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Ashleigh McIvor 'stoked' about ski cross in Olympics
Ski cross is more "free" and "fun-focused" than traditional alpine skiing, says
the sport's charismatic world champion Ashleigh McIvor. Instead of racing
against the clock, groups of four race down the hill together, dodging and
weaving to the bottom in an effort to get there first. Ski cross will make its
Olympic debut at the 2010 Winter Games, and Canada's McIvor says she's "stoked."
In this 2009 radio interview, McIvor tells CBC's Robin Brown all about her
thrilling winter sport.
• Ashleigh McIvor was born on Sept. 15, 1983 in Whistler, B.C. She first learned
to ski when she was two years old. Growing up in Whistler, skiing was always an
important part of her life.
• McIvor began competing in ski cross in 2003 at the age of 19.
• Ski cross is one of three events that fall under the freestyle skiing
category at the Olympics. The other two are moguls and aerials.
• A 2009 New York Times article commented on the allure of ski cross as a
spectator sport: "In an appeal to a younger generation, ski racing has taken all
its natural, alluring elements and modernized them with tricked-up ramps,
supersize jumps and scary turns, then packaged the whole thing into a
made-for-TV format that promises mishaps, calamity and confrontation worthy of a
reality show. Behold the event of ski cross, or roller derby on skis, in which
four to six racers simultaneously dash through a snowy version of a carnival fun
house ... all while elbowing and pushing their way to the finish line. Last
racer standing, or limping on one leg, wins."
• McIvor won the gold medal in ski cross at the 2010 Olympics in
Vancouver.
Medium: Radio
Program: The Inside Track
Broadcast Date: June 14, 2009
Guest(s): Ashleigh McIvor
Host: Robin Brown
Duration: 6:34
Photo: THE CANADIAN PRESS/ AP- Katsumi Kasahara
Program: The Inside Track
Broadcast Date: June 14, 2009
Guest(s): Ashleigh McIvor
Host: Robin Brown
Duration: 6:34
Photo: THE CANADIAN PRESS/ AP- Katsumi Kasahara
Last updated: November 19, 2012
Page consulted on March 28, 2013
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