SKIER BEATS FEAR FACTOR
Guay clears mental hurdle on comeback trail
Rising star ready `to let loose again' heading into Turin
The folly of youth had Canadian downhiller Erik Guay believing he'd be the exception.
Guay's star was on the rise here two years ago when he swept to a surprising second-place finish in a World Cup downhill, but a week later his season was snuffed out when he tore an ACL ligament in a crash at Val Gardena, Italy.
The conventional wisdom is that downhillers will struggle for some time to overcome the mental hurdles caused by such a setback, but Guay was convinced he wouldn't miss a beat.
"A lot of people told me about the psychological effects and that it would not be easy, but I just said, `Yeah, whatever, I won't be like them,'" he said.
He was wrong.
"It's almost like there's something holding you back and you just can't get over it," said Guay. "It just takes time. The more you train, the more you feel like your old self and eventually you just let it go and you can be like you were before."
That Guay's feeling like his young self is showing this week as he prepares for a World Cup downhill tomorrow and a super-G on Sunday. The 24-year-old from Mont Tremblant, Que., posted his second straight top-10 training result yesterday with a second-place finish, just 1/100th of a second behind Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway.
Guay wants to be on the podium here to build his confidence heading into the Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy.
"Olympics for me is only medals," he said. "If you finish fourth, it doesn't count. ... Unless you get a medal, there's no point in even going."
Guay remembers watching on TV as Italian great Alberto Tomba strutted his stuff at the 1988 Calgary Olympics, and he was mesmerized by Austrian Hermann Maier's ability to rebound from his horrific downhill crash at the 1998 Nagano Games to win the super-G the next day.
"I think those kind of moments make you want to be there and be part of it," he said. "For as long as I can remember, I always wanted to be in the Olympics. It was one of my main goals. Now that I'm so close, I can't believe it and I can't wait to be there."
Guay seemed destined to become a ski racer. His father Conrad Guay is a top ski coach in Quebec, while his mother Ellen Mathiesen-Guay is a ski instructor. His father coached him during his formative years, instilling solid technique and a strong work ethic.
"He reminds me of Red Forman on That '70s Show," Guay said of his father. "That's what he's like. He's a tough guy. He likes it done his way. And if you're goofing off, he'll let you know right away."
There was no goofing off this past summer, as Guay pushed himself hard in the weight room to post personal bests in most areas. The Canadians have trained on snow with both the powerhouse Austrians and Swiss the past two months, and Guay has consistently been among the leaders.
"I think he's returned to a level where he's going to let loose again," said Max Gartner, head of the alpine program.
The fear factor made Guay too tentative in many of his races last season, although he finished 14th in the world downhill rankings. When you're travelling about 75 miles an hour as the skiers were yesterday, hesitation is your greatest enemy.
"When you're skiing well and you're skiing solidly, you can do anything on the hill," said Guay. "That's when you're attacking and making those extra tenths of a second as opposed to holding back and sort of putting the brakes on. It (putting the brakes on) doesn't show that much on the video, but it's something you feel yourself and it slows you down quite a bit. It's something that you have to overcome."