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Larisa Yurkiw, the self-funded Canadian skier, picks up her first World Cup podium finish at race in Italy
Canadian skier Larisa Yurkiw has long been an incredible story for what she did just to get to the World Cup slopes, but now she's starting to pick up remarkable results on those slopes too. The 26-year-old Yurkiw, a downhill specialist from Owen Sound, Ontario, made her own way on to Canada's Olympic team last January not long after recovering from a horrific 2009 crash that kept her out of competition for two years. She did so despite Alpine Canada not funding her discipline, and she pulled off an impressive 20th-place finish in the downhill in Sochi despite a badly sprained ankle. Since then, things have only gotten better for Yurkiw. She's still funding her own way, raising an estimated $200,000 to cover her costs this year, but she's finding a lot of success. She picked up a career-best finish and her first World Cup podium spot Friday in the downhill at Cortina D'Ampezzo in Italy, placing second with a time of one minute, 9.68 seconds. Afterwards, Yurkiw posted on Instagram about what the victory meant to her:
Well that was fun. I feel so much. My heart feels like that champagne bottle.. My belief in what I've been trying to do the last while is high.. And my realization that the sky's the limit is real. I had a good feeling this morning. But then I said, "Get rid of that! There's a ton of work between you and your 'good feeling', Larisa, so get your head right." ...I speak of being a friend to myself but that also means being a sound coach and remaining realistic. But a girl can dream. Stepping on the podium today reminded me of the same steps at Georgian Peaks Ski Club growing up.. It's just that the whole world was at this race. I'm in awe. Thank you for being a part of this adventure. There are a million things people do each day worthy of popping a champagne bottle.. So I feel very fortunate for the praise. Tonight's my first public bib draw.. I'm thinking apple-bottom jeans and boots with the fur. #teamlarisa #everycloudhasasilverlining #seewhatididthere
This is just one of a string of good results for Yurkiw, as her previous career-best World Cup finish also came earlier this season when she finished fourth in the downhill at Lake Louise, Alberta. Remarkably, she's still doing that largely on her own. Alpine Canada dumped her from the national team in 2013 despite her being the reigning Canadian downhill champion, choosing instead to focus on racers in the slalom and super G events, and she only made it to the Olympics by funding her own way on the World Cup circuit last year with a lot of help from sponsors and donors. Following Yurkiw's Olympic qualification and her performance in Sochi, she was officially added to the national ski team in May, but doesn't receive funding from that. Alpine Canada vice-president Paul Kristofic told The Canadian Press in December Yurkiw was offered a funded spot this year as part of a combined, multidiscipline team, but elected to keep paying her own way so she could get focused coaching and training for downhill:
"She decided pursuing it on her own was better," Kristofic said. "It was her decision to go completely on her own. I would like to have a robust women's speed program. We don't have the athletes there."
Tailoring a program to her needs and achieving results she wanted as "Team Larisa" last winter made Yurkiw reluctant to re-enter a program where downhill would not be a priority.
She was the only downhiller on a combined team in 2012-13 when she had a single top-30 result in a World Cup.
"That was what put me off the team in the first place," Yurkiw said. "I didn't want to take a step back. The conditions didn't make sense to me."
So Yurkiw opted to remain president and chief operating officer of her own operation. The budget for her coach, ski tech, medical support services, travel, accommodation, summer snow camps in Europe and living expenses is about $200,000.
Yurkiw was fundraising while she recovered from knee surgeries in both March and June. She entered into a financial agreement to train and share team services with Sweden. Yurkiw's roommate is Swedish racer Kajsa Kling.
As daunting as it was to go it alone in pursuing an Olympic berth, the experience empowered Yurkiw to turn down the security of the national team and continue self-directing her ski career.
"It's still a giant budget to raise and a big effort, but there's a ton of freedom that comes with being independent and opportunities being a one-person team," she explained. "I like being my own boss."
It's an approach that's been working out for Yurkiw so far. She raised $250,000 from sponsors this year, and training with the Swedish team seems to be paying off just fine. She's demonstrating that she can be an elite figure on the downhill circuit, finishing ahead of superstars like Lindsey Vonn and Tina Maze. If results like this keep coming in, the Team Larisa approach may well be taken by other athletes. As she told the AP's Andrew Dampf Friday, "It's expensive, but it's working." It's certainly positive to see a Canadian athlete who's faced so many challenges, but has been able to push through all of them. We'll have to watch and see where Yurkiw goes from here, but the bet from this corner is that this podium finish may be the first of many.
