Comox snowboarder Carle Brennemansa国际传媒檚 Olympic dream became a reality, Friday in Pyeongchang, Korea, as she competed for Canada in the womensa国际传媒檚 snowboard cross competition.
While, ideally, her day would have lasted two more runs - she was eliminated in the quarter-finals - the end result did little to dull the sheen of what has been a lifelong goal.
sa国际传媒淢aking it to the Olympics is something I have dreamed of as a kid - itsa国际传媒檚 definitely a huge accomplishment to be here,sa国际传媒� said Brenneman in a post-race interview with the Comox Valley Record. sa国际传媒淲inning a medal is what I came here for so that would be the actual dream come true. Isa国际传媒檓 proud of the work I put in and I did everything I could to make that possible. Unfortunately it wasnsa国际传媒檛 my day and I am still proud of what Isa国际传媒檝e accomplished.sa国际传媒�
Her parents shared in the excitement, as they travelled to Korea to cheer on their Olympian daughter. They were at the finish line for the competition, and Carlesa国际传媒檚 mom, Lori, said it was both an exciting and nerve-wracking experience.
sa国际传媒淎s parents we were very nervous for Carle. The course was extremely tough and up until the day of the race wind has been a huge factor,sa国际传媒� she told The Record. sa国际传媒淭here were a number of athletes that were injured during practice and qualifying rounds. I had the opportunity to talk to quite a few mothers of snowboard cross athletes, both mensa国际传媒檚 and womensa国际传媒檚, and with this course our strongest hope, as mothers, was for them to finish unscathed.sa国际传媒�
A teammate of Carlesa国际传媒檚 - Meryeta Osa国际传媒橠ine, of Prince George - was one of the aforementioned casualties. She crashed in training and a resulting concussion forced her to bow out of the competition.
Fridaysa国际传媒檚 comp (Thursday evening in Canada) started with qualifying runs, to seed competitors. With only 24 competitors suiting up on race day, a spot in the quarters was assured, as long as a posted time was achieved.
sa国际传媒淭ime trails break down the heats and give you gate choice,sa国际传媒� said Brenneman. sa国际传媒淥n the Olympic course it wasnsa国际传媒檛 make or break for lane choice so I wasnsa国际传媒檛 too worried.sa国际传媒�
Brenneman completed her first run in 1:21.57, tied for 16th, with teammate Zoe Bergermann, of North Vancouver.
Tess Critchlow of Kelowna was 15th overall.
A top-12 finish in Round 1 of qualifying would have advanced them directly to the quarter-finals. Instead, Brenneman and her teammates all had to go through the second round of qualifying.
Brenneman posted a time of 1:20.89 in Round 2, despite not feeling comfortable with her run.
sa国际传媒淭he second run was probably my worst run of my whole day,sa国际传媒� said Brenneman. sa国际传媒淚 think I almost fell about five times. I almost gave up a few times but all those mistakes still made for a faster time then my first. It definitely gives you confidence when you get a good and fast run put in before finals.sa国际传媒�
Critchlow and Bergermann also improved their times, and ended up slotted in the same quarter-final heat QF2).
Brenneman was in the fourth quarter-final heat. She pinpointed her demise in the quarter-final to a specific part of the course.
sa国际传媒淚t was the five-roller jump between corner 1 and 2,sa国际传媒� she said. sa国际传媒淚 ended up coming a little short on the top two that I was doubling. It killed my speed and I knew Isa国际传媒檇 have to fight to make it back. I tried to pass again in corner 2 and 5 but I unfortunately was not able to get a clean pass with a girl falling into my line in both corners.sa国际传媒�
She placed fourth in the heat, just 0.40 seconds behind Belle Brockhoff, of Australia. The top three finishers in each quarter-final moved on to the semis.
Critchlow advanced to the semifinals. She finished fourth in her semifinal heat, to advance to the consolation, or sa国际传媒渟mall final,sa国际传媒� where she placed third.
Their final Olympic rankings were Critchlow, ninth; Brenneman, 14th; Bergermann (who had a DNF in her quarter-final), 23rd.
Lori said that while her daughter was disappointed with her early exit, thatsa国际传媒檚 a feeling exclusive to the athletes.
sa国际传媒淥f course for the athletes themselves nothing but a podium was good enough. The fortitude and strength of these athletes is undeniable. Carle is disappointed that she didnsa国际传媒檛 achieve that podium placement for both herself as well as her many supporters. Our heart goes out to a Carle. For us as parents, we couldnsa国际传媒檛 be prouder.sa国际传媒�
Now that the competitive portion of her Olympic journey has concluded, Carle and her teammates can share the rest of the experience, with their respective families.
sa国际传媒淲e have been so focused on training and preparing for our event they we havensa国际传媒檛 been able to really do anything yet,sa国际传媒� said Carle. sa国际传媒淪o now we are going to watch as many events as possible soak in the whole Olympic experience and cheer on Canada.sa国际传媒�
Carle Brenneman will be 32 by the time the 2022 Winter Olympics take place in Beijing, China. Will she be back?
sa国际传媒淵eah I mean if Isa国际传媒檓 still enjoying it and my body can still handle it, then Isa国际传媒檓 all in,sa国际传媒� she said.
