Ski Cross Makes Debut at Games
CYPRESS MOUNTAIN, BC - Switzerland's Michael Schmid made his mark on Olympic history Sunday, notching a win in the debut of ski cross at the 2010 Games. Casey Puckett (Aspen, CO) and Daron Rahlves' (Sugar Bowl, CA) finished 23rd and 28th, respectively.
Under blue bird skies just west of Vancouver, crowds ranging from the home country, to Jamaica packed the stands to see the sport's first appearance in the Olympic Games, and they were not disappointed with the outcome as the day was packed with high speed, big air and game-changing crashes.
Of those involved in the latter, Rahlves' spill off the second-to-last jump during the first round was particularly exciting. The alpine master, who was sitting second in his heat at the time, went down on his back only to get back on his feet and make a photo finish of the race, of which he was unfortunately on the wrong end.
"I never have regrets. I’m out there having fun. I still had fun today. The ultimate is just to love what you do and go out there and give it a shot," Rahlves said.
Rahlves, who was just off an injury sustained to his hip, said that he felt prepared for Sunday's race.
"I felt ready to roll. Today was the outcome I didn’t really expect it. I thought I was going to be moving through to the finals," Rahlves said. "I felt great. I’ve been skiing hard and as of yesterday I had zero pain in the hip. I was still doing physical therapy every morning. To be back this way three weeks after dislocating my hip was a pretty outstanding recovery."
Puckett, who also had an injury, but in his shoulder, was unable to generate enough speed for the holeshot, which he believes cost him on Sunday.
"The start is really important and I wasn’t able to get out of the start really well," Puckett said. "There’s a little bit of apprehension when I’m going down a course like that—huge air coming down from pretty high heights. There’s nothing else I could have done. I did everything I could. I’m proud I was able to make it here, and I laid it out there."
After also going out in the first round like his teammate, Puckett reflected on what it took to get him to Vancouver.
One month ago I was on the operating table. I’ve done everything I can to get healthy and get here to do a good performance. I don’t think I was ready. I was ready as I could be. My shoulder wasn’t that painful, but I just didn’t have the power to get out of the gate.”
Women's ski cross has its turn to make its first Olympic appearance on Tuesday as the 2010 Games in Vancouver continue.
