Olympian Roger Cruickshank insists those British alpine skiers bidding to qualify for Sochi 2014 should approach the final few weeks of the qualifying window with no inhibitions.
January 19 marks the deadline for Britain’s alpine skiers to have thrust themselves into contention for a trip to Russia with Chemmy Alcott and Dave Ryding among those in the hunt.
Alex Tilley, Charlotte Guest, Dougie Crawford and TJ Baldwin have also been competing on the circuit this season with Cruickshank’s own story proving that anything can happen.
He shattered his left tibia 11 months out from the Turin 2006 Olympic Winter Games yet qualified and finished 37th in the blue-riband men’s downhill as well as the Super G.
And Cruickshank, who is now a pilot in the RAF, wants Britain’s alpine skiers to hold nothing back in pursuit of a place at next month’s Olympic Winter Games in Sochi.
“The criteria for the Olympics is very difficult and it is the one that all the athletes want to compete at. I only managed to get back on skis just before the Olympics because of my accident,” he said.
“It was an easy mindset going into the qualifiers as nobody thought that I could do it, including my coaches. I was in a lot of pain and was finding it hard to ski.
“I went into my last event knowing that it was my only opportunity to qualify. But I just went for it and ended up passing the standard by four hundreds of a second.
“It all came together for me just at the right time. Any advice that I could give would be to never to give up.”
© Sportsbeat 2014