Tuesday, February 19, 2002
Passion pushes Canuck sledder
By ERIC FRANCIS -- Team Sun
SALT LAKE CITY -- The tears in Christina Smith's eyes are real, as is the passion in her words.
Mere talk of how she will be the first Canadian to compete in today's inaugural women's Olympic bobsleigh event prompts the Calgarian's voice to crack and her eyes to well up.
It all makes sense when you consider this is a woman so passionate about her sport she dedicated her life to it seven full years before it was voted into the Olympics.
"Talking to the other athletes and seeing how they are observing everything, I wonder if I'm overreacting and being a crybaby," said Smith, 33.
"I just cannot see how the novelty will wear off. I just keep saying to myself carpe diem. Seize the moment and let it all out."
That's exactly what she'll do today at Utah Olympic Park when she combines with Calgary native Paula McKenzie as the sixth-ranked team in the two-man, er, two-woman event.
Born in Montreal, Smith's family moved to Calgary when she was 12.
Her first taste of the sport came in her late teens when, as a part-time ski instructor at Canada Olympic Park, she was asked to test a bobsled run they were considering opening for tourists. She was instantly hooked.
However, it wasn't until five years later while attending the University of Calgary that a friend gave her a four-year bobsleigh membership won as a door prize.
Now, 10 years later, she's an Olympian.
"When I heard it was finally accepted as an Olympic sport on October 2, 1999, I grabbed a girl in skeleton and ran across from COP to the McDonalds with the Olympic rings on it and got a picture with us and our cones. I said 'This is history in the making. I'm going.' "
While this is her first time as an Olympian, it's not her first Olympic experience.
"In 1988, I was singing in the Mount Royal Youth Choir and I was a green Olympic ring in the Olympic opening ceremonies," she said.
"I was also an usherette at the Saddledome during the Games, wearing my cowboy hat and saying 'Howdy' to everyone.
"Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd be at another Olympics as a competitor. This is like Christmas, New Year's and your birthday all wrapped into one."
2002 Games Bobsleigh Coverage
