Canadian Press

Canada's best medal hope in skiing
sets sights on World Cup, Olympics

TORONTO (CP) - It is none too comforting to know that Canada's best medal hope in alpine skiing has a wonky back heading into an Olympic year. But Melanie Turgeon, Canada's ski queen who had four podium finishes on the World Cup circuit last season, stressed Wednesday that she'll be ready when it counts.

The World Cup season, important since those rankings determine gate positions in Salt Lake City, begins Nov. 26-Dec. 1 in Lake Louise, Alta. "I'll be 100 per cent as of the first day in Lake Louise," Turgeon said at a news conference that featured some other national team members in Edi Podivinsky, Darin McBeath, Sara-Maude Boucher and Anne-Marie Lefrancois.

Turgeon has been answering questions about her health ever since she cut short her training camp in Chile in early September after waking up one morning with severe back pain. The media spotlight in her home province of Quebec has been somewhat distracting.

"People are interested in knowing what's going on," she said. "I don't like to talk about it but I have to keep (the media) informed." So again, the questions about her back were asked Wednesday. "You just never know," she says about it acting up again this year. "It's lombard instability around my vertebrae. Even a little move or if I sit for too long, the disc gets inflamed. "I'm trying to gather all the information possible and prevent anything like that but skiing is very demanding. There's a lot of flexing and rotation. That's probably the worst thing for a disc."

On the bright side, she's feeling great after a few weeks of rehab. "At this point in time, it's going really well," said the Quebec City native. "I've got two more weeks of dry-land training to get it stronger and it's possibly going to be stronger than it's been in a very long time."

Turgeon had a career season last year despite fighting some serious sinus problems that left her with pounding headaches and at the mercy of a nasal spray. She had surgery in mid-July to correct the problem, which included cutting some cartilage in her sinus area, and feels like a million dollars now.

"It was like being sick all year," she said of last season. "My nose was stuffed up all the time and I had headaches all the time. "I can actually breathe now." That's good because Alpine Canada is counting heavily on Turgeon to come through this season.

President Kerry Moynihan told a crowded news conference that Alpine Canada was counting on two podium finishes in Salt Lake and four top-eight finishes. While Emily Brydon and Allison Forsyth are also considered contenders, there's little doubt Moynihan's predictions are based on Turgeon's ability to come through like last season.

Turgeon, 25, finally had the kind of year in 2000-01 that people had pegged her for way back when she broke in eight years ago. She had three second-place finishes in the Super G and one third-place finish in a downhill.

"What pleased me the most was the consistency of the season in both downhill and Super G," Turgeon said. "That's what I've been aiming for the last couple of years. Not have one good result and then not having anything after that. "Every day I want to be a contender for the race." While many athletes this year focus exclusively on the Olympics, Turgeon says the World Cup season is just as important - if not more. While that may sound crazy to those who worship the Olympic experience, such as Podivinsky, Turgeon isn't ready to put all her eggs into one basket. After all, she says, it's only one race in four years.

"My main objective is to eventually win the overall (World Cup) title in either downhill or Super G - or both," she says of her ultimate goal. "Because that really determines who is the best skier." An Olympic medal would be great, Turgeon says, but it's not everything. Her sentiments may derive from her two previous Olympic experiences where Turgeon didn't perform to expectations. She didn't even finish a race in Nagano.

"My last two Olympics, I have to say, I didn't really live the Olympic dream, and the great blah, blah, blah that goes with it," she said. "I hope I come out of Salt Lake with something better." Another strong season could pay out in more ways than one for Turgeon.

General Motors, the main sponsor of the national team, has offered use of a Pontiac car or truck for one year for any skier who achieves a top-10 world ranking, a World Cup win, an Olympic medal or a world championship medal. Turgeon had her eye on a sports utility vehicle sitting behind her while she spoke to reporters. "It's a really nice incentive," she said. "Those are really nice cars and when you don't have to pay for it, as an amateur athlete ... it's great."

reprinted with permission

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