February 24, 2010 (Whistler, BC) – Devon Kershaw
“I was lacking a bit of speed on the final climb, but fourth at the Olympics for Canada – it’s … incredible,” said Harvey afterwards. Despite the fact that the Canadians were considered underdogs in the event, they never believed it themselves: “We’ve been thinking about that event [freestyle relay] for the last six months and today was a good shot for a medal,” said Harvey.
Kershaw raved about his young team mate: “Alex Harvey is the most talented skier I’ve ever skied with. He’s been making so much noise internationally and especially during these Olympics so far. Being ninth in the Pursuit and then today bringing us home in fourth, it means the world to me, because we sweat. We have days like this where it’s beautiful and sunny and it’s great and the training’s easy, but there’s also days where the skies turn nasty and the legs feel like rocks and we don’t wanna go training, and it’s people like Alex that get it done.”
“I also want to say that George Grey – I was sixth with him at World Championships in 2005 with him, and he’s extremely strong as well, and what he did in the Pursuit to come eighth, which was his best ever result, was really inspirational for me,” added Kershaw.
Kershaw also mused about the Canadian men’s team’s fantastic performances at these Games so far. “We’re definitely skiing better than I think a lot of people would have thought. But … Our expectations are super high all the time, so we believe we can do it, but it’s just great to give the hometown crowd a good show.”
There will be no throwing back beer with the team late into the night to celebrate a job well done before the Games are over, however. “We still have a lot of work to do,” said Kershaw. Harvey suggested perhaps they’d sip hot chocolate instead and Kershaw emphasized the necessity of drinking lots of water and staying fueled and hydrated for the 4x10km relay and 50km classic race, which are still to come on Wednesday and Sunday, respectively.
The Canadian men’s 4x10km relay team roster is not yet set in stone, but Kershaw let on that it will likely be the four skiers who raced so well in Saturday’s 30km Pursuit: Kershaw, Harvey, Ivan Babikov, and George Grey.