Q: When and how did you start cross country skiing? 

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A: I started cross country skiing when I was about 12 years old but it was just recreational skiing and only did it for fun. I started cross country skiing competitively ten years ago in 2009 at the age of 31. I started competing because of Manon Losier, the provincial coach. She asked me if I wanted to try for Canada Games and the ParaNordic events because it was the first time in 2011, that Canada Games had ParaNordic categories. 

 

Q: What sports did you play before you started cross country skiing, do you still play them today? 

 

A: I played many sports before [cross country skiing]; I played middle school, high school and university soccer. I also played ultimate frisbee as a young adult. 

 

Q: Can you provide a list of your national and international highlights throughout your career? 

 

A: I went to the Paralympics in Sochi in 2014, that's a pretty big highlight. Canada Games is also a highlight; I went to Halifax Canada Games in 2011 and I did the Prince George Canada Games in 2015.

 

Q: How did you prepare for the Paralympics training-wise, what were your goals going into the Games? 

 

A: The goal was mostly just to be there and to get the experience since it was my first Games. Usually, the first Games for any athlete is mostly to get the experience of racing in that type of event. That was the goal; to just do the best that I could. Preparing for that, intense; six days a week sometimes, twice per day. Really the focus was just training. 

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Q: What doors were open for you after the Olympic Games, did you have any other major competitions, any traveling or training? 

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A: After the Paralympics, I got the opportunity to continue training and prepare for the next Games which were the PyeongChang 2018 Games. I started to prepare for those Games, and some of the opportunities that came along with that was to go train in Germany and Austria. I went to go train in a tunnel in Germany and I also went to train on a glacier in Austria.

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Q: What advice would give someone who's just learning to cross country ski? 

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A: Have fun. That's the most basic advice, have fun and be patient. With practice, it becomes easier.

 

Q: How are you involved in the cross country ski community? 

 

A:  Since I didn't qualify for PyeongChang, I left the training and competing career. I'm less involved because I have to make a living. But whenever I can, I try to get involved in coaching now. My coaching level is just missing one weekend course to be able to coach at Canada Games. 

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Q: What is your favourite/most memorable memory during your cross country ski career? 

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A: For sure winning gold medals at the Canada Games, that would be one. Also, the training in Germany and Austria are a part of the most memorable moments. Traveling with a group of friends and training with a group of friends was probably one of the best experiences. It's not necessarily about winning or competing, it's the whole journey to get there. 

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Q: What motivated you when you were spending months training for national and international events? 

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A: There's a personal satisfaction to be better, to improve yourself. But I know that a lot of the time I was saying "Maybe this will open doors for other people. It's possible to do things like this even though we come from a small province, we don't have to move away and train in those big cities or big clubs." So there was those two things that motivated me to do it. 

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Q: Do you have a preference; skate or classic, if so, why? 

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A: I think it depends on the conditions. I like skating when the conditions are fast, but I actually like classic when the conditions are also fast for classic; when you can get a really good grip but still have a good glide. I think I prefer classic just for being outside on a nice day. For example, going for a long, easy ski and the conditions are good for classic, I enjoy classic for that. I find it's less tiring and I think you can enjoy it more. 

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Q:What was your hardest race mentally and/or physically? 

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A: Mentally, the hardest race was at a World Cup in Germany, that was after the Sochi Paralympics where I was training pretty hard. Thinking about my training I thought that I was going to make the standards; to qualify again for the next Paralympics. But once I got on the race course, my result did not show that. Even while I was racing, my body didn't feel good. That was really tough at the end not having the result that I planned to have. So that was probably mentally the toughest part. Physically, probably the selection races for PyeongChang, which were actually in Korea the year before. We had to race in slush and plus 10 degrees, and the skis were digging 10 centimetres into slush. It was physically exhausting where I couldn't really follow and the skis seemed like they weren't gliding at all, so it was really tiring. The results were really not good. 

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Q: Where's your favourite place that you have skied and why? 

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A: There's so many beautiful places, it's kind of hard because a beautiful place becomes a really bad place if you have to ski there in bad weather. But I would to say my best memory would have been Whistler, during the 2012-13 nationals. That was the best nationals that I skied on; was plus 10 degrees but with perfect skiing conditions, sunshine all the time, trails were awesome, and that was a really nice place to be. 

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Q: What is one thing that you've learned about yourself of learned through cross country skiing? 

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A: That you can always do more.  

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