Saturday, December 1, 2001
Turgeon terrific, finishes fourth
By ERIC FRANCIS -- Calgary Sun
LAKE LOUISE -- Melanie Turgeon didn't need to finish on the podium to feel like a winner yesterday.
Following a tremendous crash in Thursday's season-opening downhill that hyper-extended her knee and shoulder, Turgeon showed tremendous grit by returning to the Men's Olympic Downhill course to finish fourth yesterday.
It was the best World Cup finish by a Canadian woman at Lake Louise since the event's inception in 1989.
"It's my own victory today," said Turgeon, 25, whose previous best here in downhill was a seventh.
"It means a good deal for me to be strong and to come back and ski the way I've been skiing without letting the injuries affect me. You see that in F1 racing, too. Guys crash their car, they walk away bruised up but they get back in another car the next day. This is what we have to do. It's our job."
Exceeding speeds of 121 km/h, Turgeon barrelled down the mountain in 1:38.36, electrifying a finish line gathering of flag-waving supporters thrilled to see her in third spot. However, minutes later, Switzerland's Sylviane Berthod disappointed the crowd by nudging the 25-year-old Quebec City resident off the podium with a second-place effort.
For the second day in a row and third time in four years, Italy's Isolde Kostner won the Lake Louise downhill. Her time was six-hundredths of a second faster than Berthod and 22-hundredths of a second better than third-place finisher Michaela Dorfmeister.
"I just like this place," said Kostner, who now has 11 podium finishes at Lake Louise. "I like everything here. I like the course and that is important to me, knowing I can do well, that I have done well here a lot of times."
Characterizing Thursday's crash two gates from the finish as "bad luck," Turgeon spent the evening analysing and discussing the setback with her boyfriend and team psychologist, Dana Sinclair.
"I kept asking my boyfriend, 'Why me?' I've been through so much this summer," said Turgeon, the world's sixth-ranked downhiller who was expected to get off to a slow start after missing more than a month of on-snow training due to sinus surgery and recurring back problems.
"I have some tools now to work with the ups and downs of being a ski racer. Like my boyfriend said, 'Ask the other girls -- they've had their fair share of injuries, too.' (The crash) could have been worse. Today was a luxury. I put it all behind me. When I pushed out of the start, I felt my arm but the only thing I needed to know was, `Was I going to aggravate it or not? No? OK, I'll deal with the pain because I've dealt with way more pain than that with my back.' "
It was also a triumphant afternoon for Turgeon's teammate, Anne-Marie Lefrancois, whose 12th-place finish earned her a trip to the Salt Lake Olympics.
"I'm really excited," said the Charlesbourg, Que., resident.
"Going down, I didn't think I had a good run. I was kind of surprised but happy. The Olympics are my dream."
Canada's Sara-Maude Boucher finished 28th, Genevieve Simard 46th, Kelly Vanderbeek 54th and Christina Risler 57th.
The Super G -- Turgeon's specialty -- takes place today.
2002 Games Alpine Skiing Coverage
