On the Podium at World Championships

The 2011 FIS Freestyle World Championships has come and gone... with style and grace and a whole lot of medals from the Canadians!
I love participating in big Games like the Olympics and World Championships. It is a fun task to try to peak for these moments.  I really feel like I am able to put all pressures aside for these moments and step up to my ability.  I meticulously plan my training and competition schedules, making choices that will increase my chances for my best performance at the right time. 
Leading up to this World Championships, I focused a lot on my airs and on being consistent in the gate.  I was very aware of my thoughts at every World Cup, and managed to find a state of calmness, focus, ease and contentment every time I stepped into the gate.  I enjoyed the challenge of the competition moment.
My coaches and I made the choice to skip the World Cup in Calgary prior to the World Championships to get some quality training time at my home mountain of Apex.  It was the perfect set up to be prepared for the event because I was able to have very secluded, private and focused training with my coach.  The familiarity of the venue and the world class mogul site on ‘Kristi’s Run’ made it easy to get the work done and be prepared.  A big thanks to Apex for making it possible. 
The day before I flew to Utah, I my mom and I spent a day of rejuvenation at Sparkling Hill’s KurSpa, indulging in the many saunas (including the invigorating -110 C cold sauna)  My mogul knees have never felt so good.  It was the perfect set up for a great week at Worlds.

   
I arrived in Deer Valley, Utah, to my favorite competition course. The course is steep, long and challenging.  It separates skiers and showcases the best athletes in the world.  Despite the frigid -27 conditions for the single mogul competition, the course was prime and I was skiing great.  I knew that if I just fought my way down and committed to my technique off of the airs I would be okay.  I was so happy to stand on the podium again at a World Championships!  Our team skied amazingly that day, with 4 of 6 medals in that event.  I have never seen so much elite level depth in our Canadian Team.
Dual moguls on Saturday night was such an exciting event.  The course was glowing and the athletes were pushing limits.  There were probably around 10,000 spectators.  I had 2 great duals runs, the first against a Russia’s Marika Pertakhiya, and the second against Olympic gold medallist Hannah Kearney.  I was proud of myself for skiing fast with powerful starts and big airs.  I did my job this week and proved myself with the world’s best mogul skiers.
It was really fun to have so many skiing disciplines at this event, including single moguls, dual moguls, skiercross, halfpipe, aerials and slopestyle.  The best of the best were in attendance, and Canadians cleaned up all week!  Congrats to all of my team mates!
Thanks to my family for coming down to the event and supporting me, and to all of those who helped me along the way.  Thanks to my coaches, Jim Schiman and Darcy Downs, who commit countless hours into my training plan.   Thanks to RBC, DJ Ortho, Vega, Lululemon, The Smile Enhancement Studio, Smith, Comor Sports, Full Tilt and K2 for making my athletic dreams possible.  I do not stand on that podium alone, so thanks for being there with me!