Women's cross-country team looks to future
Last Updated: Thursday, February 25, 2010 | 6:04 PM ET
The Canadian Press
With Sara Renner, left, in the twilight of her career, Daria Gaiazova, right, could be the next leader of the Canadian women's cross-country team. (Andrew Vaughan/Canadian Press)The hunt is on for the next great hope among Canada's female cross-country skiers, and some eyes are turning to a young woman who wants to make her Russian granny proud in 2014.
Daria Gaiazova, a 26-year-old who has managed a seventh in the team sprints at the Vancouver Olympics, has skied well in the Vancouver Games, and coaches are hopeful she is the next Beckie Scott, the gold medallist from 2002 whose name inspires young girls to take up the sport.
Asked if she hopes for a leadership role, Gaiazova's bright green eyes shine and her freckled cheeks turn upwards in pleasure. She nods her head up and down.
"It's been a long time," she said. "I've been waiting to be a regular on the A team … I've won enough national titles, and I'm eager to get to the top and fight in the international level."
Gaiazova grew up in a small town near Moscow and was 15 when her parents brought her to Montreal, where she joined the cross-country skiing club Ski Elite and was spotted as a rising talent.
She has a passion for knitting, loves to cook with local foods, speaks Russian, French and English — and occasionally betrays a hint of the unconventional. Her personal motto is "only the dead fish swim with the current."
This year, she consistently was a winner in races on the North American circuit and she named to the Olympic team in the spring.
As her debut Games come to a close, Gaiazova yearns to perform in 2014 in Sochi, Russia, before her grandmother, Maria, whose sore back and knees kept her from flying to Vancouver.
"My grandmother is afraid of flying to Canada, so she's never seen me race in international events so it would be very special for me to have her cheering me on in Russia at the Olympics," she said.
Looks to build with fellow skiers
As she prepares for the future, Gaiazova said the next step is to build training partnerships with skiers like Chandra Crawford, in a similar fashion to the way that Sara Renner and Scott urged one another along in their hometown of Canmore, Alta.
Crawford was a gold medallist in the sprint at the Torino Games in the skate skiing style, and has committed to staying on to fight to regain her title in Russia.
"I talked to Chandra and we both agreed that training together would be a dream come true," said Gaiazova.
The stage is set for a changing of the guard by the departure of Renner, who will compete in her final Olympic race Saturday, the women's 30-kilometre.
At 33, she has been the face of female cross-country skiing in Canada since Scott's retirement following the 2006 Games.
Gaiazova, who excels in endurance events in both classical and freestyle, is also starting to show signs of Renner's speed in the sprints.
Predicts Canadian medal shot
Perianne Jones of Almonte, Ont., said a new nucleus is forming around Crawford and Gaiazova.
"Daria did very well at these Olympics and I have a lot to learn from her. Leader or no leader, we can work together and come together this summer," the 24-year-old said.
Gaiazova said there's no reason Canada can't be among the medal contenders in four years.
"Beckie Scott and Sara Renner and Chandra did it. It's been done before. We can do it. We have everything we need to do it. We're just so hungry.
"I'm ready to carry it on. The girls have been so inspiring to me."
