19 December 2009 / REUTERS, VACOUVER
A rash of devastating injuries will not keep Canadian alpine skiers from their goal of winning three medals at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games, the head of Alpine Canada said on Thursday.
“Our goals remain very attainable, we are not changing our plans. We are still committed to three medals including one gold,” Alpine Canada president Gary Allan told Reuters in an email. “There is no reason to change anything. We have to strive for the top of the podium, our mission is still to win. All that we can do is remain cognisant of our athletes and their conditioning, their wellbeing as well as the race course. We can’t change our game plan right now.” The forceful forecast comes despite another day of bad news for Canada’s alpine ski team, who learned Kelly Vanderbeek would be lost for the rest of the season after tearing ligaments in her left knee in a downhill training run crash on Thursday in Val d’Isere, France. Vanderbeek, 26, has three World Cup podium finishes to her name but no victories.
