STAR SKIER LEFT OFF CANADIAN TEAM
2014 Olympic medallist Jan Hudec in dispute with Alpine Canada
In what is normally routine business, Alpine Canada issued a news release Monday announcing the members of the national team for the coming season.
Nowhere to be found: the name of Jan Hudec, the first Canadian to win an alpine medal at the Olympics in 20 years with bronze in the super-G at the 2014 Sochi Games.
“I don’t want to retire,” a despondent Hudec said Monday afternoon as he hustled to catch a plane at the San Diego airport. “I want to continue ski racing, because I feel I can still contribute. But I would rather retire than compete under these circumstances.”
Hudec, 34, missed all of the 2015-16 season — minus one aborted run at Lake Louise — and much of the 2014-15 campaign with knee injuries. He underwent the ninth knee surgery of his career in February and hopes to return to snow this fall.
Alpine Canada offered Hudec a spot on the national team for the 2015-16 season under several conditions, including that he undergo monthly testing to determine if his rehab is on track. The federation also asked Hudec to chip in $35,000 to help pay for a ski technician.
Hudec said he has no problems with the monthly testing but refused to pay what he calls a “ridiculous” sum of money. He also scoffed at a stipulation that required him to pay an even higher bill if he failed to rank in the world’s top 30 by the end of December.
“I’m not here to embarrass the team or embarrass myself,” he said. “I don’t want to continue skiing for two years and fizzle out. I want to continue skiing and do something for Canada at the world championships and maybe at the Olympics.”
Reached Monday in his native Switzerland, Alpine Canada’s Martin Rufener said he believes Hudec still has the ability to excel on some World Cup tracks.
But Rufener said Hudec needs to prove he is on track with his recovery, especially after undergoing surgery later than Alpine Canada had hoped.
According to Rufener, Hudec’s inclusion on the team would necessitate the hiring of another ski tech, at a cost of about $70,000 over six months.
Initially, Alpine Canada asked Hudec to pay the full amount but eventually dropped his proposed share to half.
Unable and unwilling to spend that kind of money, Hudec is scrambling. One possibility is following the path forged by the recently retired Larisa Yurkiw and striking out as an independent.
Another thought for Hudec is competing for the Czech Republic. Although he was born there, his family defected to West Germany and then on to Canada when he was still a baby. “It’s not my first choice,” he said. “I want to ski for Canada and compete at the highest level.”
Also left off the alpine team is Marie-Pier Prefontaine, who struggled last year after placing a career-high sixth in a 2015 World Cup giant slalom event in Austria. Erik Guay, Manny Osborne-Paradis and Marie-Michele Gagnon headline a rebuilding team that includes promising youngsters Valerie Grenier, Jack Crawford and Erik Read.