As the first alternate for the Canadian women’s Olympic ski cross team, Tiana Gairns of Prince George knows she won’t be going to Beijing unless something unforeseen happens to one of her teammates.
She doesn’t want to think about it, but considering the dicey nature of her sport, especially during COVID times, that’s always a possibility.
The 23-year-old Gairns is fifth on the depth chart of a stacked Canadian ski cross team that includes four women and four men and she’s OK with the fact that instead of going to China, she will be in Europe competing on the Europa Cup circuit.
“If something happens before the races have started, then I’ll be able to go,” said Gairns “If something happens while training and qualifications have already happened, then it’s too late.”
Gairns was also an alternate for the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang , South Korea but was in a much different position back then as a relative newcomer to the World Cup scene. This year is different. When the team was named on Friday, Gairns ranked seventh in the World Cup standings, among five Canadian women in the top 10.
“In 2018, I wasn’t expecting to be an alternate and I wasn’t vying for an Olympic position, it wasn’t even on my mind, but it just happened to be that someone got hurt and someone that would have been the alternate,” said Gairns. “I almost didn’t want to go to the Games because I didn’t think I was a competitive threat, versus this time around. I was vying for that spot and I was a few points out on the criteria.”
The women’s team includes Marielle Thompson of Whistler, the 2014 Olympic champion; 2018 silver medalist Brittany Phelan of Mont Tremblant, Que.; Hannah Schmidt of Ottawa and Courtney Hoffos of Invermere.
“Every single girl that’s going could get a medal and I can’t be disappointed about not going to the Games,” said Gairns, who spent her Sunday free skiing at Revelsoke. “They all deserve to go. It’s a little bittersweet knowing our team is so strong. No other nation in ski cross is having that problem, where they can’t send every person they think is competitive. Canada is the only one with that problem on the girls’ side.”
Ski cross made its Olympic debut in 2010 in Vancouver-Whistler and Canadian women have won gold in each of the Olympic competitions, starting with Ashleigh McIvor in 2010. Kelsey Serwa, the silver medalist in 2014, won gold in 2018.
The Canadian men haven’t been frequent fliers to the Olympic podium - Brady Leman’s gold medal in 2018 was their first at the Olympic level. But Reece Howden of Cultus Lake captured the Crystal Globe last season as the World Cup points champion and Kevin Drury of Toronto and Jared Schmidt of Ottawa, the other two men on the Olympic team, both have made the World Cup podium.
Gairns will be based at Nakiska for the next couple weeks before she heads to Reiteralm, Austria for her first Europa Cup races, Feb. 13-14. Gavin Rowell of Prince George, 22, will also be racing there.
Reiteralm is a home away from home for Gairns. It’s where her grandparents live and it’s the resort where she first started skiing when she was 2 ½. She lived there until she was seven, when she moved back to Prince George with her parents, Stuart and Sandra.
Due to the threat of COVID, Gairns won’t be allowed to interact with her grandparents and she will have to keep her distance from them, but she’s still hoping to see them face-to-face. This season, no Canadians have missed competitions due to COVID, although one of the athletes did get the virus over the Christmas break.
“After Christmas we’ve been really strict about our COVID rules and policies and separating from any outside people,” said Gairns. “Our bubble has been as tight as we’ve had it, and its paid off, because no one’s gotten COVID and we’re hoping to keep it that way until the Olympics. Our Olympic crew has separated from the rest of the team so they can have an even tighter bubble and not get COVID.”
Gairns, who finished at a Nor-Am event Wednesday at Nakiska, a couple days after he was seventh in the World Cup race, will remain in Alberta to train on the permanent course at Nakiska, now home of the national training centre. It’s a rare opportunity to take a break from racing in a tight four-skier pack in which contact with another racer is one of the hazards and disaster is always lurking.
“I’m really happy with the season I’ve had so far, and it’s not over yet, so I’m happy to continue racing and I’m really looking forward to this training block we have here,” said Gairns. “The racing mindset can be pretty draining. It’s really difficult to focus on your own skiing when you have the other people around you. So I just want the ability to really focus on executing what I want my skiing to look like.”
Gairns and Rowell will resume racing on the World Cup tour Feb. 25-27 in Sunny Valley, Russia, and will return to Reiteralm (March 11-13) before the season-ending race in Veysonnez, Switzerland (March 19).
