ELISABETH VATHJE

Sport: Skeleton Hometown: Calgary Birthdate: March 17, 1994 Height/weight: 1.76 m/69 kg Notable: Won gold at two World Cup stops in 2016-17, ranked No. 5 in the world. Q What does a typical training day look like for you?

A On Mondays I have to get up and be at training for 9 a.m. I train from nine until about 12:30-1. I then go to my coach’s house to hang out until our second training session because I live too far away to go home and then come back. Then around 2 we head back to the gym to do our weightlift sessions. That’s kind of how our Mondays and Fridays are. Tuesday morning we’re in the gym, Wednesday morning we’re out running, usually in a field or at a park in Calgary where there’s beach volleyball. We use the sand there — that’s our fancy beach in Calgary. Then on Saturday mornings as well.

Q Canada’s skeleton team has had success in the past — led by Mellisa Hollingsworth — and last year, with you, Mirela Rahneva and Jane Channell. Do you guys feel like a team or is it a competition?

A It’s really difficult because it is a team sport, but we are individuals and we’re still competing against each other. So sometimes there’s a little bit of “not-openness” between each other, which is unfortunate. But you want yourself to be the best and I want to be as generous as possible with my time and my equipment and my knowledge.

Q What are the key athletic attributes of a successful skeleton athlete?

A I think that skeleton’s really cool in the fact that any kind of body type can be successful. Because if you put Jane (Channell) standing side-by-side, we don’t really look very similar. She’s a little bit shorter, more powerful, really quick on the start. Whereas myself, I’m a little bit lankier, a little bit taller, longer limbs . ... But then it also comes into the mental side, where when you’re driving down the track you have to be able to focus and be very task-oriented. Because otherwise you can crash.