July 28, 2016
DUSTIN COOK IS BACK – HUNGRY FOR SNOW, GATES AND PODIUMS!
ALPINE CANADA ALPIN – Calgary, Alta. (July 21, 2016) – Inducted into the Canadian Cowboy brotherhood, Dustin Cook had an incredible breakout 2014-15 season hitting the podium three times in super G, including a third-place finish in Kvitfjell, NOR, first-place finish in Meribel, FRA and a silver medal at the 2015 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Beaver Creek, Colorado.
With nothing but opportunity ahead of him, Cook was determined to continue with the momentum he generated at the end of the 2014-15 season, only to have a season ending crash in a training run just days before the 2015-16 season began. His injuries were severe enough to see him sit out of the entire season, undergoing surgery, followed by hours and hours and hours of physiotherapy, relentless gym sessions and a will so strong to get him ready to take on the 2016-17 season.
At 27-years-old, Cook’s future is full of possibilities and with the 2017 FIS Alpine Ski World Championships on the calendar this year, and the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Games less than two years away, he’ll be striving to consistently hit the podium, adding hardware to his growing trophy collection.
With his injury now a distant memory, Cook took to the glacier and recently returned home from his first on-snow training camp with great success and excitement. We caught up with him to ask some burning questions:
ALPINE CANADA: You’re back on your skis and back on snow – finally! Where did you complete your first on-snow training camp?
DUSTIN COOK: I was in France skiing at Les 2 Alpes Glacier. We had seven days on snow and it felt really great to be back. I was working with Paolo de Florian, [Head Coach, Men’s Tech] and Valter Ronconi [Coach, Men’s Tech]. Abby [Ghent] and I spent the first week training together and we were joined by Erik [Read] and Trevor [Philp] for our second week of training.
ALPINE CANADA: Now that you’ve had some time on snow, how is the knee feeling? Are you feeling good on your skis or are there some gaps you need to close?
DUSTIN COOK: I’m feeling really, really good. I wasn’t sure what to expect but everything I did and felt surpassed my expectations. Once I got back on snow, I didn’t even think about my knee. I found I thought it about much more in the gym than I did on snow. It truly feels like I haven’t missed a beat and I’m right back to where I left off. Having so many months in the gym, and such a focus on recovery has made me feel even stronger and more stable than ever before. We worked really hard to fill some physical gaps while I wasn’t able to be on snow.
ALPINE CANADA: Now that you’ve had a week on snow, where are you now and when will you be back on skis?
DUSTIN COOK: I’m back in Colorado and back in the gym. I’ll be grinding hard for a few weeks and then I’ll be heading to Zermatt [Switzerland] on August 11th to train with the men’s speed team.
ALPINE CANADA: What are your goals for this season?
DUSTIN COOK: Right now I have huge goals. Everything has gone so well and according to plan that I fully intend to be right back where I left off. The Lake Louise podium is in my sights and I want to be on it. I have every intention of chasing another World Championship podium and I’m really optimistic for the upcoming season. I know that as the training progresses, I may have to adjust my goals and possibly reassess as I get deeper into training but right now my sights are set on one goal – podium finishes
Ashley Shantz | ALPINE CANADA ALPIN
Manager, Communications & Media Relations
Gestionnaire, communications & relations médias
T 403-777-4247
C 587-226-3007
E ashantz@alpinecanada.org