Chemmy pic courtsey Colmar
Chemmy Alcott will return to World Cup ski racing at the weekend at the same resort where she suffered near career-ending injuries two years ago in December 2010.
Chemmy's return to World Cup ski racing as she begins her campaign to race at the Sochi Winter Olympics in just over 15 months' time will be in two Ladies Downhill races and one Super-G on Friday 30th November, Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd December at The Lake Louise Winterstart World Cup in Alberta, Canada.
The event is the first World Cup speed event of the season and sees the fastest skiers in the world compete in downhill and super-G in the heart of the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Chemmy will be competing against her pre-season training mates - the Canadian Ski Team – as well as the top alpine skiers from across the globe. In her first two FIS super-G warm up races earlier this month at Copper Mountain, Colorado, Chemmy placed 8th and 9th.
"I know a lot of people will want to know my raw feelings of racing my first big race on the very hill that threatened to end my career. But in fact I feel weirdly peaceful. I know the hill, I know the terrain, I know I will be nervous," said Chemmy, "Don't get me wrong I am as ambitious as ever and I want to be fast - but I don't want that competitiveness to get in the way of me enjoying this momentous two minutes that I've fought so hard to be part of my life."
Chemmy's accident in 2010 broke her leg in two places and required a 20cm long metal plate to be fitted in her right leg fixed with ten screws. It was not certain at the time whether she would walk again, let alone ski. Over the last two years she has focused determinedly on her rehabilitation at The Third Space in London, and last year competed in ITV1's Dancing on Ice, something which she commented at the time aided the process and gave her the confidence and drive to return to competitive sport.
Chemmy has also suffered the setback of losing her British Ski & Snowboard (BSS) funding and is now supporting her skiing career through sponsorship raised via her website (www.chemmyalcott.com/donate). Her sponsors include Monarch Airlines, Mizuno, Skiset, Colmar, Atomic and Land Rover, as well as independent donations.
