ALPINE:

Sidelined VanderBeek savors torch relay experience

Feb. 9, 2010 — Alpine Canada          ►Photos: Kelly VanderBeek (ACA); Olympic torch (VANOC)

VANCOUVER, B.C. — Kelly VanderBeek described her participation in the Vancouver 2010 Olympic torch relay as a huge honour after the Alpine Canada athlete carried the torch 300 metres Tuesday in the Vancouver, B.C., suburb of New Westminster.

VanderBeek, a member of Canada's national alpine ski team since 2000, would have been training for next week's downhill but will miss the event due to a knee injury sustained earlier in the 2009-10 World Cup season.

VanderBeek said the torch relay experience is one she will never forget.

"Nothing will compare to being an athlete in the Games, but this is certainly an honour to be a part of the relay," said VanderBeek, a 2006 Winter Olympian.

"The Olympic Games are going to be different. I am participating from a completely different vantage point. But I am a huge fan of the Olympics. I am inspired by what the Olympics do to communities and organizations and to a nation," VanderBeek said. "The way it brings people together is amazing. I am just happy to be a part of it."

VanderBeek travelled Tuesday’s 300 metre-relay distance in a wheelchair as she continues rehabilitation after tearing ligaments in her left knee during training for a World Cup race in Val d'Isère, France, in December.

"I can't take a step without both my crutches. And hopping on one leg while holding the torch would have been tough," joked VanderBeek about the potential to "run" during the relay.

Her Olympic experience does not end at the torch relay. VanderBeek has signed on as a analyst for Canadian Olympic broadcaster CTV, along with world downhill champion John Kucera, who is also missing the competition with an injury.

VanderBeek finished fourth in the super-G at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Torino, missing the podium by just 0.03.

As for the torch relay, its cross-country journey ends Friday at Vancouver's B.C. Place, as it lights the Olympic Cauldron, signaling the start of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.  SRC