Callan Chythlook-Sifsof (born February 14, 1989) is an American
Olympicsnowboarder who has competed in
snowboard cross since 2005. She is a
Yupik/
Inupiaq. She is the first native of Alaska to compete in the Olympics.
In 2006, she was invited to her first
Winter X Games competition and won a
silver medal in 2011.[5] She won the U.S. National Championships in
Tamarack, Idaho, in 2007.[4] In 2008, she won the Jeep King of the Mountain World snowboard series in
Sun Valley, Idaho.[6] Her best
World Cup finishes were 3rd place in
Furano, Japan, in 2006, and 2nd place in
Arosa, Switzerland, in 2011.[7][8] She did not compete in 2009 due to a knee injury.[4][3]
It was announced on January 26, 2010, that Chythlook-Sifsof made the 2010 U.S.
Winter Olympic Team. She placed 21st in the qualifying round of
women's snowboard cross, and did not advance.[9][10] It was the first time a native of Alaska competed in the Olympics.[3]
In 2012, she had two top-ten World Cup finishes, but then suffered a knee injury that sidelined her for the rest of the season.[4] In 2014, she retired from snowboarding after three back-to-back knee surgeries, and then injuring her knee again.[1]
In February 2014, during the
2014 Winter Olympics, in
Sochi, Russia, for which she did not qualify, Chythlook-Sifsof
came out publicly as gay, saying she did so in support of ongoing
protests of Russia's anti-LGBTQ laws.[11] She stated "it's important to come out and take a stand and show the world that it's not OK to be a bigot."[11]
2015–present
In February 2022, Chythlook-Sifsof made posts on Instagram during the
2022 Beijing Winter Olympics accusing
Peter Foley, who coached the U.S. Snowboard team from 1994 to 2022, of
sexual misconduct.[12][13][14][15][16] She wrote, "I cannot watch another Olympic Games without saying this publicly."[17][18] Foley denied the allegations.[14][15][1] USSS immediately implemented an "athlete safety plan" that prohibited Foley from having "one-on-one interaction with female athletes," and from going into an athlete village.[15][16] He was placed on leave by USSS on February 21, temporarily suspended by SafeSport, and then dismissed by USSS on March 20, 2022.[19][20][15][21][16] By August 2022, at least five women had made reports to SafeSport regarding Foley's behavior.[22]
On August 8, 2023, after an 18-month investigation, SafeSport suspended Foley for ten years for sexual misconduct.[23][24][25]