Kelly VanderBeek's Blog: Peaks and Valleys

Two days ago I watched Cristrine Nesbitt win Gold in a gut wrenching close race where she pushed through the pain to win by 0.02hunnies. Then yesterday, seeing Jon Montgomery win Gold here in Whistler ignited Canada’s spirit all over again. These performances have been inspirational, exciting, and have awakened the Canadian Spirit in a Nation. Last night, all of Whistler was on fire and Robson Street in Vancouver was packed as Canadians flooded the streets with cheers. My favourite part was hearing the crowds spontaneously break out singing our National Anthem.

These moments make the hard days as an athlete feel worth the effort. Those kinds of highs are virtually unattainable in daily life – because you’re not alone on the sporting field. You are there with a piece of every Canadian (especially here at a home Olympics). However, there is the other side of the coin. Alpine’s team hasn’t come through with a medal; Denny Morrison (fellow C.H.E.W athlete) had one of his worst races in the 1000m; and Mellisa Hollingsworth fell short of the podium where she was favoured to win. All of these stories remind us of how often, in sport and in life, things don’t always work out as we hoped. Bug these athletes will continue to excel and push forward, they will continue to inspire as they get back up and to do it all over again. Denny Morrison is racing in the 1,500m later today - I look forward to watching him skate. I’m sure we’ll see his heart out there on the ice. I’m also certain our Alpine team will continue to excel on hills around the world and I look forward to watching the technical events later this week.

I’ve been watching the Canadian Athletic Spirit Awards online – some fun nominations. chewtowin.ca/spirit I have to say….some of those skeleton athletes just may have to win the best cheeks award ….and I’m not talking the smiling cheeks! J

As for me, I’m still enjoying my work with CTV. The learning curve has been steep but I’m starting to feel more comfortable in front of the camera. The people behind the scenes are such an amazing crew, it’s an honour to work with them.

During these games I’ve had some sad moments, usually during physio on the days of the races I thought I’d be competing in. I’m so proud of our girls though, going out there racing hard for a medal. I can feel their disappointment but I also hope they loved the experience. Everyone out here is just cheering our Red and White athletes on like crazy.

Till Next Time,

Kelly