Drew Goldsack

We’re now half way through the 2010 Olympic Games and what an experience it has been so far! My journey to the Olympics has been an extremely difficult one and I’m very proud that I’ve even been able to fight my way back on to the world stage.  For anyone familiar with the TV show The Simpsons, I can’t help but feel a little like Frank Grimes…it seems like everything related to skiing has been a struggle for me lately. Whether it was having to wait an extra week to find out if I even had a spot on the Olympic Team, crashing in the World Cup at home in Canmore, not having a single chance to do intensity on the Olympic race course or fighting off sickness the week before the Olympics, nothing has come easy.

My debut at the 2010 Olympics was in the classic sprint race. Things didn’t go well and I ended up a disappointing 40^th place, narrowly missing qualifying for the heats. Although my result was very disappointing, the opportunity to race in front of the home crowd here in Whistler was one I’ll never forget. The crowd was deafeningly loud and it was so great to be able to compete in front of a large group of family and friends who came to see me race in the Olympic Games. My goal however was not to simply compete but to perform and unfortunately it just wasn’t my day. I was happy to see that at least a few of my teammates had a better sprint than me. Canada put two skiers into the top 30 and Stefan Kuhn skied a very strong heat, narrowly missing the semifinals. He ended up with an all time best Olympic sprint result for Canada, finishing in 15^th place, very impressive Stef!

The Olympic stadium at WOP

All of the volunteers, mission staff and spectators here in Vancouver/Whistler have been so incredibly supportive. I’ve been ski racing for many years but I’ve never experienced anything that has come close to the excitement and energy that has surrounded these Olympic Games. On one of the first days of The Games, I rode the bus in the evening from my arrival at the Vancouver airport to the Whistler Athlete Village. We drove through the middle of Vancouver and it was surreal to see almost every home, restaurant or bar we passed lit up by a TV broadcasting The Olympics. I have to give a big THANK YOU to all of the supporters out there!

It is unlikely that I will get another start at the Olympics, so all I can do now is stay ready should the opportunity to race arise and cheer my teammates on. As our team builds momentum going into the last half of the games, I’m sure Canada is in store some very exciting ski racing still to come!

In the tape deck: Artist: LMFAO, Track: La La La(Hyper Crush Remix)

Overheard: ‘The Olympics is kid of a big deal.’ –Devon Kershaw

Perfect conditions up in the ‘Norwegian Woods’ training trails in Callaghan Valley.

-

The grandstand at the WOP cross country stadium.

-

The perks of having Coca-Cola as a sponsor of the Olympics!