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A rash of devastating injuries will not keep Canadian alpine skiers - 2009/12/18 16:47
A rash of devastating injuries will not keep Canadian alpine skiers from their goal of winning three medals at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games, the head of Alpine Canada said on Thursday.
"Our goals remain very attainable, we are not changing our plans. We are still committed to three medals including one gold," Alpine Canada president Gary Allan told Reuters in an email.
"There is no reason to change anything. We have to strive for the top of the podium, our mission is still to win.
"All that we can do is remain cognisant of our athletes and their conditioning, their wellbeing as well as the race course.
"We can't change our game plan right now."
The forceful forecast comes despite another day of bad news for Canada's alpine ski team, who learned Kelly Vanderbeek would be lost for the rest of the season after tearing ligaments in her left knee in a downhill training run crash on Thursday in Val d'Isere, France.
Vanderbeek, 26, has three World Cup podium finishes to her name but no victories.
The chances of a podium finish in Whistler appeared to be fading for the Olympic hosts as accidents continued to pileup with four skiers going down to season-ending injuries in recent weeks.
Larisa Yurkiw has returned to Canada after sustaining a left knee injury during training on Wednesday, while Jean-Philippe Roy is scheduled to have surgery on the right knee he injured in a World Cup giant slalom race on Sunday at the French resort.
Downhill world champion John Kucera had his Olympic dreams shattered when he broke his left leg in a high speed crash in the season-opening super-G in Lake Louise three weeks ago.
"This is a heartbreaking situation for the athletes, their families and all their supporters," said Allan. "They all appreciate the support that Canadians have shown."
Canada has not been the only country affected by early season injuries that have generated considerable concern among ski racing officials.
A meeting between top skiers and International Ski Federation (FIS) officials that took place before this weekend's men's World Cup event at Val Gardena, agreed there was a need to look for new technology in race suits and safety equipment.
"The Canadian team is not alone, almost all major ski racing nations have been affected by injuries this year," said Allan.
"We were pleased to see the International Ski Federation is taking the injury situation seriously, including meeting with athletes and coaches this week in Val Gardena.
"We look forward to impactful change occurring to help reduce the number of injuries occurring in our sport."
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