Canadian Chandra Crawford was 8th in the recent Oberstdorf World Cup classic sprint. She is now racing at the U-23 Worlds and we got a chance to ask her about training, Worlds and the upcoming Olympics.
, but my skis had pretty good kick and I qualified 9th. The heats were great because I was hanging out with Sara (Renner) and Beckie (Scott) who are so calm and confident. I took Sara's advice about pushing really hard over the top into the downhill, and moved from 3rd to 1st in my quarterfinal. In the semi-final it was much tougher, and I was stressing on the climb watching the 4 girls ahead of me (hello focus!) and my downhill maneuver only moved me up to 3rd. I joined Beckie in the B-final, and the many sprints I'd done in my warm-ups, plus the hard heats caught up to me and I didn't have much juice left in my legs. In the end it was a great day with a supportive team all around me and I'm happy to be in the single digits for the first time.</p>
<p><b><br />
How have you been training after Oberstdorf in your preparation for the U-23 Worlds? </b></p>
<p>– I did some intensity sessions and then a lot of driving to get here from Pontresina where we were training. In general I did some bigger weeks in early January and am now tapering into the Olympics. I'm doing a few different intensities: short (less than 30 seconds) sprints, sprint-relay simulations (3×2) x 2 or threshold pace (3-5 x 4minutes) workouts depending on the energy and feel. I think racing is one of the best ways to prepare because I always learn so much, so I'm happy to get a skate sprint and 10km classic here in Slovenia and the same two races at the World Cup on the weekend in Davos.</p>
<p><b>How are the conditions in Slovenia for U-23 and Junior Worlds?</b></p>
<p>The snow conditions are terrible at the moment here in Kranj. Today we attempted<br />
to sprint in the deepest slush I have ever seen and it was extremely challenging. There was at least one crash in every heat. It hasn't been below zero in the past few days, and the slushy course has lots of dirt on it. My uncle recently reminded me that “most people don't recognize opportunity because it comes dressed in overalls and boots and looks like work!” so we are rallying as a team to make the most out of this crazy scene. For example Dasha Gaiazova was 5th today, which was great.</p>
<p><b>Which races will you ski at the U-23 Worlds this week and what result would be a confidence builder going into the upcoming Turin Olympics?</b></p>
<p>– I am sprint focused at this point in my career, and was hoping to make the final today in the U23 World's skate sprint. I qualified 6th and was 3rd in the quarterfinal, so my day was cut short, but I will race the 10km classic on Thursday with lower expectations and then travel to Davos on a 12-hour “sleeper train” to race the skate sprint there on Saturday. Once in Turin the sprint is not until the 22nd so I will have almost two weeks to digest this intensity and keep fine-tuning with short intervals and maybe a distance race.</p>
<p><b>How are you approaching your first Olympics and which races are you planning on racing in Turin?</b></p>
<p>– I'm planning to go to the Olympics performance-focused. I'm hoping to manage the distractions and my energy well, and I have lots of space in my heart to be totally inspired by the racing experiences, the stories, and my teammates. I have a lot of faith in my team, and we are totally ready to race our best at the games. My family and community are extremely supportive, and I'm really looking forward to the challenge of the whole crazy event.</p>
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Chandra Crawford: – I'm planning to go to the Olympics performance-focused
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