22 février 2006

Jim Morris

After crushing her opponents on the snow, Chandra Crawford did a little dance on the podium Wednesday.

The actions showed the two sides of Crawford. There's the fierce competitor who obliterated the competition to win a surprise gold in the Olympic cross-country ski sprint. And there's the fun-loving 22-year-old who couldn't resist doing a little air guitar for her friends back home.

The Canmore, Alta., native won the four-woman final in two minutes 12.30 seconds, 7-10ths of a second ahead of Germany's Claudia Kuenzel. Russia's Alena Sidko was third in 2:13.2 and Canadian star Beckie Scott fourth in 2:14.7 in what may be her Olympic finale.

Crawford came into the Games a dark horse for a medal. This is just her second year on the national team and she didn't qualify for the Olympic squad until November.

At the 2005 world championships she was 46th in the sprint. In two World Cup events last year she was 35th and 36th in the event. She made steady improvement this year, finishing 10th in a World Cup sprint in Vernon, B.C., eighth at Oberstdorf, Germany, then third at Davos, Switzerland, just before the Games.

Teammate Sara Renner, who was eliminated in the quarter-final heats, said Crawford has the strut of a track sprinter and the skill to back up her bravado.

"She is young but she thinks like a champion," said the 29-year-old Renner. "She's got a sprinter's persona.

"She's not a modest person. She puts it out there. She shows no respect. She just gets after it."

Crawford laughed when told of Renner's critique.

"That's a lie," she said. "I was just terrified. I desperately wanted to make it through each round.

"I just focused on what was working, making someone else lead the downhill, powering through the finish. It all worked out."

But Crawford also she wasn't intimidated by the veterans in the final.

"I'm not afraid because . . . it's like 'I can get around you guys,"' she said.

Crawford skis with a take-no-prisoners style that works well in the sprint, cross-country's version of the 100-metre dash. It can be unpredictable and exciting to watch.

The day begins with a time trial where each skier races a one-kilometre loop with the top 30 advancing.

Ten the argy-bargy really begins.

The athletes race the same loop in heats of six. The top two from heat move on until only four are left. The races can get very physical with elbows flying and skis stepped on.

While Crawford celebrated a victory in her first Olympic Games, Scott watched with mixed emotions.

"I wanted to be on the podium," said the 31-year-old Scott. "That's what I was going for and I missed it. This has happened a few times in the past. I've been fourth at world championships. It's a hard place to be, I'll admit it. I'll live."

Crawford's inspiration for skiing came when she was 10 years old. Myriam Bedard came to Canmore to show off the two gold biathlon medals she won at the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics.

"I was blown away by her two gold medals," said Crawford.

She spent the next five years racing biathlon, then switched to cross country.

Dave Wood, the national team coach, said Crawford is brimming with potential.

"She is very agile and can think on her feet," said Wood. "She never gets compromised on the course through a technical or tactical situation.

"She has an extremely good future ahead of her."

When Crawford crossed the finish line she threw her arms over her head in victory. It's a move she had been practising.

"I think you get in competition what you do in practice," she said. "What I noticed in practice is, I'd come across the line and fold in half in exhaustion.

"I'd force myself to cross the line and put my arms up, even in practice when no one was looking. You have to prepare for these things or you'll just fall over."

Sort of like the dance she did on the podium ?

"It was an air guitar tribute to my friends back home," Crawford said with a grin. "You know when you're really excited the air guitar, it just comes out."

A large Canadian contingent sang O Canada when the Canadian was presented Canada's fourth gold medal of the Olympics. The person singing the loudest might have been Crawford.

Later, she cradled the medal like a kitten. She showed it to teammates, coaches, family and strangers.

"It feels amazing and it feels heavy," she gushed. "It's pretty frigging solid."

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