Marie-Michèle Gagnon will participate in Beijing at her third Olympic Games. But for the first time, the skier from Lac-Etchemin will participate in the speed events. More than ever, she feels like she’s in the right place at the right time.
Posted at 11:19 a.m.
“Last season’s results gave me comfort, but I also feel like I’m where I need to be, I feel like I’m on the path I was supposed to be on,” he said. she confided in an interview with The Canadian Press earlier this month.
“Speed events are more my lifestyle, my way of seeing things. I am completely at peace with my decision. With the results backing that up, it helps me a lot. »
Gagnon has always dreamed of speed. It was in downhill and super-G that she began her career. A broken leg suffered when she was 18 turned everything upside down, when it was strongly suggested that she concentrate on the technical events on her return to the track.
Returning to her “first love” for five years, she does not regret her experience on the technical side.
“I think my background in technical events has prepared me for speed. I wouldn’t have wanted to do otherwise,” said the 32-year-old athlete.
PHOTO CHRISTOF STACHE, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Marie-Michèle Gagnon climbed on the third step of the podium at the Super-G in Garmisch-Partenkirchen on January 30.
I proved to myself that I was capable of doing well in several disciplines. I think it was always the goal to get up to speed later in my career, with a good base of technique.
Marie-Michele Gagnon
“In speed, we train like a giant, we do a lot of work on the technical side to perform well. So that really helped me,” she adds.
It is also a trend noticed on the circuit.
“In speed skiing, more and more, it’s the girls who are technically strong who are among the best. Previously, it was more the girls who only focused on speed who won the events. Now, for five or six years, the strong girls in technique, the [Mikaela] Shiffrin, [Wendy] Holdener, [Michelle] Gisin are leaving [vers les épreuves de] speed and are the strongest. It’s really important to have a good technical background to be good on all the tracks. More and more. »
Last lap
Possibly at his last Games — but not his last career season — Gagnon does not feel any different pressure. Anyway, taking part in the Olympics is no different for her than taking part in a World Cup or the Worlds.
“That’s what I try to approach. After all, they are the same adversaries. Every time I race I want to do my best, why would it be any different at the Olympics? Besides, when I try to do too much, it doesn’t give good results.
“We are not in a cardio sport, where if you give a little more, it can give better results, she continues. On the contrary: in alpine skiing, the more you try to put on, the more tense you are and the less your ski is fluid. It’s a thin line, but it’s so easy to overdo it. You have to find the perfect balance to get a good performance. »
This balance, she seems to have achieved.
“I was really happy to have more consistency this season. Last year, I really proved that I belong to the elite and that means that I have better starting bibs and that I have better performances. […] I want to progress from race to race in order to really be a threat [à Pékin]. »
What is she aiming for at these Games?
“I don’t come into a competition with a ranking objective. […] I want to get there without pressure, but with full confidence. If I do everything I have to do and it gives me a medal, so much the better. But if I do everything I have to do and I don’t get on the podium, I will still be proud of myself. I want to give the best performance that I am able to give. My best performance can give a ninth, a 15and or a third place: I cannot control the performance of others around me. »
The women’s sprint events at the Beijing Olympics will kick off with the super-G on February 11, followed by the downhill on February 15. The alpine combined will be held on February 17. Gagnon and her team will decide once there which events she will compete in. will register.