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Whistler Olympians

In other words… Michael Janyk
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Friday night, Village Square, opening ceremonies in Whistler for the 2010 Olympics, there wasn't much debate when the announcer asked which of the Canadian athletes standing on stage would like to step forward and speak to the crowd.

Within a blink of an eye, local boy Michael Janyk was up front, grinning ear to ear, chest out, as the massive crowd below cheered, clanged cowbells and madly waved red mittens. If there was any hesitation on Michael's part, it didn't last long.

"My name is Michael Janyk and this is my hometown!" he bellowed into the microphone in classic Michael fashion, launching into a speech about how stoked he was to compete on Whistler Mountain for Olympic medals.

"I remember standing here seven years ago when we were awarded the Games! I thought this day would never come, but we're here, where I grew up and went to school. This is beyond imagination. Thank you, thank you!"

Whether boisterously singing to a Swiss crowd while wearing the team cowboy hat or cruising around the Stanley Park seawall in the lederhosen that ski fans in Kirchberg, Austria gave him after placing third in the slalom at last year's world championships, Michael has developed an international reputation for his charming and outgoing personality.

"My brother is crazy," laughs his younger sister, Stephanie Janyk. "Even when you watch my brother ski, he is nuts. He is like, 'I am going to throw myself down the hill.'"

The 27-year-old slalom racer even used to go by the nickname The Gong Show because of the way he flailed his arms around. Every time he races, Stephanie knows he is repeating the mantra "Go big or go home" in his head.

"He is thinking, 'If I am going to go down this course, I am going to win. Why would I be here if I am not going to give it my all?'" said Stephanie.

Michael's mother, Andrée Janyk, added: "When you see Michael, you can see he is a competitive person."

His outgoing personality does not hide the fact that he has worked hard to make it to the Olympics. While he may have been laughing on stage during the opening ceremonies, Michael is also hardworking and humble. He has put in grueling hours of training to make it to this point.

"I don't think any of these guys can make to on the national team without work," said former coach Denis Ebacher. "Talent doesn't really cut it. Anyone with extreme talent when they were young, when I coached them, they are not on the national team now."

"The guys that were talented but not the stars somehow developed more work ethic because they were trying to beat the best ones, and eventually they do. I guess they have a good habit of working hard to get what they want and they just keep at it."

Janyk is always very sportsmanlike, said Ebacher. If he wins, he wins; and if he doesn't, he is always excited about his teammates winning. It is always friendly competition with him.

His skiing style also hasn't changed much since he was nine years old.

"He is pretty much the same," Ebacher said with laugh. "He has these long legs that go all over the place but he manages to stand up all the time. I don't know how he does it."

One particular story about young Michael sticks out for Ebacher: he used to always ski with his tongue between his teeth, even though Ebacher constantly told him not to.

"I kept saying, Michael, you need to put your tongue in. One day you are going to hit it," he recounted.

Sure enough, one day they were skiing downhill near a ditch. Ebacher specifically told young Michael not to try and jump over the ditch because he didn't have enough speed to make the gap. But the other guy they were skiing with went for it, clearing the gap, and so Michael dutifully followed.

He didn't make it.

"He bit his tongue right through," said Ebacher, 17 years later. "It went totally through. We went to the clinic. He ended up eating popsicles for a few days. I don't think he has had his tongue in between his teeth since."

Ebacher and Janyk have stayed close over the years and these days, whenever Michael visits Whistler, he always makes sure to give Denis a call to see if he can get in a few ski runs with the younger kids.

"I am really proud of him and really proud of the fact that he still has a passion for free skiing," said Ebacher about the boisterous Whistler Olympian. "I hope he does well because I think he deserves to do well."

Michael Janyk will compete in the men's super combined, which includes one run of downhill and one slalom run, on Feb. 21. His main event will be the men's slalom on Feb. 27.

Janyk came 17th in the slalom at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Torino, Italy and claimed the bronze medal at the FIS Alpine World Championships in Val d'Isere, France last year. He is ranked 10 th overall in slalom for the 2009-2010 World Cup season.

 

 



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