Beijing Bound

T-2 days until the team departs and the excitement is starting to feel real! Our 2-week Olympic prep camp is coming to an end here at Sovereign Lake and Silver Star. On January 26^th we board our charter in Vancouver and I will be on my way to my second Olympics. This time to China. The Cross-Country Skiing events will be hosted in one of the mountain villages near Zhangjiakou. It is about 180km away from Beijing in a mountainous plateau region, elevation ~1600m. This last fact is why we have spent the last two weeks doing our final preparations for the games in beautiful Silver Star, BC, elevation also ~1600m. With over 100km of trails between the two ski networks and world Cup level racecourses it has been the perfect location to adjust to the altitude of the Olympic race venue, do some long sessions and fine tune race preparations with a few test races. Not to mention Silver Star Mountain is one of the most beautiful places! In a time of high stress, being able to be in an environment that makes you smile each morning definitely helps keep us all a little bit calmer before we dive into the storm.

The lead up and qualification process to this point has been stressful and full of ups and downs the last few months. Sport has a way of testing you unlike anything else I have ever experienced and I am so grateful for the community I have around me that has allowed me to come out stronger for it and have the chance to represent my country at a second Olympic Winter Games. To my sponsors, teammates, coaches, friends, family and partner, THANK YOU! And I am so looking forward to sharing these Games with you!

My first Olympics were an amazing and overwhelming experience all at once, and this year there are even more hoops and hurdles to navigate such as Covid testing and cyber security. That’s why, I am trying to keep things simple this time around. Enjoy the spirit of the Olympics and have fun racing in hopes of improving on my results from last time. I have a lot of books on my eReader and have my art supplies packed. I am excited to be a bit less connected to technology and hopefully a little more connected to myself and my love for skiing.

As for the skiing, it won’t be any different. Six ski races over a few weeks, just like I do all winter, just like I’ve done for the past decade. I can’t wait to get out there with my Canadian teammates and try to put down the best performances possible while competing in the sport I love so much! My race schedule will be as follows and you can find all the information you need at Olympic.ca, FIS or on the Team Canada app!

Women’s Cross Country Race Schedule

February 5th	Women’s Skiathlon 7.5km/7.5km
February 8th	Individual Skate Sprint
February 10th	Women’s 10km Classic
February 12th	Women’s 4x5km Relay
February 16th	Classic Team Sprint
February 20th	Women’s 30km Skate Mass Start

I hope many of you can follow along during the next few weeks, I will try to share as many experiences and updates as possible from my Olympic journey on my social media channels.

P.S. If anyone has some must try food recommendations for while in China, please send them my way!

Dahria