| Check out my Olympic pictures that I just posted... in my gallery
2010-07-21 |
| Meet Olympic Hopeful and MTV Star Kimiko Zakreski- www.youthink.ca
BY KRYSTAL POLLON - WEST VANCOUVER SECONDARY, WEST VANCOUVER BC | JAN 5, 2010 With the 2010 games just around the corner, many Olympic hopefuls are getting closer and closer to finding out if their dream will come true – to compete in their home country at the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games. One of these talented young hopefuls is snowboarder Kimiko Zakreski. Kimi, as she is more commonly referred to, is a member of the Canadian National Team and a star on the hit MTV reality show, Over the Bolts, which documents the Canadian Olympic Snowboard team and the athletes push for a coveted spot on the Canadian Olympic squad. The Calgary native took time out of her busy schedule while training and competing in Colorado to share her journey as a snowboarder and her thoughts on the possibility of becoming a 2010 Olympian. YT: When Vancouver was awarded the Olympic Games, what were your first thoughts? KZ: When I found out Vancouver got it, I was like, “Holy s***! Its going to be in our country!” You know, when you get out of high school, theres always that question as to what you want to do with your life and everyones going to university and getting degrees. Its hard as an amateur athlete because you don’t have a lot of support in Canada and when youre paying out of your own pocket to do something, its kind of like, “Why in the hell would I keep doing this when I could go to school and start making money?” So I was kind of at that point of deciding whether or not to keep going with it. When they did say Vancouver, I was like, “Wow! This is an amazing opportunity for any athlete in Canada and I would be an idiot to give up now and miss the chance of going to the Olympics in my own country.” YT: What do you need to do between now and selection day to give yourself the best chance of making the team? KZ: Snowboarding is so tricky with how theyre picking the team because we have three different disciplines. We have boardercross, half-pipe and alpine all competing for the same spots, so basically I have to compete against people who arent even in my discipline. Theres not a lot of control that I have over how its going to pan out in the end. The only thing I have control over is me and riding as fast as I can and doing everything in my power to be the best snowboarder I can be. And if it works out for me and I make the team, then sweet, and if it doesnt, I mean its going to be a hard blow and it would really suck to not make the team, but as long as I do everything in my power to get myself there, then I’ll have no regrets with whatever happens. Its just all about working harder than anyone else on the team, which is pretty hard cause were all hard workers. YT: What would it mean to you to represent your country at the Olympics? KZ: It pretty much doesnt get better than that in sports. The Olympics are like the biggest thing in sports professionally or amateur-wise. If youre playing professional hockey, to make the Olympic team and represent Canada is pretty special, you know, and for it to be in Canada and to have my family and friends – anyone whos supported me along the way over the last friggin 13 years that Ive been doing this – be able to watch this on our home soil is amazing. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity cause the next time the Olympics come back to Canada is who-knows-when, so yeah its pretty cool! YT: For any athlete, there are good days and bad days and this is evident on your show, Over the Bolts. How do you avoid getting too low when you’re not meeting your goals? KZ: Well, that’s part of the deal. I think growing up competing you learn to deal with that and the kids who couldn’t deal with defeat didn’t make it this far. That’s the first thing you need to learn – how to lose. It’s tough especially as an athlete… you can get on that downward spiral. You just kind of remind yourself it’s not always bad and you remind yourself about the things you love about it. I think the important thing is if you keep trying new things, and keep trying to problem solve, not think that it’s just going to fix itself, and if you work hard, eventually you’ll figure it out. Going through bad races happens all the time. We have 12 World Cup events in a season and you know you’re bound to have a few bad ones, especially in snowboarding. Falling is very common. It’s not like skiing where you have two skis to save yourself. If something goes wrong, if you hit a bump and your edge goes out, game over. I think as you grow as a snowboarder, you get more confident and experienced in dealing with it. I mean, bad things happen in life, not just in athletics, so you just got to stay positive as much as you can and surround yourself with people who motivate you to be better and work harder. Read more: http://www.youthink.ca/yt/meet-olympic-hopeful-and-mtv-star-kimiko-zakreski#ixzz0clUiLjK8 2010-01-16 |
