Canadian skiers 'dropping like flies'

Francois Bourque has been ruled out of the 2010 Olympics after suffering a suspected anterior cruciate ligament tear in his left knee.Photograph by: Herald Archive, Reuters, Canwest News ServiceJust three days ago, Larisa Yurkiw's Olympic dream was still alive.

But in a matter of minutes, in what felt like a snowball to the back of the head, the Canadian national team skier joined the list of spectators for the Vancouver Games when she crashed on Wednesday during a training run in Val d'Isere, France.

There was just one thing going through her mind as she was carried off on a stretcher.

"It was the Olympics," said the 21-year-old native of Owen Sound, Ont. "There's so many sides of this. It was painful and tough, but physical is probably being one of the last. The timing of it obviously sucks, for the lack of a better word."

It also sucks for John Kucera. And Kelly VanderBeek. And Jean-Philipe Roy. And Francois Bourque.

All five members of the Canadian alpine team have seen their season come to an end in the past three weeks, with Kucera suffering a broken leg and the other four suffering knee injuries.

"The list of injuries on the men and women's side is awful," said Yurkiw. "It's kind of spooky, actually. It's easy for me to say now because I'm out and I'm on that list, but as a racer still going, I think there are still a lot of racers questioning what's going on.

"How are you supposed to push out of the start gate with full confidence when they are dropping like flies."

Yurkiw returned to Canada on Friday and was slated to see doctors in London, Ont., to confirm the initial diagnosis of a torn anterior cruciate ligament or medial collateral ligament in her left knee.

Regardless, she'll have nearly a year before her next world cup race. "There's a lot of parts of this that are tough. But from what I've heard, this also may be a rite of passage, too," she said. "There are so many girls in the races that are so competitive, that win world cups and they've all been through this. That alone is comforting, but it's definitely a tough time right now."

Veteran national team member Emily Brydon of Fernie, B.C., knows what some of the skiers are going through. She injured both her knees leading up to the 2002 Winter Olympics. And while she still competed in the slalom and giant slalom races at the world's big show, she wasn't competing at 100 per cent.

On Friday, she finished a career-best seventh in a super combined race in Val d'Isere, but most of the talk was on the hard-luck Canadian team, which is garnering international headlines with its injury woes.

"This has been probably some of the hardest times that I can remember being on the team," said Brydon. "With Johnny and then J.P., it was a real slap in the face. Then, when it hits so close to home, it really makes you think and it really affects you.

"With Larisa, it was really sad and really hard. With Kelly it started to become more of a, 'why,' 'why is this happening?' There is luck involved and it just feels like it is not on Canada's side."

For Yurkiw, she still had to qualify for the Games. There was plenty of work ahead and there was no guarantee she'd be strapping on the boards in Whistler.

Alpine Canada was hoping she'd get her feet wet in February and then build for the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia.

"Stuff like this happens and your route just changes a little. By no means are my goals different. I'm just hoping one day along this career path, I look back and this is somewhat insignificant," she said.

Alpine Canada plans to work with the International Ski Federation to attempt to find a solution to the rash of injuries for the Canadians and the world's other skiers. Yurkiw isn't sure much can be done about a sport where its athletes are expected to hurl down a mountain at breakneck speeds.

"Everyone wants to analyze a situation like this, because you feel like if you can blame it on something or fix something, then it won't happen," she said. "The truth is, what we do is risky, and it's extreme. I think it comes with the job. If things are avoidable, we'll find out what part of it is. It's kind of sick what has happened already this year."

Source:vancouversun.com/