A mere nine months before the 2014 Sochi Olympics, 2006 gold medalist Chandra Crawford has left the Canadian national cross- country ski team to train independently.
Crawford informed the national team she is declining her spot on the team following the announcement of the 2013/2014 squad. By doing so, she gives up her national team carding funding, training camp spots and physiotherapy support as well as her World Cup start. She did meet Canada’s Olympic qualifier standard last season with her sixth-place finish in the sprints in Canmore.
A World Cup top 12 finish is the top criteria for Canada’s Olympic team. Canada can send up to 12 skiers to Sochi.
“(Crawford) feels it’s the best way to reach her goals. We’ll continue to support her, but at this point in her life and career, she believes this is the best route for her,” said head coach Justin Wadsworth.
By going it alone, Crawford gives up a large chunk of funding and support, and coach Wadsworth said she has to show Team Canada she can perform at a high level in order to join the club overseas.
“She has to prove that. There’s no set spot on the World Cup for her – she’s now outside our system. She has to prove to us, fitness and planning-wise, she can return to the World Cup at a level we expect. That process is ongoing,” Wadsworth said.
Crawford cut her 2013 season short in February after a series of disappointing results which saw her slip out of the top 30 skiers in the world. Women’s ski coach Eric De Nys, High Performance Director Thom Holland and Wadsworth all agreed Crawford needed a break from the World Cup circuit, and Crawford told the Outlook she needed “time to recharge” after racing for so many years.
She has no guaranteed starts for the World Cup. But she felt she needed to do this to have the desire to keep racing.
Other athletes have left the team to pursue their own training plans, but not to this extent. Two years ago, Banff’s Dasha Gaiazova changed her training plan and now trains in Montreal for a portion of the season with Alex Harvey and Len Valjas.
Born and raised in Canmore, Crawford burst onto the international scene with a gold medal in the 2006 Olympics. Considered Canada’s top sprinter, she’s won six World Cup medals over her career, including a team sprint bronze in 2012 in Milan with Perianne Jones.
Crawford is currently in Italy for her annual Gold Medal Plates fundraiser and confirmed her decision, but could not answer further questions before deadline.
The move also means CCC is shifting around some of its coaching assignments. De Nys now only has one coach on the World Cup team, Perianne Jones. He’ll now split that job in working with more of Canada’s young female athletes.
“Eric’s position has changed a little bit now. He’ll do more outreach and talent identification across the country. He’ll make sure our next level of athletes have the coaching leadership that can help them progress the best. He’s good with developing skiers,” Wadsworth said.
The rest of Canada’s World Cup team remains intact. The team includes Gaiazova, Jones, Harvey, Valjas, Devon Kershaw and Ivan Babikov.
