BOWLES' BLOG:

Here and there ...

Heart surgery, bustiers and soulriding priests: Just another week on the slopes

By Gordie Bowles, S-Media

Move over Alex Bilodeau, a new “Alex the Great” may put up a fight for the title of the greatest Alex to ever put on a set of skis for Canada. On the heels of the nation’s first-ever gold medal at the cross-country skiing worlds when Alex Harvey teamed up with Devon Kershaw in the men’s team sprint, the Quebecer finished just off the podium (by a mere two seconds) on Sunday in the 50-kilometre skate-ski race at the nordic World Championships. Shortly after the gold-medal performance late last week where they defeated Norway’s heavily favoured team, Kershaw and Harvey met Norwegian royalty, King Harold V. The son of Pierre Harvey, who is arguably the best-ever Canadian skier (skinny and wide planks considered), young Alex is headlining an impressive Canadian resurgence in men’s cross-country skiing ...

Speaking of heart, Olympic champion Carlo Janka won the men’s World Cup giant slalom race on Saturday in Kranjska Gora, 10 days after having surgery to correct an irregular heartbeat. I repeat, 10 days after heart surgery ...

Speaking of heart surgery, is it just me or has the Canadian alpine women’s team completely flat-lined? Britt Janyk is having a tough go of mediocre finishes (she sits 20th in both super-G and downhill) this season, after a career of much-better-than-this finishes. She must certainly miss teammates Kelly VanderBeek and Larisa Yurkiw, both set to return next season after missing most of the past two seasons due to injury. Remember the Speed Queens? Let’s hope Kelly’s return sparks that magic again. In all fairness, the young “tech” athletes continue to grow and mature into bonafide World Cup threats, with Marie-Michele Gagnon, Marie-Pier Prefontaine and Anna Goodman having cracked the top 15 and top 10 on a few occasions. Unfortunately, Goodman is out for the balance of the season after her ailing hip ― and its subsequent pain ― forced the 23-year-old to visit the ol’ arthroscopy surgeon ...

Speaking of hope and prayers, an Anglican priest in Trail, B.C., has earned a Ph.D. for his research into the spirituality of snowboarding. Rev. Neil Elliot began the studies 10 years ago in England, and a move to Trail (near Red Mountain Resort) has progressed his interest in spirituality and snowboarding in pow-pow. According to a recent Vancouver Sun article, the term “soulriding” captured his attention more than a dozen years ago while he was living in England and snowboarding in the Alps. The term made him wonder if there was a spiritual dimension to carving a path down a mountain. God speed Rev. Neil! ...

Speaking of God-given talent, ski cross racer Ashleigh McIvor has kept herself busy ― and in front of the cameras ― since her season-ending knee injury suffered at the X Games. She recently supported a great cause in Vancouver when she teamed up with Birks to showcase a silk bustier skirt by Vancouver designer Malene Grotrian to aid women afflicted by ovarian cancer. The event reportedly netted $110,000 for Ovarian Cancer Canada's efforts to discover early screening methods.

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