| Landgraff, Holland World Cup
Indoor Slalom As I arrived to Snow World in Landgraff, Holland for the 3rd time in my world cup career, I thought to myself “arrrgh, back to the refrigerator for another ultra flat slalom race”. It has never been one of my favorite places to race at being that it is soooo cold inside the snow arena. It is like no other stop on tour. Being indoors, you dont have UV rays from the sun to keep you warm and they can control whatever temperature and humidity they want it to be to make for ideal snow conditions...which is cold. Outside of Snow World on the other hand, Holland is green and warm enough to go for a jog in shorts and a tank top. It is a weird thing to experience but again, I would never be able to experience something like this if I didnt do what I do. Snow World isnt exactly the place you bring your family to go on a ski vacation but it is a cool thing to see. Since I had raced here before, I knew that you needed a certain tactic in order to do well at this race. The previous year I showed up to this race after training on a steep aggressive pitch and had everything wrong going for me. I didnt even qualify to get a second run last year! I was crushed. So this year I knew I had to do things differently. Smooth, quick and balls out or else I would be out of the finals by less then a tenth of a second. The times are so close at this race that you cant even make the slightest mistake or you wont make finals. It was all or nothing. So I gave it everything i had. The whole run down I was thinking to myself “you are going to slow, go faster, be smoother, hit the rut, hit the rut, hit the rut!!!” As I crossed the finish line I was afraid to look at the score board because it felt so slow, but to my surprise I qualified in 5th. It was a good first run. I was satisfied and ready for more. My second run wasnt as fast as the first because the course was a little more beat up but overall I qualified for finals and I was stoked to race Heidi Neurerer, former slalom World Champion. First run of the finals was tight. I beat Heidi on the top half of the course, then made a mistake going over the last roller where she caught up and we crossed the finish at the same time. We were back to zero for the next run and I knew that in order to beat out the slalom champion I would have to give it everything I had. I might have been a bit too ramped up to beat Heidi though. I wanted to crush her which ultimately led to me crashing 6 gates in and taking myself out. I was bummed because I knew I was riding fast but I just wanted it too bad and lost a bit of focus. Race over. Lesson learned. Need to work on focus and being over stimulated. Overall I came 11th. I am happy with that but I am even more determined to kill it in the next race. So now we are off to Austria to find more snow to train on... real snow... in real mountains. It makes you realize how amazing it is to be able to do your sport in the mountains after spending a week in the refrigerator. The mountains are where my heart is and I couldnt appreciate fresh air more then I do right now. Until next time... Kimi 2009-10-13 |
| Chasing Snow...
With the 2008/2009 World Cup season over, the Canadian National team is focusing on getting ready for a very important season ahead. Dryland training is always the focus for the off season but where we are hoping to get an edge up on the other teams is in the added amount of time that we are spending on snow in the summer months. We just came off of a great technical camp in Mammoth, California where I feel like I was able to make huge gains in both my equipment and riding, and we are now in Whistler, BC training on the glacier. I am confident in what my coaches have planned for training this summer and that we will all be ready to go for the first World Cup in October. The team will be in Mammoth, Califonia, Whistler, BC, Mt. Hood, Oregon and Farnham BC over the next few months. So if you spot one of us walking around in our hometowns with 5 oclock shadows on our faces chances are that its a killer goggle tan from hanging out on glaciers all summer ;) Cheers, Kimi 2009-06-20 |
| NorAm Championships Silver Medal!
Zakreski podiums at Mt. Tremblant Quebec Despite the heavy rainfall, Mt. Tremblant was able to run NorAm finals without fail and Zakreski is happy they did. Qualifying with the fastest time of 32.65 in the womens slalom Zakreski would have placed 5th in the mens category. Heading into finals with the confidence from the qualifying round Zakreski was able to knock out Lindsay Lloyd of Park City, Utah, Arianne Lavigne of Quebec, and Lynn Ott of Bend, Oregon to meet her teammate Alexa Loo in the Big finals. In the end Zakreski was unable to defeat Alexa Loo, the NorAm PGS champion and Kimiko came home with the silver medal. "It was a very difficult day of riding today. The snow conditions and weather made for a good fight. You had to really want it." and Zakreski proved that she did. Check out pictures of the podium in our Gallery. 2009-04-06 |
| New equipment, new riding...
