Alpine Canada announces ski team
Last Updated: Tuesday, November 10, 2009 | 3:08 PM ET
Tony Care, CBC Sports
John Kucera became the first Canadian man to win the world championship downhill event last February in Val d'Isere, France. (Associated Press)World downhill champion John Kucera, along with Manuel Osborne-Paradis, lead a strong 29-athele contingent into the 2009-10 season, a team that was officially named by the Alpine Canada on Tuesday.
The national squad, which was introduced at a press conference in Calgary, consists of 18 men and 11 women. The group also includes seven World Cup winners and three world championship medallists — an unprecedented number for a Canadian team.
With Alpine Canada's goal of two medals for the upcoming Vancouver Winter Games — set for Feb. 12-28, 2010 — the federation will send 13 skiers who have Olympic experience.
"The Canadian team is focused on World Cup performances that build momentum toward the Olympic Games in February, pushing each other in the pursuit of spots on Canada's Olympic alpine ski team," said chief athletics officer Max Gartner.
"There is a veteran core that has achieved World Cup and World Championship success. They will be pushed by a group of younger skiers who will be looking to 2010 for experience, with their ultimate goals being success in 2014 and even 2018."
A super-G World Cup winner three years ago, Kucera surprised the field by winning the downhill event at the 2009 world championships in Val d'Isere, France. The Calgary skier became the first Canadian man to claim victory in the event at the worlds.
Days later, Michael Janyk, of Whistler, B.C., became the first Canadian male to earn a medal in a technical event (slalom).
Vancouver's Osborne-Paradis is coming off the best World Cup season of his career. He won three World Cup medals, including back-to-back podium results (gold in the downhill, then bronze in Kvitfjell, Norway) last March.
The team's other core group, all of whom have won World Cup races, includes:
- Erik Guay, of Mont-Tremblant, Que.
- Jan Hudec, of Calgary.
- Emily Brydon, of Fernie, B.C.
- Britt Janyk, of Whistler, B.C.
- Geneviève Simard, of Val-Morin, Que.
Canada's Olympic alpine ski team will be announced in February, just prior to the start of the Games.
