When Anja Paerson thinks about the 2010 Olympics and her time in Whistler, the bronze medal she won in the super-combined and the epic crash she had in the downhill are not the first two things that spring to mind.
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Anja's advice? Pack an umbrella, wear crash helmet
- February 26, 2010 3:45 PM |
- By Joe O'Connor
Story provided by
When Anja Paerson thinks about the 2010 Olympics and her time in Whistler, the bronze medal she won in the super-combined and the epic crash she had in the downhill are not the first two things that spring to mind.
No, the lasting memory the Swede will have of Whistler concerns the gnarly weather.
"I only have one word: rain," Paerson said, after her first slalom run on Friday. "This rain, we thought Whistler was going to be bad, but we never thought it was going to be this bad. It has been frustrating.
"I came here in really good shape, and in the end I am happy I didn't end up in the hospital. I am an athlete, and I wish we had a little more sun so we had more fair races."
A mix of rain and wet snow was slopping down as Paerson spoke about the nasty weather. Behind her, the mountain was shrouded in fog. It is a patch of heaven when the sun shines here. But when the clouds come in, even an Olympic bronze medalist just wants to run for cover.
"Some had luck, and some did not," Paerson said. "And I am probably one of the lucky ones, because I didn't end up in the hospital."
About the Author
- Joe O'Connor Joe O'Connor is a roving sports feature writer with an open-ended beat. He joined the National Post in 2002, and has spent the past seven years bouncing from sport to sport, offering fresh perspectives and delivering unique stories wherever he goes. Whether it has been getting Don Cherry to open up about his love life; George Chuvalo to talk about heartbreaking loss; or racing down the side of a mountain with former Crazy Canuck, Dave Irwin, the veteran Postie chases a story wherever it leads. Before joining the newspaper he was a two-time silver medalist at the National Magazine Awards. Vancouver will be his first Olympics.
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