Solid result, but no podium for Gagnon
VICKI HALL
CALG ARY Marie-Michele Gagnon has empirical evidence through her training times that she can beat the fastest women in the world on skis, especially in the technical events.
Now, the 27-year-old Olympian believes it’s simply a matter of upping her mental game in her quest to reach the podium at the 2017 world championships and the 2018 Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea.
“I’m a really intense person,” Gagnon said Friday after finishing sixth in the combined event at the world championships in St. Moritz, Switzerland. “I do everything as much as I can, as best as I can. We call it soul skiing … that’s the feeling I’m looking for. When I have that feeling in training and in races, that’s when the magic happens.”
Heading into Friday’s race, Gagnon hoped to build on the magic of Canadian teammates Erik Guay and Manuel Osborne-Paradis, who won gold and bronze in Wednesday’s super G. Confidence is contagious and Gagnon stood at the top of the mountain determined to add to Canada’s medal count.
“For me, it’s a good, solid result to have a top-six (finish), but I guess I was expecting a little more,” Gagnon said. “After the race, I got quite emotional for some reason. I guess it was maybe a little bit of mental fatigue because I really was focused all week on this downhill business, which is not easy for me.”
The combined event features a downhill and slalom run, with the winner posting the best combined time.
“I think I wanted a little more,” she said. “I wanted to be on that podium. I knew it was possible.”
Three more medal chances await Gagnon at the world championships in slalom, giant slalom and the team event. Guay and OsborneParadis will attempt to reach the podium again in the downhill on Saturday.