Emma Skaug

Growing up in Calgary, Emma played in a variety of sports including soccer, track, cross country, and mountain biking. In 2014, Emma was introduced to triathlon through a junior high friend. She joined the University of Calgary Triathlon Club for her first winter of training and raced as a youth athlete in a variety of Kids of Steel races the following summer. That first summer of racing sparked Emma’s passion for the sport and she set her sights on competing at the national level.

Emma has worked her way through the athlete pathway, and is now a critical member of Canada’s Para-Triathlon Team where she guides Paralympian, Jessica Tuomela. Emma and Jessica represented Canada at the 2022 Commonwealth Games where they etched their names in the history books as the first Canadians to podium in paratriathlon at the Commonwealth Games, winning the bronze in Birmingham, UK. They also added a silver and bronze medal on the World Triathlon Para Series during the 2022 season. The pair have now set their sights on qualifying for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.

Outside of sport, Emma is completing a Honours degree in Kinesiology at the University of Victoria where she is writing her thesis on the long term effects of concussion on the brain in the University of Victoria Christie Laboratory. In her off season, she enjoys competing in local cyclocross events, paddleboarding, surfing, and exploring Vancouver Island.

Emma credits her parents and the triathlon community for her helping her find success in sport. Her parents got her involved in sport as a child and have been her biggest supporters since then. The warm and welcoming nature of the triathlon community is one of the many aspects of triathlon that keeps her passion for the sport alive. She is looking forward to many more years of competing and working with this community.