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Cross Country Canada
January 2002
A Pre-Olympic
Interview With Canadian National
Teamers Jaime Fortier and Sara Renner
Mention the Canadian Nordic Team to someone
on the international circuit and the first thought that
will likely come to mind is the success of international
superstar Beckie Scott. A quick number two on the list,
however, will be the depth of the Canadian Women's Team.
The powerhouse quartet that share billing with Ms. Scott
on the Canadian Team...Sara Renner, Milaine Theriault, and
sisters Amanda & Jaime Fortier...have emerged as a fearsome
international threat just as Scott has built a second home
in the stratosphere of the World Cup results sheet.
Just how much of a threat? How about all four
scoring points on the World Cup last year? More points already
in the bank after a short December Euro tour? Sixth place
in the 2001 World Championship relay? A relay silver medal
at the pre-Olympics last January? Or complete and utter
domination of the North American women's race scene over
the past three seasons?
Yet what separates the Canadian Women's Team
apart from the international pack isn't so much the race
results but the fact that this really seems like "a
team" in every way.
XC skiing is not typically considered a team
sport. True, relays are an exception, but on a typical World
Cup calendar there are perhaps 3-4 relays in a given year.
Since so much of our sport is geared around personal efforts
and individual accomplishments...particularly at the elite
level...it is rare when you find a national program as cohesive
and cogenial as the Canadian women. They train together,
travel together, play together...and, um, even took off
their clothes en masse for the "Nordic Nudes"
fundraising calendar last year. Spend enough time around
this group and you can't help but come to the realization
that they generally enjoy each other's company even while
they are trying to ski the SportHill pants off each other...and
the rest of the world.
Since xcskiworld.com has already devoted quite
a bit of well-deserved attention to the exploits of Beckie
Scott, we thought it was high time to give some space at
the microphone to the other Canadian gals heading into the
2002 Games. Originally we wanted to be able to sit down
with all four but a massage and a relay race took Amanda
and Milaine out of reach.
Let's start with doping on the international circuit. You
were involved in starting a petition this past off-season
designed to rally support among World Cup skiers and coaches
for a harder crackdown on doping. What's happened with that?
Sara - Right
from the start the concept of the petition was embraced
by nearly everyone in the elite ranks. That was good to
see. Good that other nations were thinking about the problem.
The goal was and is to make the sport fair and clean.
Jaime - You
can tell that everyone wants a clean sport...even the people
you might think are not clean. There's a lot of athletes
that think they have to cheat in order to win, which I suppose
is true for most people. But when you look at someone like
Beckie who is competing right up there at the top and totally
clean, that's proof that cheating isn't the only way to
win. She has been the leader of the petition and has kept
the pressure on the FIS to make something happen. It's been
really frustrating for her in particular because certain
countries are notorious for cheating and they aren't getting
caught.
Do you think the Lahti scandal that blew apart
the Finnish team had an impact on how the petition was received?
Jaime...Absolutely.
After the news broke in Lahti I have to say that my first
thought was 'ya hoo'! It was the first time I think that
the message got out to the international community that
you actually can get caught if you cheat. It was also really
sad in a way because some of them were pretty amazing skiers.
Now the world will always just think of them as cheaters.
Even so, there is no doubt that the whole scandal was a
step in the right direction.
Sara - The scandal
gave us the confidence to try and change things for the
better. Still, even with all the cheating going on you can't
let it get you down too much. All of us that are clean have
to mentally approach things like we assume others are clean
otherwise you'd go crazy.
What the world is noticing most about your
team is the way you all seem to genuinely get along. Given
the hyper-competitive elite scene in XC and the relative
lack of rewards...what's the secret?
Sara - Well,
we have a lot of fun together which is a big part of it.
We also all genuinely want to be here. I mean, we all enjoy
what we do and we enjoy doing it as a group much of the
time. Then there is the fact that we have really honest
relationships on the team. That might be the biggest thing
of all.
Jaime - I think
we are all pretty easy going which helps, at least as much
as we can be given what we are doing. We all are really
competitive and we do have to compete with each other but
we seem to be able to keep it all in focus.
How about Beckie's success? Is that something
that is helping the rest of you improve? Is there a downside
for the rest of you?
Sara - Everyone
has a lot of respect for her accomplishments. She's such
a gracious winner that it just makes you happy for her rather
than anything negative.