Sunday River, Maine World Cup 11th Place. Sunday River, Maine might have been one of the better world cup events of the season; Good snow, good weather, good hill, and good results. Zakreski was a bit apprehensive the day before the race to try out a new modification to her board but she knew that the 10 pound plate could make the difference she had been looking for over the last couple of months. Kimiko had been struggling in certain icy conditions with her original equipment and the day before the race she decided to take the plunge and test out a plate that a lot of the men are riding on and some of the stronger girls on tour as well. Zakreski felt good the day before in training and went for it. "I was actually really excited to race today because I had something new to try. In conditions that I would normally ride apprehensively on I felt confident and strong". Zakreski went into the finals in 10th position, after qualifiers, which put her up against Austrias Doris Gunther (current overall point leader). With a few sketches on both runs Kimiko was eventually beaten out by Gunther and finished in 11th position. It was an exciting day for teammates Alexa Loo and Jasey Jay Anderson who both took home the bronze medals. Mathew Morison who rode with a broken hand placed 13th and Michael Lambert finished 23rd. Zakreski is optimistic for the upcoming races in Val Malenco, Italy and La Molina, Spain. She is riding confident and ready for another podium. 2009-02-27 |
| Season Update
Cypress Cancelled/ Stoneham Quebec City. A disappointing outcome to a build of excitement describes what happened in Cypress, Vancouver at the pre Olympic World Cup event. Kimiko and her team were thrilled to have the chance to test out the 2010 Winter Olympic venue and to show friends and family, who flew from all over the country to watch, what they could do. Unfortunately due to unsuitable snow conditions and poor event scheduling the event had to be cancelled. After the race at Cypress Mountain was cancelled, the circuit headed east to Stoneham, Quebec City where the snow never fails to be bullet proof and icy. Just the kind of conditions the Europeans love to race on. Kimiko started off the race with some difficulties on the first run having made a mistake in the middle of the course but still was able to make top 16 in her course and run the second. In her second run Kimiko was able to make up some time but it wasnt quite good enough to make finals missing it by 0.5seconds finishing her off in 21st position. On a positive note teammates Jasey Jay Anderson and Mathew Morison made finals and finished in 5th and 10 respectively, though they were a bit frustrated at the fact that Austrians swept the podium. Alexa Loo of Richmond BC finished in 20th, Marianne Leeson of Burlington Ontario 24th, Arianne Lavigne of Quebec 27th. The circuit now heads to Sunday River, Maine where the team will definitely have their goals set on the podium to redeem themselves after Stoneham, Quebec. -Thank you to everyone who came to watch and support me in Cypress! (Chris, John, Christianna, Mako, Charlotte, Eric and everyone at Lululemon!) xoxo Kimi 2009-02-25 |
| Zakreski fifth and Anderson sixth
Canadian Sport Center Newsletter Zakreski fifth and Anderson sixth. December 21, 2008 – Kimiko Zakreski of Calgary and Jasey-Jay Anderson of Mont-Tremblant, Que., posted Canadas best results at a snowboard World Cup competition in Arosa, Switzerland Sunday placing fifth and sixth respectively in the parallel giant slalom races. Both riders won medals last weekend. ‘’Conditions were pretty difficult this week,’’ she said. ‘’I had a good opening qualifying run.’’ ‘’All the races were close and a top-eight finish is very positive,’’ said Zakreski, who stands third overall in the World Cup standings. ‘’I felt some pressure after last weeks performance but Im still pleased with my day. Im looking forward to the next competition.’’ Alexa Loo of Whistler was fourth in qualifying and lost her first round dual to Heidi Krings of Austria for 11th place. Caroline Calvé of Gatineau, Que., and Constance Boisvert of Ste-Foy, Que., were 22nd and 42nd respectively. 2009-01-07 |
| Arosa, Switzerland World Cup
