Winnipeg Free Press > Sports > Olympics > U.S. skiers Vonn, Teter, Bidez featured in Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue

Olympics

The Canadian Press - ONLINE EDITION

U.S. skiers Vonn, Teter, Bidez featured in Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue

By: THE CANADIAN PRESS

10/02/2010 3:06 PM | Comments: 0

VANCOUVER, B.C. - The U.S. women's ski team has turned heads before competition has even started at the Vancouver Olympics.

Lindsey Vonn, Hannah Teter, Clair Bidez and Lacy Schnoor are featured in the 2010 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010_swimsuit/).

SI says the issue "features the athletes heating up the slopes in Whistler."

"Shooting the Lindsey, Hannah, Gretchen and Claire feature in Canada was a dream as the beauty of Whistler was a perfect backdrop and made every shot spectacular," Diane Smith, SI swimsuit senior editor, said in a release.

"The majesty of the mountains, the glacier lakes and the clearest blue sky in the world made Whistler one of the best locations I have ever experienced."

-

BEARING DOWN: Like most people, Canadian luger Jeff Christie appreciates the wildlife that lives around Whistler, site of the Olympic sliding events.

He just prefers the animals that can eat you stay on the other side of the fence.

Christie recalled a close encounter of the carnivore kind during training one day.

"I was sitting at the men's start, ready for one of my training runs," the Calgary resident said during a news conference Tuesday. "They had cleared the track and I put my visor down.

"I looked down on Curve 1 and this big black thing is going under the railing and put his feet on the side of the track and starts looking at it. I looked at the starter and said 'I'm not going. I'm dressed in red, I look like a giant salmon."'

Christie said course officials managed to scare the bear away. Still, he's glad it's not the Summer Games.

"We're lucky it's winter now," Christie said with a smile. "They are sleeping."

-

KEEPING IT IN THE FAMILY: The Crawford sisters are hoping it's two times lucky for a family heirloom at the Olympics.

Biathlete Rosanna Crawford is wearing the same ring on a chain around her neck that big sister Chandra wore at the 2006 Turin Games when she won the gold medal in the cross-country sprint. The siblings plan to swap the ring for each of their events during the Vancouver Games.

"It's my grandmother's ring," Rosanna said Tuesday during a news conference. "After she passed away she gave it to my aunt. My aunt gave it to Chandra in 2006.

"If you see her, when she crosses the finishes line in a couple of the heats, you see her pull it out. I wore it during the trial races to make the Olympic team. I will be wearing it for my Olympic races and Chandra and I will have to pass it back and forth."

  • Rate this Rate This Star Icon
  • This article has not yet been rated.

    • We want you to tell us what you think of our articles. If the story moves you, compels you to act or tells you something you didn’t know, mark it high. If you thought it was well written, do the same. If it doesn’t meet your standards, mark it accordingly.

    You can also register and/or login to the site and join the conversation by leaving a comment.

    Rate it yourself by rolling over the stars and clicking when you reach your desired rating. We want you to tell us what you think of our articles. If the story moves you, compels you to act or tells you something you didn’t know, mark it high.

0 Commentscomment icon

The comment period for this story has ended.

letters

Make text: Larger | Smaller

Special coverage

Olympic Blogs

Olympic Diversions

Our Communities

Poll

How much would you be willing to pay to watch NHL in Winnipeg?

View Results