In some places, 3 is a lucky number and now it has become mine!!  Yes, I am embarking on the journey to my third Olympic Games.   At the rip age of 29 I feel that I am finally ready to compete at home in the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games.  It will be a dream come true and an honour beyond words.

For some, this event has little meaning outside the unjustifiable spending of money but for many this is a chance to show the World what Canada is all about.  The value of the Olympics Games transcends the medals and the shows.  Instead, it breaks down limiting barriers between people, cultures and countries; it is the biggest unifying event in the world in my eyes. I am so proud to be Canadian and I think that Canadians should be proud too. By being given a chance to represent my country doing something that I absolutely love to do, is an opportunity beyond words and I hope that I can do it with honour, humility, success and passion.

My first Olympic experience took place in Salt Lake City in 2002 where I experienced a bitter sweetness like never before; milk chocolate versus 80% dark cacao. I had just come back from a potentially career ending injury in February 2001 to only come across another career altering obstacle; another knee injury. This knee injury crippled me; not literally but emotionally! I thought that my Olympic Dream was over.  Little did I know that one man’s belief and a support network that could move mountains would change that belief and grant me my childhood dream; the Olympic Games.  Now, it was not all glory.  It was by far the hardest thing in my life I have ever achieved and as I stood there in the opening ceremonies, I truly believed that it I could overcome this, anything was possible.  I went on to compete in the Slalom and Giant Slalom disciplines which were my only races that years and in which I represented myself proudly. On the day of my first race I realized two things….one, I hate losing and two, I would be back!

So here I was, 4 years later, a medal hopeful, entering the 2006 Torino Winter Games with a feeling like I was on top of my game and ready for “My Moment”!  I had the expectations of myself and my country on my shoulder and I ended up crumbled like an old Greek ruin.  The disappointment in how I performed was indescribable and it took a long time to shake it and look at it from a different perspective; 9^th place isn’t all that bad!  This is when I came to another two conclusions…..Nothing can break me, and two, I would be back!

My hopeful third Olympic experience will be a culmination of the past two Olympic Games and what I have learned in between those two massive bench marks.  To make things clear, as I sit here and write this column I have yet to fully qualify for the Games as one of my qualifications must take place in the year of the Games but I am under the total belief that if I can’t reach the qualification standard I really don’t deserve to be there!  When I think of February 2010, I try and think of it as one of the major peaks in my mountain range of a career.   I am prepared mentally, physically and emotionally to take on the word.  I feel an energy that I have not felt in a long time and although my body sometimes disagrees, it is like a new beginning and a new chance on a clean slate.

This fire inside of me has sometimes flickered and nearly gone out but it never stopped burning.  Now it burns as strong as my loyal wood stove at home that kept me warm my whole childhood.  My goal is to stand in that start gate at the Olympic Games knowing that I did everything possible in my control to be prepared and ready; regrets are for the past.  Just thinking of it know, I can feel the energy of the people, the passion of my competitors and the burning in my soul to do myself proud, my family and friends proud and my country proud.  Feel the passion, Share the Passion, Be the Passion. You are now on this Olympic Journey with me….welcome aboard!!!

I am slowly going crazy……. 

I have been in Solden now for 4 days and have skied 1. Winter has come with a vengeance.  The good news is that all of Europe seems to be shut down and it is not like the weather is just picking on us innocent Canadians.

We complain when there is not enough snow, as in 4 days ago and we complain when winter comes and there is too much snow and wind to ski as in the last 3 days; apparently it is hard to make us ski racers happy.  After my initial shock at seeing the Solden glacier or the lack thereof, I understand the importance of this winter storm but as a ski racer who has come to train in Europe for 2 weeks, missing three days in a row is not ideal.

I have been coming to these European glaciers for more than a decade and it is scary to see with my own eyes how the glaciers are receding and the environment is changing.  Where once, I could ski to the parking lot, there are now snow guns making snow on top of the black glacial ice.  Where once the glaciers looked like a giant, fluffy white clouds they now look like slabs of cement with fault lines marring the surface.  Winter is changing and summer skiing could just well be coming to an end…..

I find it quite funny when people think that I am actually a “winter” person when in reality, I am a wimp against the cold. Having spent most of my winters in Europe for the last 12 years, I have developed “soft skin” when it comes to the Canadian winters and looking ahead it slightly concerns me about when I actually have to live a true winter again!  Good news is that Vancouver is definitely on the milder side of Jack Frost.

The season is getting closer.  For some, it will start in a couple weeks here in Solden with a Giant Slalom. I have decided to “retire” from the GS discipline as I can no longer keep up with the “youngins” but I do love training it and find it extremely beneficial to my performance in my other disciplines.  My season will not start until Lake Louise which is still quite some time away and therefore, I am still in very much training mode.

It is exciting to know that I still have some great training opportunities ahead of me but having said that, each day that leads me closer to the season is extremely exciting.  This is going to be a big year, and I am understanding and accepting that fact more and more.  The Canadian public is getting more involved and with the help of CTV, our images are constantly being aired across the country; how can you not get excited. 

It is amazing how political sport actually is and the closer we get to these highly anticipated Games, the more I am realizing it.  We are no longer just athletes training for a sport we love in order to achieve dreams and goals and affect change in this world, but we have become poster children for hot topics and controversial ones at that.  With blogging as it has become in this day and age, freedom of speech is being tested at new levels and with it comes high risk and high consequences.   There are things that I feel strongly about and wish I could share but sometime the repercussions are just too great. I have recently been reminded how when saying one thing in the media, it can be turned into something entirely different.  How we are sometimes at the mercy of other peoples interpretations.  How, no matter how hard it may be, being an athlete or a person in the public eye has its responsibilities.  I can honestly say that I try and be as real and honest as possible and from there people can make their own decisions.

After being home for 3 weeks in Canada I realized the importance of our messages to the media, our availability to the media and our openness to the media. This is the time in Canadian sport to be a great advocate for sport and it benefits; having said that, I did run away to London, England last week. I am not sure if it was fuelled by flight or fight, or if I just knew deep down that I needed a little time away.  I love London and always have. I spent quite a few childhood holidays there as my Mom is British and all of her family lives there. I have many fond memories of Trafalgar square, the Tower of London, Big Ben and many more iconic London attractions.  I find London the most fascinating city with something new and undiscovered each time I go.  I think that its charm is a combination of the endless history paired with the English language and family and friends.  I have always been drawn to big cities, but who we are kidding I come from the small town of Fernie so I like the comfort of knowing that if I get lost, I can more than likely find  my way home again!  Highlights of this getaway where; High Tea in Wimbledon,  the Amish Kapoor exhibit,  the Salvador Dali exhibit, the Natural History Museum, bowling, shopping and dinner with friends and family.

Life is about balance. It is about work with recovery, yin and yang or whatever you may wish you call it.  I realize more and more the importance of balance in my life and in my ski career. This year is going to be a balancing act and one I hope that my past experiences will help guide me through.