We only have 3 skiers racing these days because of injuries. Today, our worst result was better than most of our best results. Three Canadians in the race and they finish 1st, 3rd and 5th!
Last weekend, Erik Guay was an amazing 2nd at Garmisch where he has had excellent past results including a downhill win last year.
I was sad that the race the next day was cancelled, but the momentum continued into Chamonix this weekend. On Friday, Erik was 0.08 seconds from the win but ended up just off the podium in 4th. Jan Hudec finished 6th and Ben Thomsen came in 11th halving his career best result of 23rd the weekend before.
On Saturday, Canada had their best showing since 1994. Jan Hudec 1st, Erik Guay 3rd and Ben Thomsen 5th.
Erik had bib #20. He arrived at the finish line in 1st. The excitement didn't last long as the next skier was faster. Jan would start #24. When he arrived at the finish line, he blew the field away leading by over half a second (remember the day before, Erik was in 4th 0.08 seconds behind).
Even knowing the results with the program tape delayed, my heart was still racing during their runs and I had tears in my eyes. It was so exciting!
Then, Ben Thomsen started 50th. Brian Stemmle had told the story the day before about the fundraisers Ben held in order to get the funds to be able to race. Alpine Canada had invited him to go race for Canada, but unfortunately didn't have the funds for him. Many (most?) of the sponsors for the Alpine Team withdrew their funding after the 2010 Olympics. When Brian was telling the story, he was getting choked up. You see how much this must mean to the Alpine Team and to Ben when you work so hard and the results come in. Those who helped fund Ben's dream must be over the moon.
Speaking of great stories, Jan Hudec has a story of his own. When he was eleven months old, his parents defected from Czechoslovakia, escaping in a boat across the Adriatic Sea. They initially settled in Germany before immigrating to Red Deer Alberta and later Jasper. He won his first race at Lake Louise in 2007 but has struggled with injuries since January 2008. Today's win was his first podium appearance since the injuries.
CBC Sports Weekend included the podium presentation and national anthem in their telecast. It was so great to see Jan and Erik singing the anthem. Erik was so close to a medal at the 2010 Olympics with two 5th place finishes. These results show that our team is still contending and we have some young skiers to help the team grow.
[Later edit: Ben had gone from 23rd to 11th, to 5th and halved his result one more time to a career best 2nd in Sochi where the 2014 Olympics will be held]
No comments:
Post a Comment