Time for the Big Show.
Brad Spence is raring to go for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia.
The Bearspaw skier who now calls Calgary home was named to Canada’s Olympic alpine ski team Jan. 22 in Calgary. He’ll be skiing the slalom event in Sochi, but doesn’t arrive until Feb. 17 because his event starts Feb. 22.
So he’ll be tuning up at Europa Cup alpine events and training in Italy until his number is called at the Rosa Khutor Alpine Resort, approximately 65 kilometres inland from Sochi. Following a did-not-finish (DNF) performance at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Whistler, B.C., the 29-year-old former Elizabeth Barrett and Manachaban School student is looking for better results in this Olympiad.
“Of course I want to win,” says Spence, who visits his parents in Bearspaw when his busy schedule allows. “Everyone wants to win. I’ve been working really hard physically and mentally. The process is what ultimately brings success. I’ve got a good plan in place mentally to know what I need to do in order to perform well.
“At the end of the day, if I feel like I gave it my all and did everything I could and it lands me in 15th place, then I’m happy with that.”
And he should be. Just being in a position to compete at Sochi is a fascinating study of the will and tenacity of elite athletes in high-risk sports like alpine skiing. He broke his leg and blew out his knee competing in 2005, and wasn’t expected to compete again.
“There was a short period where they weren’t sure I was going to be able to keep my leg after that.”
Instead, he rehabbed and recovered like a boss, earning a spot at the 2010 Whistler Olympics. He grenaded his knee again last season, putting him out of World Cup and Nor-Am events.
But he came back, again, earning a spot on Canada’s alpine ski team for Sochi.
“That’s the reality of sport these days,” Spence relates. “The running joke in ski racing is not if you blow your knee, but when you blow your knee.
“It’s the risk that comes with the sport. Without risk there’s not going to be reward. It’s something we definitely accept. As a Canadian athlete, we do it because we love to.”
