Kris Odegard

Kris Odegard (born February 29, 1980) is a Canadian retired racquetball player from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Odegard won four Canadian Championships – two in singles and two in doubles. He also won the 2006 Pan American Championships, which was his first time on Team Canada.

Kris Odegard
Odegard at 2006 Worlds
Personal information
NationalityCanadian
Born (1980-02-29) February 29, 1980
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
ResidenceSeattle, U.S.
Height6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Sport
SportRacquetball
College teamColorado State University-Pueblo, University of Saskatchewan
Achievements and titles
National finals1st 2007, 2009 (singles), 1st 2010, 2011 (doubles)

International career

Odegard has made 11 appearances on Team Canada,[1] winning gold his first time out at the 2006 Pan American Championships.[2]

Odegard almost repeated as Pan American Champion, as he reached the final in 2007, but he lost to Mexican Alvaro Beltran.[3] In the 2008 Pan American Championships, Odegard again lost to Beltran, but that time in the semi-finals, resulting in a bronze medal.[4]

Most recently, Odegard was part of the Canadian silver medal men's team at the 2012 World Championships.[5]

Odegard was also bronze medalist at the 2010 Pan Am Championships,[6] losing to Mexican Leopoldo Gutierrez in the semi-finals.

Odegard has two bronze medals in doubles for Canada. In the 2011 Pan Am Championships, Odegard played doubles with Mike Green in Mangua, Nicaragua, where they were bronze medalists, losing in the semi-finals to Americans Jansen Allen and Tony Carson.[7] Then at the 2011 Pan Am Games Odegard played with Tim Landeryou, and they reached the semi-finals, where they lost to Venezelans Cesar Castro and Jorge Hirsekorn.[8]

Canadian career

Odegard won the Canadian Championship in 2007[9] and 2009. In both finals, he defeated Mike Green. He also reached the finals in 2005, but lost to Corey Osborne.

Odegard was the #1 men's player in Canada from December 10, 2009[10] to June 22, 2010.[11]

Odegard has won two Canadian Championships in doubles, playing with Green in 2010, when they defeated Vincent Gagnon and François Viens in the final, and 2011,[12] when they defeated Osborne and Francis Guillemette.

As a junior player, Odegard won four Canadian Junior titles in singles and two in doubles. He was also World Junior Champion in Boys U16 in 1997.[13]

Personal life

Odegard's sister, Karina also played racquetball, including on Team Canada.[1] The siblings won a junior worlds mixed doubles title in 1998.[14]

After retiring, Odegard pursued a degree in law, graduating from Thomas Jefferson Law School with an LLB and then got a masters in tax law at Georgetown. He currently works as a tax lawyer in Seattle. [15] His former partner, Melissa Solomon, also works as a practicing corporate attorney in Los Angeles. [16] Previously, Odegard obtained a degree in education from the University of Saskatchewan and worked as a math teacher in Saskatoon.

In 2018, Odegard was inducted into the Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame,[17] and in 2019, he was inducted into Racquetball Canada's Hall of Fame.[18]

See also

References

  1. "Racquetball Canada Team History". Racquetball Canada. Retrieved 2 December 2011.
  2. Racquetball Canada. "Pan American Championships – Team Results". SIRC. Retrieved 2 December 2011.
  3. Racquetball Canada. "Press Release". SIRC. Retrieved 2 December 2011.
  4. Racquetball Canada. "Press Release". SIRC. Archived from the original on 30 April 2012. Retrieved 2 December 2011.
  5. Racquetball Canada. "Press Release". SIRC. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  6. Racquetball Canada. "Press Release". SIRC. Retrieved 2 December 2011.
  7. Racquetball Canada. "Press Release". SIRC. Retrieved 2 December 2011.
  8. Racquetball Canada. "Press Release". SIRC. Retrieved 2 December 2011.
  9. Racquetball Canada. "Press Release". SIRC. Retrieved 2 December 2011.
  10. Racquetball Canada. "Press Release". SIRC. Retrieved 2 December 2011.
  11. Racquetball Canada. "Press Release". SIRC. Retrieved 2 December 2011.
  12. Racquetball Canada. "Press Release". SIRC. Retrieved 2 December 2011.
  13. "IRF Recordbook". IRF. Archived from the original on 13 July 2011. Retrieved 2 December 2011.
  14. USRA. "Results Announcement". USRA. Retrieved 2 December 2011.
  15. https://www.linkedin.com/in/krisodegard
  16. https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissasolomon1/
  17. "Kris Odegard (2018)". Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame. Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  18. "Kris Odegard inducted into Racquetball Canada Hall of Fame". Saskatoon Star Phoenix. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
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