Quote:
Originally Posted by IceMan xMVPx
Ya they grew up on that hill and should have a significant advantage over most of their competition. I never said that they were "the favorite" but for them not even to be in contention on a hill they know like the back of their hand should return better results.
For all the hype of "Own the Podium" and all the stupid CTV commercials hyping up our athletes and saying they were favorites to get a medal is failing miserably. I'm no expert on Skiing or admit to watching and following our Canadian skiers in World Cup events but when the media shoves it down our throats saying that it's their home hill and they ski on it everyday, bla bla bla, us Canadians are going to believe it and hope for a better result. I guess I fell into the hype like most Canadians.
Sure, I guess. 6th in the world is nothing to sneeze at but my grief is when I watch Janyk's post ski interview saying how she was really proud of her performance and she skied the best she could've. I guess I want more of athletes to have Melissa Holingsworth's attitude and how she was absolutely crushed with her performance even though she finished 4th.
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The problem is that the course is not the same as the mountain. The course (gates they ski through) is set differently every time. In GS and slalom, the mountain is not a significant factor in determining what type of skier (technician, glider, power) does well, the way the course is set (wide, tight etc) is important, this is becasue the terrain features (undulation, fall-line etc) are dealt with at a slower pace. In downhill, knowing the mountain is more of a factor because the course does not vary as much (less turns, straighter) but it still matters. If you look at WC results, home mountain is not a factor/advantage, again stupid CTV marketing hyping up people who do not follow ski racing.
Someone already addressed Janyk's response and I fully agree. Of course every skier believes they can win that day, but if you have a result consistent/better than your recent performance you can't be upset.
The bottom line is we do not have any skiers who are consistent in the way that Aksel Lund Svindel, Bode Miller, Lindsay Vonn, Carlo Janca etc. are. We've had podiums here and there, but those names are putting up WC discipline and overall titles. As to why, hard to say, funding is definitely an issue, as well as the fact that ski racing has been on the declince in popularity in the lower levels (age 6-12) in the last 10 years as freestyle/big mountain skiing have become hugely popular. Ski racing is extremely expensive so unless your family is rich, lack of funding is a huge deterent given the required travel and training time.