FOR THE RED & WHITE
2018 Canadian Olympic ski-cross roster announced
Canadian ski-cross racers don’t need to look far if they want to see how they measure up against the best in the world.
Really, all they need to do is look at their teammates.
There were eight Canadian athletes standing on stage at the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame for the official team announcement unveiling the 2018 Olympic roster, and each and every one of them can rightfully claim to be one of the very best skicross racers in the world.
“When our team is clicking, there’s always going to be someone going faster than anyone else in the world,” said Team Canada head coach Stanley Hayer. DANNY AUSTIN “There’s always someone to compare to, who helps push the envelope a little bit and helps you realize what’s possible on a track or what’s possible in the gym.”
The depth of talent at Canada’s disposal for the ski-cross events at the Pyeongchang Olympics next month is, frankly, a little ridiculous.
On the women’s side, the team boasts 2014 Olympic silver medallist Kelsey Serwa and gold medallist Marielle Thompson.
The four-woman team is rounded out by Brittany Phelan, a former Olympic alpine skier who has proven she’s a quick learner in ski-cross — earning her first World Cup podium last month — as well as India Sherret, who has shot up the ranks over the past year and won her first World Cup bronze on January 13.
It’s a killer lineup of talent, and a team where the level of internal competition has pushed each skier to get faster, stronger and hungrier on the ski-cross course.
The one looming question for the Canadian team will continue to be Thompson’s health, especially with Georgia Simmerling — Canada’s top-ranked racer this season — breaking bones in both her legs in a horrific crash in a World Cup race at Nakiska this past weekend.
Thompson ruptured her ACL and MCL during training back in October and hasn’t raced on the World Cup circuit this season, but if she’s healthy her experience will have her among the favourites.
Fortunately, the women’s ski-cross races aren’t scheduled to go until Feb. 23, which is the third-to-last day of competition at the Olympics.
“I’m taking everything one step at a time,” Thompson said. “I’ve got a great team behind me and I’m doing everything I can to make sure my knee is ready.”
On the men’s side, the Canadian team is headlined by two me who fully understand what it takes to land on an Olympic podium — mostly because they’ve finished fourth.
In 2010 in Vancouver, it was Chris Del Bosco finishing just off the podium at the first-ever men’s Olympic ski cross race.
Four years later, Calgary’s Brady Leman found himself in the exact same position.
They’ll be joined on the team by David Duncan, of London, Ont., and Kevin Drury, of Toronto, and while World Cup podiums have been hard to come-by this season for the group, they each insist that’s not reflective of the team’s potential.
“We’ve always had some of the fastest guys in the world to sky with, so we know where we’re at,” Del Bosco said. “We haven’t had the success on the men’s side this season, but it doesn’t show how we’ll we’re skiing.
“We’re ready to race everyday, there’s just a lot of variables in this sport that are out of your control.”