Canadian National Team Member Dasha Gaiazova

How do you get past the disappointment of not being selected for the 2006 Olympic Team?

Oh man, that was a really hard time for me. I knew that I was getting in better and better shape and that my results were stable and improving. At the beginning of last season I set myself one goal: to qualify for Torino and then go from there. I really poured all my soul into training, plus there was a lot of stress going into my first ever World Cup races. When the team was announced, I felt really hurt and angry. Despite the fact that I was proud of how I performed in Canadian World Cups (31st in 10km Skate, 36th in Pursuit and 38th in 15km Classic) under tremendous amount of pressure and stress, I felt that it was pointless for me to try so hard because I just was not fast enough to make the team. The motivation really went down from there on for rest of the year. I still loved training and skiing, but in my mind, the only place I wanted to be racing at was Torino. After December World Cups and until early April I won every race that I have entered in North America, except for last 2 races at Spring Series where I finished 2nd.

Months on the road, hopping from hotel to hotel: how do you keep your sanity?

I am studying by correspondence, calling regularly all my friends and my family and writing little updates on my website. At times when I feel like it has been too much hotel- living and traveling I remind myself that any competitive skier back home would love to be in my spot and that I am so lucky to live my dream and race the World Cups.

You’re multi-lingual. What languages are you fluent in?

I speak English, French, Russian and Italian. Also some basic understanding of German as I took German language lessons when I was a kid.

What language are you working on right now?

All of them! I like to keep my language skills sharp. Usually I would speak at least in English and French every day, and get Russian and Italian language exposure as often as possible – mostly through friends, music, magazines, TV, internet, that kind of stuff.

You came from Russia to Quebec at 15. How was this huge life transition?

It was huge!!! When I came to Quebec I did not speak any French at all. During my first 3 years of living there and skiing with Quebec Ski Team I felt like a total idiot because I could hardly understand what people around me were saying. The majority of people on that team barely spoke any English themselves so the communication was very basic and sparse.

On the racing side, what has been your finest performance so far?

Sorry, I can’t really pick up a single best performance. However there are for sure a few races that I will remember for the rest of my life. One of such performances that I am really proud of is racing the 75km Marcialonga marathon. I am still amazed how I was able to finish such a long distance and also win a bronze medal!

What do you miss most about Sara’s year away from the Canadian team?

I really miss training with her because she is a great training partner and because she is so experienced in World Cup racing.

Where were you when…Beckie won the 2002 Olympic pursuit?

I was packing my ski bag for Keskinada Loppet week-end of racing while checking race results on the web. There was no TV coverage of this race in Canada, so I found out about her medal through the internet just before I jumped in the car. By the time I got to Gatineau (1.5 hrs of driving), everyone already knew and was really excited!

Want to know know more about Dasha? Check out her web blog at: www.dashagaiazova.com

“I apologize for the way it looks right now, I put that thing together all by myself. I do plan on making it look more professional after this racing season is over, however for the time being I update it every 2-3rd day and it is a best way of keeping track of my ski racing adventures!”

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