TORINO: Alpine: Koznick to race slalom; Cook takes her spot in GS

By Published On: February 19th, 2006Comments Off on TORINO: Alpine: Koznick to race slalom; Cook takes her spot in GS

TORINO: Alpine: Koznick to race slalom; Cook takes her spot in GS{mosimage}In a 2 p.m. phone conference Sunday in the Torino region, American Kristina Koznick announced that she has sufficiently recovered from her knee injury to race the Olympic slalom, but will not race the GS.

Jesse Hunt, U.S. Ski Team alpine director, said Stacey Cook will take her place in the giant slalom.

Regarding her current physical condition, Koznick said, ‘Things are going really well. I’ve had three days on snow and skied gates yesterday, but I plan on putting my focus on slalom and will withdraw from the giant slalom. I need a few more days of training still. I’m taking baby steps, but I’ll be ready.’

Koznick skied off a cat-track in the snow between two training courses on Feb. 5, dropping about seven feet. She landed on her feet but stretched her ACL ligament and suffered a bone bruise, which is giving her the most trouble at the moment. She’s been on crutches until Saturday, due to the bruise, and works out by spinning on a stationary bike.

Despite the injury, Koznick is excited to be here and is hoping for the best.

‘It’s good to be here, and challenging’ said Koznick, who has patiently worked herself back to ski readiness. ‘But things happen for a reason. I‘m just not sure what that reason is.’

Regarding the U.S. Ski Team’s lackluster performance to date, Koznick said, ‘It’s been a tough Games for the U.S. We came in strong and expected to win medals. It’s an exceptionally strong team, so it’s frustrating, but we just have to keep pushing through.’

Koznick finds some similarity in Lindsey Kildow’s fight to compete with that of her own. ‘Lindsey had a really hard crash, but it’s all about coming back and staying positive. She has the ability, and she’s facing the same challenge as I’m facing. If she believes in herself, she can. It would be a fairy tale to win a medal but why not. I’ll just have to go fast enough and wait and see.’

Hunt announced that Cook would be taking Koznick’s spot on the GS roster. ‘This decision was based on World Cup performance and her having scored points’ said Hunt. He stated that the GS team would be comprised of Julia Mancuso, Kildow, Sarah Schleper and Cook. Named to the U. S. slalom team are Koznick, Resi Stiegler, Kildow and Schleper.

Hunt did not back away from his stated goal of eight medals from these Games, but he did remind listeners that it was a goal, not a prediction. ‘This was to give ourselves focus and we’re going to keep hammering away at it. We’re still shooting for that goal.’

Schleper underwent back surgery in the late fall and joined the World Cup in January, but is making great strides according to Hunt. ‘She’s had a great comeback. Since coming back, she’s gaining momentum. She’s one of our best athletes and we look for her to step it up on race day.’

Regarding the status of the injured Kildow, Hunt said, ‘Lindsey’s definitely banged up. She toughed it out in the downhill and combined. She’s mentally focused and that says a lot. Mind over matter is a powerful thing.’

Hunt also fielded questions on the team’s less-than-stellar performance to date. ‘We haven’t reached our goals. The team is in a different place, having had success and the expectations that come with it’ said Hunt. ‘But with new staff coming in (tech team) who have been training off site, there is new enthusiasm and positive energy. They’re ready to go. We’ve been analyzing each race, and we’ve been in the majority of races — winning splits — but we’ve got to get it going this next week.’

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About the Author: Pete Rugh