KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia (AP) - It was a long, painful and twisting path that Jan Hudec followed from communist Czechoslovakia to become the Canadian ski team’s first Olympic medalist in 20 years.
By sharing bronze in super-G with Bode Miller on Sunday, Hudec now has the perfect ending for that autobiography he’s been planning to write.
“This will definitely make the book more interesting,” said Hudec, who finished 0.53 seconds behind gold medalist Kjetil Jansrud of Norway. “It’s nothing short of a miracle to be here and perform at this level. I can’t be thankful enough and at the same time I know there’s gas in the tank for gold. Hopefully it’s not the last time you see me.”
The 32-year-old Hudec seriously injured his back a month before the Sochi Games and at one point wondered whether he even would be able to compete here.
Adding the back injury to the chronic pain in his legs following six surgeries on his right knee and another on his left, Hudec spends most of his time away from the hill these days getting treated by physical therapists.
“I felt like a prima donna a little bit but they got me ready for the race and here we are,” said Hudec, who also won a silver in downhill at the 2007 world championships.
While Canadians John Kucera and Erik Guay won gold in downhill at the 2009 and 2011 world championships, respectively, no Canadian man or woman had won an Alpine medal at the Olympics since Ed Podivinsky took bronze in downhill at the 1994 Lillehammer Games.
The Olympic drought was especially painful four years ago on home snow at the Vancouver Games.
“Our whole crew had a lot of pressure to perform,” said Guay, who failed to clear a gate toward the end of his run.
Also Sunday, young Canadian hope Morgan Pridy finished 10th for his best career result.
“Our guys really skied well and I’m very proud of Jan, in particular, and Mr. Pridy,” said Steve Podborski, who won bronze in downhill at the 1980 Lake Placid Games and is now chef de mission for the Canadian Olympic team.
When Hudec was 10 months old, he and his family defected to West Germany aboard a homemade raft before eventually resettling in Canada.
While he still speaks Czech, Hudec describes himself as “100 percent Canadian.”
After all, only a true Canadian would use a loonie - the Canadian one dollar coin - for good luck.
“It’s kind of a tradition in Lake Louise (a World Cup stop in Alberta); one of the guys always buries a loonie somewhere on the finish line,” Hudec explained. “So yesterday I almost forgot, but after the second warmup run I went to the finish and buried a loonie on the finish line, and figured it was good luck.”
After the race, Alpine Canada president Paul Kristofic dug up the coin.
“It will be worth more than a dollar now,” Hudec said, before holding the coin up for all to see.
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