Cross-Country Skiing

CANMORE, Alta. - You see her face on a billboard off the Trans-Canada Highway heading west from Calgary. You see her silver Toyota Prius parked at the Canmore Nordic Centre with her name and 2006 Olympic gold medalist stencilled onto the side doors.

This Friday you'll see her 200-watt smile in the opening ceremony of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

But what many Canadians are hoping – even expecting – to see is Chandra Crawfordstanding on the Olympic podium this month, a medal around her neck, a red Maple Leaf nearby. She is, after all, a defending gold medalist in cross-country skiing, one of the best sprinters on the planet. Plus, she and her teammates have spent hours on the Callaghan Valley Olympic track, perfecting every pull, polishing every advantage for nine days worth of racing.

So another medal from Crawford looks as sure as the Rocky Mountains are snow-capped, right? Not so fast, said the woman who stunned the cross-country world four years ago. What was then is not now, in so many ways.

Crawford is still working her way back from a series of leg injuries and a pair of surgeries that cost her the 2008-09 World Cup season. This season, she has competed periodically, picking her spots, even skipping last Friday's 10-kilometre freestyle World Cup race here in her hometown.

Added to that, when Crawford competes Feb. 17 it won't be in the same Olympic event she dominated in the Italian outpost of Pregalato. Instead of using the freestyle or skating technique, which she did in Turin, she'll have to go classic, all stride and glide. The two styles of cross-country skiing alternate every four years. It means Crawford is the Olympic defending champion in an event they won't be holding in Whistler.

And that's why she's keen to tell Canadians, “Don't cash your gold medal hopes before they're won. I keep emphasizing how drastically different the event I won is from the event I'm doing in 2010 – different technique, different lengths, different equipment,” Crawford said. “It's a lot like if I won in freestyle [swimming] now I'm going to win in butterfly. We're working on it but it's a big challenge.”

While Crawford hasn't gone so far as to say there's no chance of her winning a medal, she has talked about targeting 2014 as her best shot at a second gold. She's also been hesitant to detail exactly what she expects to accomplish in Vancouver.

“I have to go one step at a time. [In Saturday's classic sprint race in Canmore] I got into the top 30 and was close to making the semis. If I can build on that and get into the semi I'll immediately refocus on getting into the final,” she said. “And if I get in the final, I will fight to the death to get to the front.

“That's just my nature but I choose to take it one step at a time.”

Canadian cross-country coach Dave Wood was asked about Crawford's limited race schedule and if that's a concern since it's widely understood there's no substitute for racing. Wood was happy to see Crawford finish 24th in Saturday's classic sprint but insisted the game plan is to have Crawford and her teammates primed for the Olympics.

“She's had some small races,” Wood said of Crawford. “The physical part is fine. The mental part? Probably her greatest strength is to focus 100 per cent on the task at hand. I think her coming out for the [Canmore] races and training well was good. Next week her legs will be fine.”

Crawford has overcome her lower-leg woes (compartment syndrome, tendon inflammation) but has yet to post a World Cup podium result this season. Some of her finishes have ranged from 12th to 57th place, depending on the event. She's also aware of just how different the Whistler course is compared to her home track.

“I keep focusing on double pull because Callaghan, it's a long flat. And here you shoot into the finish 10, 15 seconds of arm-work,” she noted. “In Callaghan you have a full 60 seconds [of pulling] so I'm going to keep working on my pipes.”

So much to work on; not much time. In the end, she wants it emphasized: it may not be enough for a medal showing, not this time around.