It’s been an emotional week. The last week of the Olympics was overshadowed by the tragic news of the death of Truckee’s C. R. Johnson, who was killed in a skiing accident Wednesday at the Light Towers area near the Headwall at Squaw Valley. He was 26. A pioneer in the freeskiing movement, C.R. was well known to many as a genuine, happy, and positive person who loved to ski. At the age of 15, he was the first skier to land a 1440, which is four rotations, in the halfpipe at the Winter X games. In December 2005, 
he suffered a severe head injury in a freak accident while filming at the Brighton Ski Resort in Utah, and spent 10 days in a coma. He literally had to learn to speak and walk again, but never gave up his fight to make it back to the top doing what he loved, skiing. I had the privilege of hearing him speak at the Truckee High School graduation, where he gave the most uplifting, inspirational speech I had ever heard. His account of his struggle back from his accident to pursue his passion, with his infectious positive attitude without a trace of bitterness, truly moved me. He will be missed.
It was also an emotional roller coaster for American skiers at the Olympics, especially for Squaw Valley’s Julia Mancuso. She learned of the death of her good friend C.R. Johnson the morning of the Giant Slalom. She was the defending Gold Medalist in the event and a favorite to win a medal, but a bizarre set of circumstances took away any real chance for her to defend her title. Julia was stopped partway down the course and forced to start over after teammate Lindsey Vonn crashed in front of her. She ended up 18th after the first run and eventually 8th overall after posting the third fastest time in the second run. While it certainly wasn’t Lindsey’s fault that she crashed, recent reports of friction between the two added to the drama and just made the whole situation more ironic. The loss of her friend C.R. put everything in perspective and Julia was philosophical about the situation saying “It’s just funny how the universe works”. When asked about the loss of her friend and their motivation to do what they do she simply said “It’s all about skiing”. She came home with two Silver Medals, an impressive result.
Another inspirational story came in the Four Man Bobsled when the 2009 World Champion US team, headed by Steve Holcomb, took the Gold Medal and broke a 62 year old drought. The last time the US took gold in the event was back in 1948 in St. Moritz on a natural course made in the snow. Steve had suffered from a degenerative eye disease, which had gotten so bad he was ready to quit the sport for safety reasons. He was persuaded by his coach to undergo risky eye surgery which resulted in instant 20/20 vision. He actually found that now he could see “too” well and was not “feeling” the course. He had to slightly blur his vision as he went down the run so he would not over think it. That’s a lesson we should all think (or not think) about as we let ourselves flow on the snow. Have a great week on the slopes and let the force be with you!
It was also an emotional roller coaster for American skiers at the Olympics, especially for Squaw Valley’s Julia Mancuso. She learned of the death of her good friend C.R. Johnson the morning of the Giant Slalom. She was the defending Gold Medalist in the event and a favorite to win a medal, but a bizarre set of circumstances took away any real chance for her to defend her title. Julia was stopped partway down the course and forced to start over after teammate Lindsey Vonn crashed in front of her. She ended up 18th after the first run and eventually 8th overall after posting the third fastest time in the second run. While it certainly wasn’t Lindsey’s fault that she crashed, recent reports of friction between the two added to the drama and just made the whole situation more ironic. The loss of her friend C.R. put everything in perspective and Julia was philosophical about the situation saying “It’s just funny how the universe works”. When asked about the loss of her friend and their motivation to do what they do she simply said “It’s all about skiing”. She came home with two Silver Medals, an impressive result.
Another inspirational story came in the Four Man Bobsled when the 2009 World Champion US team, headed by Steve Holcomb, took the Gold Medal and broke a 62 year old drought. The last time the US took gold in the event was back in 1948 in St. Moritz on a natural course made in the snow. Steve had suffered from a degenerative eye disease, which had gotten so bad he was ready to quit the sport for safety reasons. He was persuaded by his coach to undergo risky eye surgery which resulted in instant 20/20 vision. He actually found that now he could see “too” well and was not “feeling” the course. He had to slightly blur his vision as he went down the run so he would not over think it. That’s a lesson we should all think (or not think) about as we let ourselves flow on the snow. Have a great week on the slopes and let the force be with you!
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