There is a saying in football, “When you get to the endzone, act like you've been there before.” It means that the great players are accustomed to success and expect nothing less from themselves.
That is certainly true of the US Ski Team's Kris Freeman. While the rest of the world buzzes about the results that this young American has put up in the past couple of years, Kris is not surprised. He has put in years of work, and he has the confidence to know that he can compete with anyone. If he acts like he's been there before, it's because he has and he knows he can do it again.
We caught up with Kris to ask him a few questions after his 6th place World Cup finish on Saturday – only 1.2 seconds from winning.
This was a big improvement from your first few World Cup races this year. What do you attribute that improvement to?
I would attribute it to being more adjusted to the time change and surroundings. Also the the first world cup was my first race of the year and I was a little flat.
How did you feel during the race? Was it a struggle to stay with the leaders or did you feel strong?
I was never struggling to stay with the leaders. The pace wasn't that hard. I felt strong, and if I could go back I would have led on the last lap.
Tactically how was your race? Would you change any of your strategy?
The strategy was to stay on my feet and avoid crashes while staying in touch with the leaders. I did that.
Were you and Carl [Swenson] able to work together at all during the race, or were you separated most of the time?
Carl and I skied together most of the way while being unaware of it. Our new suits look very similar to Norways and we keep
assuming that the other is from there.
In a FasterSkier interview this summer, you said that one of your goals for this year is a World Cup podium finish. A few
years ago, it would have been blasphemy for a US skier to say that. But today you were half a second from achieving it. Are you starting to think about winning a World Cup race?
I have been thinking about winning a world cup race for awhile now.
Do you feel like you are getting more respect from other nations' athletes and coaches, based on your results over the past year?
Yes
Did any of the other athletes or coaches have anything to say to you after Saturday's race?
I was congratualted by several coaches and athletes.
What are you goals for the rest of this World Cup trip, and for the season in general?
I want to finish the first period in the red group and I still want a podium finish.
