March 06, 2010 – Now that the big party is over and athletes are back to their regular
QUOTE OF THE GAMES
“We’re not going to do it overnight. We’ve made huge leaps and bounds since 2002 and 2006, and we’re getting closer all the time and expecting more and more.”
WHAT’S COMING UP
– 3.6.10 Lahti WC 15km Duathlon
– 3.11.10 Drammen WC Classic Sprint
– 3.14.10 Oslo WC Skate Sprint
For more news and photos check out the new: www.kikkan.com
2010 Olympic Review
What a whirlwind the last few weeks have been! It’s taken me a bit to unwind and write down my thoughts. This isn’t everything I could possibly say, but since a report is already long overdue, here is a taste of my 2010 Olympic experience….
When I first got serious about cross-country ski racing, I pictured 2010 as the first Olympics where I expected to be a medal contender. Those expectations might have been correct, had it not been for a little technique change in my best event. 2010 would be a classic sprint, not my favored skate technique, so I had to readjust my goals coming into these Olympics. While a medal was not out of the realm of possibility, I knew a successful games would include a top 12 in the classic sprint and a top six in the skate team sprint.
My season was focused on skiing fastest in February. Everything seemed to be going according to plan except for less than ideal results in Canmore the week before the opening ceremonies. It took a lot of mental strength and confidence to ignore the results and feelings from Canmore, and stay positive that everything would come together in Whistler.
The first few days at the Olympics were busy and trying as well. During team uniforming they ran out of smaller women’s sizes in all the Polo stuff, which put me in a bad mood. The weather was challenging at the venue and the Opening Ceremonies day was a long haul. Yet, I could feel my peak form coming up during training (a complete 180 from Canmore), and that got me excited.
I decided to sit out the opening 10km skate race in order to stay fresh and rested for the sprint, which also gave me a chance to do a few more key workouts on the sprint course.
While the day before the sprint was pretty nasty weather-wise and I didn’t feel like a total rock star during my intervals, race day was a different story. The sun came out and the conditions were awesome. I didn’t feel that great during my warm-up but when I got on course, I felt more fresh and strong than I had all season, and opened up the day with a solid 10th place in qualifying.
In the quarterfinals, Bib 1, Marit Bjorgen, took the pace out hard and left the rest of us trying to keep up. The pack strung out and I was in fourth coming into the stadium. Determined to give it everything all way to the line, I was able to move up one spot for 3rd before the finish. Since only the top two move on, I thought my day was done. However, after a nervous wait of watching the next four heats come in, I ended up advancing to the semi-finals as a “lucky loser” by .3 of a second!
The semi-finals were fast and furious and I skied to the full limit of my classic sprinting ability to move from sixth to fourth over the 2nd half of the course. Unfortunately, this time I missed out on being lucky loser and had to settle for a final place of 8th.
While it is every Olympian’s dream to win a gold medal, I had to be satisfied with my day sans-medal. I knew it was going to take a big improvement in my classic sprinting just to be competitive in the rounds, so to have qualified 10th and made it up to 8th was a big accomplishment for me. To top off the day, I got to celebrate with my friends and family after the race. It really meant a lot to me to have everyone there!
Next up was the freestyle team sprint and it felt good to get back on my skate skis. Caitlin Compton was my partner, skiing the lead-off leg and me the anchor. The day before the race we took a little extra time practicing our exchanges. The sunny weather continued.
Our first goal of the day was to try and make it into the finals. During our semi-final race we gradually worked our way up through the pack over each of our three laps. On my final lap I was able to reel in and pass Canada to get us into the third automatic qualification position. We moved on to the final.
In the final, Caitlin got caught in a tangle-up on the first uphill and we spent the rest of the round trying to catch back up. Coming into the final lap we were in eighth place, 7 seconds back from Canada in seventh. I made a big push to catch up to Sara Renner, and we both passed Finland coming into the stadium. Sara and I had quite a battle to the finish line, but I won the contest for sixth place.
Again, while it wasn’t a medal, it was a big improvement from our previous US best of 10th place and a satisfying day.
Next up was another relay. The sunny weather finally came to an end and it was a challenge picking skis for the rain and slush. For the 4x5km relay, I skied the scramble leg for the US Team of myself, Holly Brooks, Morgan Arritola and Caitlin Compton. I had high hopes for a top 10 finish with this team, and I wanted to put us in good position.
Each leg skied two laps of a 2.5km loop. The first loop was quite a cat-fight jockeying for position amongst the 18 teams. I stayed calm and gradually worked up from my start position of 14th. By the end of the first lap, I was in third. The pace accelerated and the pack strung out. Going up the big climb at the 3km mark, I was hanging in there with the leaders and actually took the lead for about 20 seconds on the following downhill. Coming up the final climb, I was caught and passed by Norway and Sweden but managed to keep our team in fourth, 10 seconds back by the tag-off. It was an all-out effort and I was completely exhausted for about 20 minutes after I finished.
