Lara Mussell Savage

Lara Mussell Savage at the 2004 World Ultimate Championships in Turku, Finland. August 7, 2004. Lara Mussell Savage is a world champion in Ultimate, earning a gold medal in both 2000 and 2004, as well as bronze medals in 1998 and 2008. Leading up to 2010, Lara was a part of the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) as Project Manager for Aboriginal Sport and Youth. Previous to this, she was the Operations Manager for the Air Canada PGA Tour Championship. Adding to her resume, in 2015 Mussell Savage became an ambassador for viaSport's Gender Equity #LevelTheField campaign promoting gender equity in sport and became a Trustee for the British Columbia (BC) Sports Hall of Fame & Museum.

Mussell Savage is a member of Skwah First Nation, where she has served as an elected Councillor for her nation since 2014 and as Chief since being elected Chief in 2020. Mussell Savage was awarded the National Tom Longboat Award as Canada's Female Aboriginal Athlete of the Year in 2005.

She was raised on the Skwah First Nation territory in Chilliwack and in the urban setting of Vancouver. Mussell Savage currently resides in Chilliwack, BC, on the Skwah Reserve, with her husband, Kirk Savage (also a World Champion Ultimate athlete and hall of famer), and their two children.

Early life and education Mussell Savage was raised in the Skwah First Nation of Stόlō territory in Chilliwack, British Columbia. She went on to win a bronze medal once more in 2008.

After her 2008 season Mussell Savage required neck surgery, which eventually ended her athletic career.

In 2022, Mussell Savage was invited to work with the Four Host First Nations, being the Lil'wat, Musqueam, Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh Nations, and the Canadian Olympic Committee and Canadian Paralympic Committee as part of the BC 2030 Feasibility Team to lead community engagement work on the prospective Indigenous-led bid for BC to host the 2030 Winter Games. While the bid ultimately did not go forward due to lack of provincial support, the Indigenous-led project was groundbreaking and presented a new way of approaching major Games hosting and conducting business within a spirit of reconciliation. In 2023, Mussell Savage was named one of the "23 Influential Canadian Women in Sport to Watch in 2023."