 Lake Louise, Alberta (Ski Press)-Focused on progressing toward peak performances from potential medalists at Olympic Winter Games in February, Alpine Canada Alpin named 38 ski racers to the 2009-2010 Canadian Alpine Ski Team.
The national ski team, introduced at a press conference in Calgary, AB, is made up of 18 senior men and 11 senior women, including an unprecedented seven World Cup winners and three World Championship medalists. Thirteen ski racers also have Olympic Winter Games experience.
Nine high-potential development ski racers were also named to the team.
"The Canadian team is focused on World Cup performances that build momentum toward the Olympic Games in February, pushing each other in the pursuit of spots on Canada's Olympic alpine ski team," said Chief Athletics Officer Max Gartner.
"There is a veteran core that has achieved World Cup and World Championship success. They will be pushed by a group of younger skiers who will be looking to 2010 for experience, with their ultimate goals being success in 2014 and even 2018," Gartner added.
The core group of veteran leaders includes Erik Guay (Mont-Tremblant, QC), Jan Hudec (Calgary, AB), John Kucera (Calgary, AB), Manuel Osborne-Paradis (Vancouver, BC), Emily Brydon (Fernie, BC), Britt Janyk (Whistler, BC) and Geneviève Simard (Val-Morin, QC), all of whom have won a World Cup race.
Guay's 10 career World Cup podiums lead the men, third all-time on the men's side behind only Crazy Canucks Steve Podborski (20) and Ken Read (14). Brydon's seven career World Cup podiums is tops among female members of the 2009-2010 World Cup team, tied for fifth on the ladies all-time list.
ACA also announced details at today's press conference about the Bombardier Lake Louise Winterstart, as World Cup ski racing returns to Lake Louise for men's downhill and super-G races November 28 and 29 followed by two ladies downhill races on December 4 and 5 as well as a super-G on Dec. 6.
There have been a total of six podium results by Canadians at the Bombardier Lake Louise Winterstart in the last three years, including victories by Kucera in super-G in 2006 and Hudec in 2007 in the downhill. Image: Jeffrey Frisch,Canada,in azione nello slalom gigante di Soelden, Austria, Domenica 25 Ottobre, 2009. (Pentaphoto/Alessandro Trovati) |
