, Rodolfo 1997 births People from Puerto Vallarta Skiers from Vancouver Mexican male alpine skiers Canadian male alpine skiers Mexican emigrants to Canada Alpine skiers at the 2018 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 2022 Winter Olympics Olympic alpine skiers for Mexico Living people