Another huge result for Kimi in Arosa Switzerland. The World Cup circuit traveled to Arosa, Switzerland where teams from all over the world competed in Parallel Slalom. The day started off similar to Italy with heavy snow fall and it didn’t let up all day. Kimi was confident and excited about the day ahead knowing that she performed well under these conditions in Limone. The first qualifying run was very successful and she placed second to Johanna Shaw of Australia. The second qualifying run was somewhat exciting; while racing the clock in her own course, Ekaterina Tudegesheva of Russia whom she was riding with, ran into some trouble in her course and ended up almost running into Kimi. Kimi managed to dodge out of the Russian’s way and made the quick decision to keep going and not take the re-run that she would be entitled to under the circumstance. Overall Kimiko was able to qualify 8th, putting her in a good position for the finals. The first heat of the finals was against Claudia Riegler of Austria whom of which finished third overall in the 07/08 season. The race was close and both runs were photo finishes but Zakreski managed to sneak out in front, advancing her to the next round. Next up Kimiko raced Heidi Neurerer of Austria. Neurerer is a tough competitor in slalom and Kimiko new that she had to give it her all to advance to the finals. Again both runs were close photo finishes but Neurerer was able to beat Kimi by 0.10sec overall, which put an end to Kimi’s day of racing. In the end Kimiko finished in 5th place. After her 2nd place finish in Limone, Italy and her 5th place in Arosa, Switzerland Kimiko is now ranked 3rd overall in the World Cup standings. 2009-01-01 |
| Boarders start season at full speed
Zakreskis silver best by a Canadian woman, men take first and third Calgary snowboarder Kimiko Zakreski took one look at the blizzard blanketing the Italian countryside Sunday morning and thought ... World Cup race? Not gonna happen. Good thing she was wrong. Not only did Zakreski get to compete, she also got to rewrite the Canadian record book, taking a silver medal in a parallel giant slalom, the best ever finish by a Canadian woman boarder in a FIS World Cup alpine event. "I am a little excited right now," Zakreski, 24, said in a telephone interview from Limone Piemonte, Italy. "Its been a really good day for the whole team." No snow job there. Besides Zakreskis runner up finish to Austrias Doris Guenther, Matt Morison of Burketon, Ont., won the mens PGS and Jasey-Jay Anderson of Mont-Tremblant, Que., finished third. Richmonds Alexa Loo -- whose third-place finish in a PGS at Kronplatz, Italy, in January 2006, had been the previous Canuck best -- placed eighth and then gave Zakreski some historical perspective on her accomplishment. "Oh, definitely it feels great," said Zakreski when asked about her feat. "I didnt really realize it until Alexa told me about it. "I think all day today it felt like I was in a dream. It still hasnt set in that Ive podiumed at a World Cup. "I had it on my goal list for the season. I wanted three top fives and one podium and I never would have expected to have podiumed at the first race of the season. That was far beyond my expectations and I thought I would have to get a few races under my belt to build myself up." Zakreski, whose previous World Cup best was a fifth at Sungwoo, South Korea, on Feb. 2, 2007, struggled last season. She broke her collarbone last fall and was off snow until December. She missed the first two World Cup events and missed out on the critical fall training. "That really hurt me and I lost 15 pounds not being able to lift [weight]," she said. "Ive never had a huge injury and I didnt expect it to be as difficult. I dont think I did as good a job preparing myself to get back into the season as I could have. "Definitely this is a confidence boost. I think it was really important to build up to this one. Hopefully it will keep on rolling." Sunday it just kept on snowing. "We got to the hill this morning and it was just dumping snow," she said. "I thought, "Oh my gosh, I cant even remember when weve raced in these conditions." I thought maybe they were going to cancel the race but they had course workers working all day and the course held up really well. It was crazy conditions to race in." Everyone on the Canadian team was happy for Kimi Sunday. "It was a great day," said Morison. "I was really happy with the way it went today. I was really happy with the way the team did. The team did awesome. Jasey got third and I was especially proud of Kimi today. Canadian head coach Mark Fawcett of Whistler also had an inkling that Zakreski could hit the podium. He was just a little surprised how everything went down Sunday. "I would say Im not surprised, theyve been riding well enough to do this for quite some time," he said. "But to have them all do it at once, thats almost a coincidence, its amazing. "It was a breakthrough race for Kimi. It was a big one." "Its a fantastic start," Fawcett added. "All the hard work has paid off. They feel now that, yes, they have prepared better than other national teams." Morisons confident. "Once part of the team does well it will start trickling down a little bit and hopefully it will get the other guys going, show them that, "Hey man you guys can do this too, lets all get on the podium," he said. "Hopefully it will be a momentum shift going toward the next race." That one goes Friday in Arosa, Switzerland. And you can bet Zakreski is praying for a blizzard. -Terry Bell The Province 2008-12-15 |