Tuesday, February 19, 2002
Men ready to soar
By BRUCE GARRIOCH -- Team Sun
SALT LAKE CITY -- After watching the women take off with Veronica Brenner and Deidra Dionne on the podium yesterday, the Canadian men's freestyle ski team is ready to fly today.
Ottawa's Jeff Bean, North Bay's Steve Omischi and Andy Capick go in the men's aerials with a solid opportunity to come home with a medal.
While the fourth member of the squad -- Nicolas Fontaine -- missed making the finals, the Canadian team is confident it will have a good showing.
Instead of spending yesterday relaxing, Bean and Omischi were on hand to support the women's team, and that should help them as they go for gold.
"We just watched the best motivational video we could ever watch. It's a beautiful day out here and we're all ready to go," Bean said. "Being here should really help us prepare for tomorrow because what we're going to be doing is going to be under exactly the same conditions.
'A CHALLENGE'
"We know this is going to be a challenge. I'm excited and I think we're all excited. I think everybody is going to have trouble sleeping before this event."
Having three participants should bode well for Canada. Omischi was fourth in qualifying while Capick was sixth. Those results are thrown out the window for the final. Athletes are judged on the style of their jumps and the degree of difficulty involved.
The biggest challenge will come from Americans Eric Bergoust and Joe Pack. They finished second and third, respectively, in qualifying while Alexei Grichin of Belarus was No. 1.
"Fourth is a good position to be in going into the finals," said Omischi. "It's pretty amazing to be (at Deer Valley) competing in front of the crowd. I can't put into words what it feels like (to be in the Olympics)."
Still, it would feel even better if Canada brought home a medal. To focus on their sport, they haven't been staying in the Olympic Village and opted for Park City because it's much closer to their venue.
"It definitely feels good to get that qualification out of the way," said Capick. "Everyone is jumping so well, and you just want to lay down two solid jumps (in the qualifying) to get on to the next round."
2002 Games Freestyle Skiing Coverage
