Skeleton racer Montgomery ready for Olympic stage
Last Updated: Friday, January 8, 2010 | 3:45 PM ET
By Brock Mason, CBC Sports
Sometimes good things come from unlikely places.
For Canada's skeleton team that good thing is used car salesman and auctioneer, Jon Montgomery.
Racing down an icy bobsled track on a small sled, face-down and head first, at speeds of over 140 kilometres an hour, may not be something you would expect from someone in Montgomery's line of work, but don't let his day job fool you.
The unassuming resume is the perfect cover for the 2009 World Cup champion's wild and adventurous side.
"I know it's a bit odd, but I think it speaks volumes to the things I'm interested in," said the 30-year-old native of Calgary.
Nerves of steel
Whether it's skydiving, jumping off a bridge, or skeleton racing, Montgomery isn't one to tremble in the face of fear, or crumble under pressure.
His nerves of steel have helped him achieve a great deal of success on the skeleton track.
Montgomery is a two-time Canadian national champion. He also captured two World Cup gold medals in Vancouver in January 2009 and in Cesena, Italy, in December.
In light of his recent success, Montgomery is now considered one of Canada's frontrunners for a medal at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
When asked what his goal is for the Games, his confidence is evident: "I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't going for gold.
"I have a lot of work to do, and it's going to be tough but I'm shooting for the best I can do."
Montgomery has fan in Olympic champion
2006 Olympic champion and Canadian Duff Gibson admires Montgomery's mental toughness. (Ryan Remiorz/Canadian Press)Former teammate and Olympic champion Duff Gibson has seen first-hand Montgomery's ability to succeed on the track when others might have succumbed to the pressure.
"I've seen Jon win a silver medal at the 2008 world championships, while holding off two very good German sliders, on a German track," Gibson said with admiration.
"If there was ever a pressure-filled situation, that was it."
Looking toward Vancouver, Gibson said success at the Olympics has a lot to do with an athlete's ability to deal with pressure.
"I think Jon is naturally suited to be at his best when it matters most," said Gibson.
Montgomery is excited about representing Canada at the Olympics, at home.
"I can only imagine it's going to be pretty sweet … being in front of the hometown crowd can't do anything but add fuel to the fire," he said.
When the announcement was made on July 2, 2003, that the Olympics were going to be held in Vancouver, Montgomery says he made it his goal to do everything he could to be there.
He sees it as an opportunity to live the dream he had been working toward for the last eight years.
Skeleton fills void
Montgomery learned early on that having an adventurous spirit wasn't going to be enough for him to become an elite racer. (Douglas C. Pizac/Associated Press)When he was 22, Montgomery says he felt there was something missing in his life and was looking for something to get involved in. That's when he saw a skeleton race.
"At first I thought it was a horrible luge accident because this racer was flying by me head first at 140 kilometres an hour," he explained. "At that point, I didn't even know the sport of skeleton racing existed."
He watched in amazement as other racers flew down the track.
"At that point I knew that I had to try my hand at it," he said. "I like to challenge myself and scare myself a bit, and the perception of skeleton racing is that it's a bit crazy and a bit weird."
It wasn't long before Montgomery picked up a helmet and sled, and raced down the track.
Despite his risk-taking mentality, however, he soon learned that in order to become an elite racer he was going to need more than just an adventurous spirit.
"The first two years of racing, I had my butt handed to me on a daily basis and it was a huge challenge to believe in myself at that point," he said.
He often looked to his teammates as models of success and inspiration.
"I often asked myself how I was going to be as fast as Duff Gibson and [2006 Torino silver medallist] Jeff Pain on our team," he said.
"At that time, I couldn't even get my brain wrapped around how I was actually going that fast, let alone how I was going to make up a second or two worth of time."
Racing down the track at such high speeds, Montgomery began to master the mental side of the sport, training himself to constantly stay "focused and to be present on the sled" at all times.
"The next curve is what should be on your mind. If anything else is going through your brain, chances are you're going to be ass over tea kettle and in a world of hurt," he said.
As Montgomery continued to move forward in his racing career, he was determined to never give up.
"By my fourth season, I believed that if I did stick with it and I did give it my best effort that I definitely could have success in this sport, and I've been chasing that dream ever since."
Montgomery continued to push himself and "year by year, little by little" he began to master the intricacies of the sport.
Eight years later, with the Olympics on the horizon, his dedication has paid off
