Thompson confident she’ll heal for Games

CALGARY— Marielle Thompson has time and the Olympic schedule on her side as she attempts to come back from a major knee injury and defend her women’s ski cross gold medal.

The 25-year-old from Whistler, B.C., was among the eight athletes — four men and four women — named to Canada’s Olympic ski cross team Monday at Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame. Thompson ruptured her ACL and MCL in an October training crash and has yet to race this season.

Women’s ski cross is scheduled for Feb. 23, which is two days before the closing ceremonies in Pyeongchang, South Korea. That gives Thompson four-and-a-half weeks from Monday’s announcement to determine her race fitness.

“We have a good amount of time,” Thompson said Monday. “We have a really good plan set. “I’m taking it one day at a time.” Sunday was her first day back on snow skiing lightly with a knee brace at nearby Nakiska Ski Resort. She planned to return to Nakiska on Tuesday to test her knee again.

“We have a very strict return-tosnow protocol,” she said. “I’m going through all that step by step, day by day, making sure my knee is in a good place.

“I’m very happy where I’m at in my recovery process.”

Canada will send a full ski cross contingent to a Winter Games for the first time after seven athletes competed in 2010 and six in 2014.

Canadian women won both gold, as well as a silver medal, since ski cross made its Olympic debut in 2010.

Ashleigh McIvor Demerit, the 2010 champion, introduced the 2018 squad of Thompson, 2014 silver medallist Kelsey Serwa of Kelowna, B.C., Brittany Phelan of Mont-Tremblant, Que., India Sherret of Cranbrook, B.C., Calgary’s Brady Leman, Montreal’s Chris De Bosco, Toronto’s Kevin Drury and Dave Duncan of London, Ont.

Del Bosco was fourth in the 2010 men’s race and Leman was also fourth in 2014.

“You can’t beat the experience our team has,” said coach Stanley Hayer of Kimberley, B.C.