Our team dropped to 13th after the 2nd leg where we stayed until the final few kilometers when Caitlin was able to pull back one spot. Our final place was 12th. I felt pretty good about my leg, but I know the other girls didn’t have the performances they are capable of. This is an event I believe the US can be competitive in over the next few years when we all put together good races on the right day!
Shortly after our relay race ended, the Nordic Combined men raced their second individual event of the games. It was incredibly exciting to see my US teammates Billy Demong and Johnny Spillane take gold and silver respectively. If they can do it, we can do it! Later that evening I represented skiing as the athletes chose ‘Billy D’ to be the US flag bearer for closing ceremonies.
The time at the Olympics seemed to accelerate as the days went on. Suddenly we were in the last few days. The final women’s event would be the 30km classic mass-start. I flip-flopped on whether or not to race the 30km all week. When it came down to the day before the race, I decided to go for it.
I was pretty nervous the morning of the 30km. The weather must have been nervous too because it was crying out all sorts of precipitation, making for some tricky waxing. The decision came down to choosing between zeros (no-wax) skis or skis with klister. I chose to go with klister skis for safer kick, although I would have the option to change my skis three times during the race if needed.
The beginning of the mass-start was pretty chaotic as everyone was antsy to get into a good position. I stayed calm and made up spots where I could without expending too much energy. About 3km in, I collided with an Ukrainian girl on a corner and fell, but popped back up quickly. Over the first 10km, I worked my way into the middle of the pack and settled into a good rhythm. I was surprised to find the pace very manageable. We lapped through the stadium after each 5km loop and each time several skiers would dive off to switch skis. My skis were kicking well, so I stuck with them.
Around the 15km mark I could still see the leaders ahead, about 30 seconds off in the distance. However, the pace was beginning to shift and the pack started to thin out. Sometimes I would be skiing in a train with five to ten other skiers and other times I would be alone.
With 10km to go, the coaches were encouraging me to switch skis to get a faster pair. However, I could feel my muscles starting to cramp, especially my triceps and I didn’t want to risk loosing my kick. Over the last lap and a half, I still had good energy but the cramps were coming on stronger and stronger in every part of my body. I had to shorten my stride to keep from completely locking up.
Finally, I made it back into the stadium for the final time. From the roar of the crowd, I could tell someone was hot on my heels. As I rounded the final turn, I felt the presence of another skier to my left. I tried all matters of technique trying to fend her off and ended up lunging for my final place at the line. The board read ‘FOTO FINISH’. Luckily, I got my pinky toe in just before hers (Sylwia J of Poland) for 24th place.
It had poured rain during most of the race and I was totally soaked. As I changed into my dry clothes, my muscles continued to cramp. Though it didn’t matter, my Olympics were officially done.
That last day was a mad rush to pack everything up (three duffle bags worth) while simultaneously watching the men’s 50km on TV before heading down to Vancouver for the closing ceremonies.
The highly anticipated Gold Medal Men’s Hockey match between the US and Canada was in progress during our bus ride down to Vancouver. We reached the athlete village just in time to catch the last few minutes of the 3rd period. The place went nuts when the US scored with 54 seconds to go to force overtime. Then the place went nuts again when the Canadians scored and won the game. You could practically hear all of Canada roar when the winning goal went in.
The Closing Ceremonies was a good show. They had the men’s 50km medal presentation in the stadium, which was pretty cool. Canada gave us their last hurrah while Sochi 2014 gave us a preview of what to expect in four years. When IOC President Jacques Rogue “called on the youth of the World to assemble four years from now in Sochi,” it sent chills down my back.
Many athletes were ready to party after two intense weeks of competition, especially as many of the sports’ seasons concluded at the Olympics. However, with three weeks of World Cup racing still to go, a bunch of us cross-country skiers headed back to our hotel to try and get a few hours of sleep before reporting to the airport to fly to Europe at 4:30am that next morning.
Now that the Olympics are over, here are some of my impressions. Overall, I had a successful Olympics. I hit two of my season’s biggest goals (top 12 in sprint, top 6 in team sprint), I skied well in the opening leg of the relay and I set a personal best in distance in my first major championship 30km appearance. I am proud of how I prepared for these games, and confident that I skied my best.
I am also incredibly proud of, inspired by and thankful for all those people that have helped me get to this point. Coaches, teammates, staff, family, friends, supporters and fans have made this journey so much more than just ski races. You have believed in me and supported me from the very beginning, and it’s amazingly to look back and see how far we have come together. I can’t possibly express in words how grateful I am to have such amazing people behind me!
For me this is not the end. I see this Olympics as the beginning of the next four years. I feel like the US team is getting closer to the medals all the time. In Sochi, there will be another shot at a skate sprint. I hope to be competitive in the other distances as well. Along the way there are also a World Championships in Oslo in 2011, a World Championships in Val di Fiemme in 2013 and plenty of World Cup races to test myself against the best in the world.
The best of the journey is yet to come!
One more month of the 2010 season to go. Next report will be from Lahti, Finland.
Until then, Cheers!
Kikkan