Whistler: A “je ne sais quoi”, the French call it. A “certain something”, the English-speaking world says.
Whatever it is -- and however you want to say it -- the speed queens of the slopes have it in bucket-loads and are sprinkling it all over Whistler Blackcomb in the women’s Alpine events at the Vancouver Olympics.
Despite being slower than their male counterparts, the women skiers of the Games have grasped the public imagination and the headlines with more dramatic races and compelling characters.
It is partly their zeal for speed but also the outsized sunglasses and fashion accoutrements also play their part.
Twinned with expensive fur-collared parkas and eccentric hats, they help create the “millionaire’s playground” feel in Whistler.
Mostly, though, it is the skiers’ jaw-dropping, heart-quickening enthusiasm for hurtling down a powdery slice of pine forest at speeds approaching 120 kilometres per hour which has won over the public.
Add in a picture postcard background of bright blue skies and brilliant white slopes, provide a soundtrack of jangling cowbells, enthusiastic cheering and skis carving through ice and the result is a feast of competitive glamour.
“These skiers are just too cool for school,” Canadian visitor Janet Roscoe laughed. “They are, like, daredevils, speed freaks.”
Oozing Charisma
Oozing charisma and courage in equal measure, the super-G competitors on Saturday both mesmerised and energised the hordes packed on the slope.
It is no mystery why.
To see them ski and witness their instant reaction as they skid to a slithery halt at the finish line is to witness a surge of neat adrenaline.
Mere hundredths of seconds separate euphoria and despair and emotions are on the surface.
Downhill champion Lindsey Vonn slammed down the 2,005 metre course in a touch over 80 seconds.
Skidding to a stop in her star-spangled suit, she looked at the clock and simultaneously threw back her head and screamed in triumph, a cloud of mist rising into the freezing air.
The Games’ golden speedster clearly thought she had done enough but was eclipsed just minutes later when Austrian Andrea Fischbacher bombed down the course to set the gold-winning time, 0.74 seconds quicker than the American.
Slovene Tina Maze nudged Vonn down another place to take silver.
“I came here just hoping to get a medal and I got one gold,” Vonn smiled, referring to her downhill triumph. “This is just the icing on the cake.
“I can’t be too disappointed. Any medal at the Games is a success,” she added, nodding her head to underline the point.
She was kidding no-one but Vonn won herself another medal all the same and injected another healthy dose of glamour into the Games.
Bureau Report
First Published: Monday, February 22, 2010, 09:39