Jon Montgomery has only slim chance of making Canadian Olympic skeleton team

The athlete who was most memorable face of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics may not be showing his face in Sochi.

Jon Montgomery, who won Canadians' hearts with his skeleton gold medal and ensuing beer-drenched march through the crowds, now faces an uphill battle if he hopes to compete downhill at the Sochi Olympics. The 34-year-old veteran, who parlayed his Vancouver success into a job as host of CTV's Amazing Race Canada, was not among the two athletes named to the Canadian skeleton team for Sochi.

This doesn't mean the Russell, Man., native won't be in Russia when the games open in February. He can still grab the third and final spot on the skeleton team, but at this point would have to reverse a season that's been going south for him.

The two spots on the men's team went to Eric Neilson of Kelowna, B.C., and John Fairbairn of Calgary. Another member could be added, but it all depends on whether they qualify by the Jan. 19 selection deadline.

Montgomery told CBC News that he realizes there is only a small chance he could make the team, and may retire if he doesn't qualify. But he sounded less resigned to missing the Olympics in a tweet he posted Wednesday night:

In an interview with Andrew McKay of Yahoo Sports earlier this year, Montgomery talked about facing the pressure to repeat as Olympic champion.

"It all boils down to being okay with where you are, and free enough to feel like you can fail," he said. "I know that I’ve got the support behind me that it’s okay if I fail. My family, my friends, my sponsors will continue to support me if I don’t reach my mark. Having that fear of failure is paralyzing.

"So if you don’t have that, if you can do whatever it takers to dispel this crushing, overwhelming sense that ‘if I fail, it’s all gone, it’s toast, this is going to be the end of my life', that helps decompress the big picture of what’s happening from the Olympics to what can I do today?”

It's been a rough season for Montgomery. He was bumped from Canada's top-tier World Cup team and has been competing on the lower-tier Intercontinental Cup series. His main competition for the final spot comes from Dave Greszczyszyn of Burlington, Ont., who replaced Montgomery on the World Cup circuit.

But the man who gave skeleton its highest profile in Canada isn't facing an impossible task. Melissa Hollingsworth of Eckville, Alta., started the season on the Intercontinental Cup series and rebounded to make the Canadian team along with Calgary's Sarah Reid.

If Montgomery doesn't make it to Sochi, it will be up to Olympic rookies Neilson and Fairbairn to continue Canada's winning streak in the skeleton. Duff Gibson won gold in 2006 before Montgomery took first in 2010.

That doesn't faze Gibson, now head coach of the skeleton team.

“This is an extremely powerful and committed group of athletes who have taken their turns leading our program over the past four years," he said. "Each of these athletes are relentless in their pursuit to keep the maple leaf on the Olympic podium in skeleton.

“While three athletes are Games rookies, they all bring loads of experience and tremendous athletic talent to our Olympic Team.”

If this is Montgomery's Olympic farewell, he departs the scene having left an indelible mark on the sport. Canadians will never forget his impromptu march through the streets of Whistler, B.C. after his victory, pumping his fist while chugging beer a pitcher of beer as the crowd sang O Canada.

It rivalled Sidney Crosby's golden goal as the signature moment of those Olympics. He further cemented his immortality by showing off his auctioneering skills on camera.