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August 15-21
World Championships – Tianjin, China
My first World Championship in 2003 was the best tournament in my life up to that point, and in 2005 I was ready to make my mark again at the Worlds. I had steadily been improving my finishes throughout the season and my eyes were set on the gold. When we arrived in Tianjin, China, the weather was far from pleasant. I have never in my entire life been in weather as suffocating as the heat the first day we were in Tianjin, China. The trip to China is always a tiring one, but the weather that awaited us was even more tiring. The first day we were allowed a short practice of two passes and the stifling heat was hard to deal with. I had been training in England all summer and was not used to the humidity and heat at all, but I would adjust. Luckily, the heat subsided by the second day and the temperature went down to a more manageable heat,
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Michelle and Jill Knutson in the
city of Tianjin with a rickshaw driver |
although it was still intense. Since I arrived early, we had several days to kill before the event began so we entertained ourselves in some interesting ways. The hotel we stayed in had a bowling alley behind, so we all played numerous games during the week. Jill Knutson, Regina Jaquess and myself also indulged in an interesting Chinese massage together. We were a little apprehensive, so we all got massages at the same time and it was an interesting experience. Me, April Coble, Tarah Benzel, Regina Jaquess, Jason Seels, Russell Gay, Drew Ross, Glenn Campbell and mine and Regina’s dads all ventured into the city of Tianjin one day to go shopping in the market and get some comforting American food at Pizza Hut (yes, and they had KFC and McDonald’s too!). The market experience in China is always a blast. I bought several authentic Chinese gifts for myself, friends, and family. After a few hours of shopping we were all ready for some pizza! Let me tell you, that was the best pizza I have ever had, so we went back to Pizza Hut every night until the tournament was over. I hate to be such an American, but I was competing and needed some fulfilling, normal food to keep me going. I didn’t even care if it was healthy anymore.
At the World Championships the seeding for the first round is always done randomly. To my surprise, I had pulled the lucky spot of being last off the dock! Although I had never really been last off of the dock in my life, I was happy to be in such a good position (when you are last off of the dock you know exactly what score you have to ski in order to make the next cut).
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Michelle and Glenn at the
Opening Ceremonies, Different teams but we still cheer for each other! |
After warming up and watching some of the girls ski I realized the conditions were probably pretty good. I would definitely have to run 35off (12 meters) in order to make the cut and maybe even get half way down 38off (11.25 meters). Being the exact last person off of the dock ended up being a great spot because I was one of the only skiers that knew the cut would only be 2 @ 38 off (11.25 meters). I went and ran 35 off (12 meters) quite smooth and then to be safe I just went out and got exactly 2 @ 38 off (11.25 meters). I had seen several girls overturn at 2 buoy and I did not want to make the same mistake, so I went in easy. In hindsight I probably should have gone for more in order to get a better seed, but you learn.
The strange thing about the finals on Friday was that the Men’s Slalom would be before the Women’s Slalom event, which rarely ever happens. Usually in skiing the ladies are always first. The way it fell, my boyfriend Glenn Campbell was having a run-off for the World Championship Title right before I skied! That was stressful! I couldn’t help but watch and I realized later that I let my adrenaline begin flowing a little too early by watching him. Glenn ended up in 2nd place, but I was so excited for him. Then it was time for me to get focused. I would be skiing in about 5 minutes! I tried to gather my thoughts and calm down. I would be the first lady off of the dock in the Women’s Slalom Finals of the World Championships. This wasn’t exactly the best position, because I had eleven women after me, but I decided I would just have to put up the big score if I wanted to win or get on the podium. I ended up messing up at 35 off (12 meters) which was a big disappointment because I really wanted to equal or do better than my last finish in the ‘03 World Championships. It just wasn’t my day at the 2005 Worlds, but fortunately the season was not ever yet! It is always crushing to leave the World Championships empty handed
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The independent skiers for Team USA |
when you have medaled before, but hopefully I have many Worlds ahead of me! The final night banquet was a classy event. The highlight of the banquet was a tribal dance the New Zealand men’s team did for the audience. They were hilarious! After the banquet many of the teams headed to the host hotel for a little dance party. At first the only music playing was Chinese music, and that was a little hard to dance to, although Regina Jaquess and I attempted it. Jason Seels got out his ipod and connected it to the speakers and then the party started! It was a nice final night after long week in China!
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