CANMORE – Barely able to climb up stairs 10 months ago, Leanne Gartner is reassessing her long term goals after becoming a first-time athlete for Team Canada.
Donning the Maple Leaf, the 18-year-old cross-country skier from Canmore is set to compete at the Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games in South Korea, from Jan. 19 to Feb. 1.
When Gartner punched her ticket to Gangwon 2024, suddenly the idea of being a main player on the biggest international stages didn’t seem so farfetched like it once had.
“That's never been on my radar until now, but now I see that it is possible,” said Gartner, of the Canmore Nordic Ski Club (CNSC).
The Youth Olympic Games is the world’s largest multi-sport event for high-performance athletes aged 15-18.
Plowing through the frozen trails, the speedy skier qualified for the Games based on her top tier performance at Alberta Cup races at the Canmore Nordic Centre in December, which were used as the national qualifier.
Though it wasn't easy.
“Qualifying for Korea was always like a big overarching goal for me, but I kept it under wraps,” Gartner said. “This is what I wanted, but I kept it realistic, like, I can't put all of my eggs in the same basket.”
Gartner cautiously approached this season and kept aspirations in-check after falling victim to illness one year ago.
A brutal bout with COVID-19 kept her sidelined for most of last season, and she missed out on the Canada and Alberta winter games.
“I had no energy,” she said. “I was just completely decimated and could barely walk up the stairs without just getting winded. It was terrible.”
Though a good chunk of 2023 had been centred around recovering from the major blow to her health, Gartner has “finally felt like myself again” and has gradually got her fitness back to form.
Praising her dedication to the craft following the sickness, Matt DeCarufel, program director of CNSC, said Gartner is skiing at her best.
“She has a very strong mindset and is able to work through things and see the bigger picture,” said DeCarufel. “Without a doubt, one of her main goals for the year was to qualify for the Youth Olympic Games, so that was a big driving force throughout the summer and the fall for training for her.”
DeCarufel said for Gartner to be only one of four Canadian cross-country skiers to qualify to Gangwon 2024 is a reflection of the effort that she has put in.
Very few see the behind-the-scene grind, but the results showed in the national qualifying events.
“She has had a hard year with some health issues last year, so it's really great to have her kind of back at full steam and be able to train quite a bit again this [season],” DeCarufel said.
Gartner’s race days are between Jan. 29 and Feb. 1 at the Alpensia Biathlon Centre, the venue used in the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games.
It will be Gartner's first race overseas – and the farthest she’s travelled past Montana.
She believes her best odds at performing strongly are in the short sprint races, her top discipline.
“I would really like to qualify for the sprint heats on the first day of racing,” she said. “But it's just more so for the experience and competing internationally for the first time.”
Gartner’s teammates are Aramintha Bradford of the Yukon, Cedric Martel of Ontario, and Eamon Wilson of British Columbia.
Canmore cross-country skier Ben Field was named a non-travelling alternate for Gangwon 2024.
One other Bow Valley athlete, alpine skier Sierra Coe, qualified for the international event.
