Kristina Koznick on her healing, equipment and summer vacation

Kristina Koznick on her healing, equipment and summer vacation{mosimage}Speaking to Ski Racing on July 11th from her home in Burnsville, Minnesota, Kristina Koznick bubbled with anticipation as she packed her bags and sorted through her quiver for a trip to Mt. Hood, Oregon. Heading to Government Camp with friends, personal trainers and her long-time ski technician, Koz eagerly awaits flirting again with snow, gravity and plastic. ‘I’ll be in Hood for 10 days, mostly training slalom and a little GS.’

Recovering from the hip dislocation that she suffered through last season, Koz sounded upbeat and confident about her status, ‘I’m not 100 percent, but rehab is going great.’ Working with a chiropractor and rehab therapist, Koz receives daily doses of deep-tissue massage and continues working on localized strengthening to ‘align the muscles that are all out of whack.’

Not having skied since an equipment test at Mammoth Mountain, California, in early May, Koz expressed relief at sorting through variables innate to the sport of ski racing. ‘I have been with Volkl and Tecnica for the past five years, and with these next two years potentially being my last two, it was important for me to know that I was on the best equipment.’ After testing straight Salomon and Dynastar/Lange, the results were in. ‘In slalom, Volkl was fastest and it was pretty close in GS’ says Koz.

On hand were reps from all three companies, trying to get one of the top skiers in the United States onto their product. ‘The support from the companies was amazing’ says Koz. ‘Volkl was understanding about my needs going into the test and everyone was very supportive throughout the whole process.’ Koz also praised the new Tecnica boot as well. ‘The new boot is awesome’ she says. ‘Fresh out of the box even, it’s so much better than the old one.’

With her equipment settled Koz set up for a quiet summer at her home 15 minutes outside of the Twin Cities. While her family has since migrated to other parts of the lower 48, Koz prefers to stay close to Buck Hill Ski Area where she earned her alpine chops and relax with her Wheaton Terrier, Emma. When asked about her dog, Koz is quick to defend the Terrier stereotype: ‘Emma’s more like a lamb. She’s medium sized, and not so much yip, yip.’

As starting left fielder for the #1 ranked semi-professional softball team Minnesota Thunder, Koz never seems to let organized sports get to far from her grasp. ‘There are a lot of players from the University of Minnesota so the level is pretty high. It is also a great way to stay competitive during the summer.’ Healthy again and ready to go, make sure to look for Koz back on the podium this coming season.