Soaring above the grief to victory
Sporting ‘ Believe in Sarah forever’ sticker, freestyle skier Kaya Turski shakes off so- so start to take slopestyle title
An emotionally trying weekend in Vermont for Canadian freestyle ski team members ended on a good note Sunday as Kaya Turski of Montreal won the Dew Tour ski slopestyle final.
An emotionally trying weekend in Vermont for members of the Canadian freestyle ski team ended in uplifting fashion Sunday as Kaya Turski of Montreal won the Dew Tour women’s ski slopestyle final.
It was the encouraging result the squad needed as it heads this week to Aspen, Colo. for the X Games, the extreme sports showcase that made such a star of Sarah Burke, the freeski pioneer from Squamish who died Thursday in Salt Lake City after sustaining severe brain damage in a training session fall.
Peter Judge the Canadian Freestyle Ski Association CEO, said he expects the shaken skiers to find their form at the X Games, where there is expected to be a significant tribute to Burke, who was a four- time gold medallist.
“Everybody is getting to the point where they know this is what she would want,” Judge said on Sunday. “They’re getting to that place where they’ve come to grips with her death, with the tragedy, and it’s now, ‘ Where do we go to get beyond this? How do we honour her?’
“We do it by moving on being there for her at the X Games.”
The Dew Tour’s second stop of the season in Killington, Vt. began just a day after the passing of the 29- year- old Burke. She was a popular figure in the freeski community, a tireless advocate for female skiers and her halfpipe discipline.
Tributes poured in from around the world, with some of her teammates urging people to read a particularly poignant one from Shay Williams, senior editor of Freeskier Magazine.
“The measure of her loss can never be quantified,” wrote Williams of the bubbly blond who “loved to smile and laugh ... [ and] didn’t have a bad bone in her body. No amount of grieving, celebrating or canonizing will ever make this world seem right again.
“She served as an inspiration to us all. To fight for the things that we so badly want. To approach each and every day with unmatched zeal. To treat every person with unequalled kindness.
“She accomplished and experienced as much in her truncated life than many will in five lifetimes.”
Turski, whose slopestyle discipline will make its Olympic debut at Sochi in 2014 along with ski halfpipe, lost a ski after coming up a little short on the final kicker of her first run in the two- run final. But she came back strong in the second run on the six- feature course — three rails, three jumps — to score 92.25 and beat out American Devin Logan ( 90.50).
“I just tried to keep it calm after the mistake on my first run,” Turski, who had several family members and friends in the crowd, said in a release. “At the top, I was thinking I had to keep my speed right and think it through feature by feature.
“I went at it straight and tucked as much as I could and hoped for the best.”
Turski, who sported a ‘ Believe in Sarah forever’ sticker on one of her skis, said Burke will be with her for the rest of her career.
“I know she would have wanted me to compete and do my best, so I went and did what I could today. I’m just thinking about her family and wishing the best for them.”
The Canadian Freestyle Ski Association had its psychologist in Killington all weekend to help Burke’s teammates deal with the loss. One of those skiers, Mike Riddle of Squamish, chose not to compete in Saturday’s men’s ski halfpipe competition, while Justin Dorey of Vernon finished fourth.
On the women’s side, reigning world champion Roz Groenewoud, an Alberta native who also lives in Squamish, was seventh Saturday, just missing out on the six- woman final.
“Tried to ski like Sarah would have wanted me to, but I guess my heart was too heavy to fly,” Groenewoud said on Twitter. “Sitting out my first finals in a long time.”
There was a video tribute to Burke before the women’s final, which was won by American Maddie Bowman. She said the day was hard for everyone, but “Sarah would have wanted us to ski, in her honour. Sarah was a friend and an idol. She’ll never be forgotten for us.”
All the competitors at Killington were given the option of signing over their winnings as a contribution to the fund set up to honour Burke’s legacy.
Meantime, Judge said he expects X Games officials to put on a fitting tribute to Burke.
“She’s X Games royalty in many ways, really the core and persona of X Games, there from the start and grown with the brand. I know they will do something very respectful and very significant for her.”