Chandra Crawford

An Olympic gold medal at the skate sprint in Torino was not enough to satisfy Chandra Crawford into complacency. The season following Crawford captured two WC golds and proved to the world that her Olympic medal was no fluke. But in the following summer Crawford experienced multiple injuries and ended up having to undergo surgery for compartment syndrome which ultimately ended last year’s season. In addition, a condition in the peroneal tendons of her ankles made ski training nearly impossible for most of last summer. After many months and many visits to doctors and physiotherapists, Crawford was just recently able to find a solution: working with Fischer, she was able to obtain a pair of custom boots which she hopes will allow her to ski pain-free this season. Though she found it extremely frustrating to be sidelined from training, Crawford worked on upper body strength and did what she could to stay sharp.

Wood says that Crawford’s main goal is to get her fitness back and up to speed. Getting her feet back under her by racing the sprint at Bruksvallarna, Crawford wrote on her website that a large training block made her feel tired for the race but even though the race was disappointing, “even being here racing feels like a significant victory after an injury year”. Crawford will taper her training down before the Dusseldorf and Davos skate sprints, where she is focusing on having two successful races.