Yvonne Visser's Travel Diary
February 4, 2006
Canadian teams ready for Turin Olympics
Canadian Skeleton athletes Melissa Hollingsworth -Richards and Jeff Pain
win the Overall World Cup Gold Medals.
Pierre Leuders wins the two-man Bobsleigh Overall World Cup Title.
They have been the best athletes over seven races in seven countries in the
last three months, an incredible accomplishment.
There are perhaps only two other teams heading to Turin that can boast World
Cup winners in both women's and men's titles, speed skating and snowboarding.
Often the World Cup winner is seen as a more important prize among the World
Cup Tour racers, as it shows consistent excellence, rather than a one weekend
event win such as the Olympics.
On completion of the World Cup this week in Altenberg, Germany all teams
will be heading for some much needed mental and physical rest and relaxation.
Not too much, as everyone wants to be "race ready", sharp and "on
the game" for the Olympics.
Some of our athletes will be heading home to Canada to be with their families
and coach.
Others have their family coming to them, meeting them in Europe in order
to avoid jet lag, and still spend some quality time.
There is always the trade off between jet lag and the danger of confined
air space on flights with sick people versus being in your own bed, eating
food that you are used to, and the much needed company of trusted friends.
Many of the athletes do not want their equipment transported in case it gets
damaged or lost, and the example lies in two of our athletes who have lost
their race runners, the specialized steel on the bottom of the sled.
These are designed specifically for each of their sleds, and were lost by
Lufthansa Airlines in the Christmas rush.
They still have not been found. The athletes will hopefully receive one quarter
of the value of the contents, the maximum reimbursement, but the loss of this
equipment is priceless at this time.
There is no time to get new runners made or tested before the Games. Luckily,
others on the team are lending them their third best pairs....yet this could
mean the difference of a medal or not.
Years of training coming down to lost luggage...
There are Bobsleigh tracks in Europe that will allow competitors to slide
and train, and if you are young enough, the World Junior Champs (under 26
years old) are on in Austria in late January. Soon each athlete in Skeleton
and Bobsleigh will enter their final preparations for the Games, the peaking
phase of the whole year plan.
This may consist of time on the running track, where they will do sprints
and jumps, and many use the weight room as a big part of getting the top speed
into their legs.
Many hours will be spent doing mental visualizations of the Turin track,
and video taped sessions of our training in the past year will be scrutinized
to the smallest detail.
Each athlete will memorize each and every fast line of entry and exit from
the curves and practice the sprint start and load onto the sled, as they will
have only 6 practice runs before the race, and the track has only ever had
one race on it.
Talking about speed, one of the biggest questions in winter sports that involve
increased velocity is the issue of equipment.
The availability to the best, fastest, and legal tools of the trade is everyone's
objective.
The illegal/legal part of each competition is a bone of contention for most
athletes, as they are aware that many nations spend copious amounts of energy
finding ways to "enhance" their equipment without getting caught.
Within the sport of Skeleton, the runners on the sled are made of steel,
which is tested for content of the same amount of minerals, once or twice
per year. What is not yet taken into testing, and the technology exists and
can be accessed easily, is the testing for what is being put on top of the
steel, to make the speeds increase.
It is a rumor that some Nations use a type of wax, and others are using some
sort or a liquid and of course, both being completely illegal, yet not one
nation is bothering to start an international incident and demand that the
runners be tested. Money and politics and sport go hand in hand, and here
is a great example.
Almost all sports also see "enhancement", usually in the form of
a substance that is taken by the athlete, a substance that will make them
stronger, faster, or have more endurance.
There are also those who take the substances which mask the "enhancement"
product, and some of these can be found in simple over- the-counter products.
We have just had an issue in the sport of Skeleton where the World Cup leader
(at that time) from the USA, tested positive for a masking agent for steroids,
found in Rogaine, the hair loss prevention product.
He was not able to compete for two world cups as it went through the USA
Court system, and was overturned, but now must face the World Anti-doping
Agency scrutiny if he is ever able to race in the Olympics or anywhere else
again.
Every athlete is ultimately responsible for what they put in or on their
bodies, and that is the final word.
If you are not aware of the Becky Scott incident involving the sport of Cross
Country Skiing at the last Olympics, I'm sure that the media will fill you
in as to the Russian women who used banned substances, our Canadians being
clean.
Everyone likes the story of the 'right' prevailing over the 'wrong', but
someone had to 'blow the whistle' and that takes a lot of courage, and usually
money, for both the sports and the World Antidoping Agency to stay ahead of
the technology.
It is a frustrating and highly controversial topic among the coaches in Skeleton,
and the athletes try to stay out of it and focus on winning.
Nation by nation, the staff and athletes must come to the conclusion that
morals and ethics of sport inspire our next generation of athletes, and the
example must be one of garnering the prize fairly.
Follow along with the triumphs of our amazing athletes as the next 3 weeks
unfolds, and I challenge each one of you to do something to encourage your
physical well-being as a tribute to those who you are watching, cheering,
and judging.
Start planning it now, as we are a mere 6 days away from the Opening Ceremonies.
Yvonne Visser is a Nanaimo massage therapist and former Olympian who
is part of the health care team with the Canadian Olympic Committee tending
to athletes in Alpine, snowboarding, skeleton, bobsleigh, and luge at the
2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, starting Friday.
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