Jaime - Beckie
doesn't put herself on a pedestal. She feels we can do it
also. That she believes in us like she does is probably
all you need to say about the kind of person she is. It's
really impossible not to root for someone like that.
Tell us about the "home course"
advantage in Soldier Hollow and dreams of Olympic hardware.
Sara - We know
to have a chance at a medal in the relay we will all have
to ski at our best...but we also know that it can happen
because of how we all have skied coming into the Olympics.
When we were 6th in Lahti we were not very far at all from
medals so we know it is out there. It is hard to describe
how sweet a medal would be but top 5 is the primary goal
we are shooting for.
Jaime - We get
a vibe at Soldier Hollow that is really special so that
is something in our favor. It isn't like some exotic Olympics
where every little thing is throwing you off. I think that
is helping us take our chances for success more seriously.
Sara - Even though it isn't in Canada it still
feels like the races are taking place "at home".
It is so close to Canmore compared to any other international
venue we ever race at. Plus, for us, there just isn't the
feeling of being out of place that you get in Europe. We
have always raced well there which is something most of
the Europeans can't say. That's super rare to be able to
say that. Usually it is the other way around.
Jaime - It's
not like we are banking on the Europeans to screw up or
have problems. We just believe in ourselves and our program.
It's much more valuable to concentrate on yourself.
Sara - Yeah,
that's really true. Confidence is the biggest difference
because in 2002 it's going to be harder for everyone else
for a change.
So the top of the world is in your sight,
how far have you come since the Canmore training base for
the majority of the Canadian team was initiated in 92/93?
Jaime - Amanda
and I have obviously grown up with skiing together but we've
also been around Sara for years and years as well. Beckie
only a bit less so.
Sara - When
you add Milaine, the five of us have just shared a really
good progression over the years. The resources have been
invested in us via help from Cross Country Canada...and
others...that's now paying off. What's great is that we
are able to combine getting along really well with a super
training environment when we are all together. We push each
other, especially when Beckie is there. When we do intervals
it is a race to be first to the top of the hill...that kind
of thing.
With Beckie splitting time between Canada
and Bend (Oregon), is there a big difference when she is
around to train with versus when you are more on your own?
Jaime - At this
point in our careers we all train pretty well with or without
each other so there isn't too much of a difference for most
of the year. As long as we get together for camps it seems
to work well. It's mainly great to have her around because
we all like being together.
Sara - I think
the more I can train with Beckie the better, at least that's
what seems to help me the most. It takes things up a notch
at camps and when we do tests or time trials or intervals.
OK, gotta ask. How did the Nordic Nudes calendar
experience go?
Jaime - It was
a success and we accomplished what we wanted to with the
calendar but it was stressful at the same time. We sold
around 4000 calendars which was really cool but I don't
think you'll see another one...at least from us (smiles).
We've got a poster out now that is more of a regular team
poster and something the Jackrabbits (nationwide Canadian
youth ski program) can hang on the wall. That's about it.
On the same subject of those Canadian kids
with the posters on the wall, do you think the success of
this Canadian women's team can rub off on future generations?
Sara - Some
people look at our success and see it as an inspiration
but in Canada we need more grassroots development to succeed
longterm.
Jaime - Most
of the juniors I meet are having fun with very little serious
component so it's hard to judge what's going to happen with
them yet. Either they haven't matured enough to really get
after it or they haven't realized what potential they have.
For the girls it is a bit tougher, I think, to stay with
skiing long enough to see bigtime success. There is so much
social pressure to do other things and the lifestyle has
both good and bad elements. Hopefully the younger athletes
are listening to skiers at a higher level talking about
what they felt like at different times at younger ages...both
the good and bad times. By hearing how we made it through
the tough times and kept things in perspective when it went
well, hopefully that will make a difference.
Sara - What
I'm hoping is that the younger skiers will look at us as
proof that you can make it happen...even if it takes awhile
to all come together. I didn't fully realize my potential
until last year when I wrote down my longterm goals and
really focused on making them happen step-by-step. Up until
then I was hoping for success more than planning on it.
But when it all comes together and it starts to happen you
believe all your goals are possible.
reprinted
with permission
Canadian Association
for the Advancement of Women and Sport
N202 - 801 King Edward Avenue
Ottawa, ON, Canada
K1N 6N5
Phone: 613-562-5667
Fax: 613-562-5668
Email: caaws@caaws.ca
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