Moose Jaw’s Shelley Rhead burst onto the Saskatchewan speed skating scene in 1973, winning her first of many provincial titles in 1974, and accumulating three bronze medals in the Canadian Short-Track Championships in 1975.
Between 1977 and 1991, she won nine gold medals in Canadian Long Track Championships, as well as gold and bronze medals at the 1983 Canada Games. Shelley competed in the Long Track World Cup circuit for eight seasons with more than twenty “top 10” finishes.
A two-time Olympian, she placed sixth in the 500-metre and 14th in the 1000-metre at the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics. She placed 19th and 21st in the 500-metre and 1000-metre at the 1992 Albertville Winter Olympics. Shelley’s accomplishments include Moose Jaw’s Female Athlete of 1988, and induction into the Canadian Amateur Speed Skating Hall of Fame in 1994.
