Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

Whistler Olympians

In other words… Julia Murray
61364_l

Perhaps the truest measure of the athlete is not how they perform at the top of their game but seeing how they cope when things go badly, when life throws an unexpected curve ball.

That's what happened to Whistler's 21-year-old Julia Murray.

It was Jan. 22 at the World Cup in Lake Placid, almost one month to the day before the ski cross competition at the 2010 Games. Julia fell in a training run and badly damaged her knee. The prognosis: a partial tear in her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), a tear in her medial collateral ligament and damage to her meniscus.

"No skier ever wants to hear those words," said team physiotherapist Chris Napier.

Yet, rather than rail against her misfortune, at the injustice of the timing and simply throw in the towel, which would have been the easy thing to do, Julia is taking it all in stride.

She is digging deep and finding courage worthy of an Olympian.

Since her accident she has been working her heart out to race for Canada. Today, Feb. 18, she must decide if she is ready.

"She's a very positive person," said Murray's mom Stephanie Sloan.

She remembers Julia's parting words earlier this month before heading to the athletes' village in Vancouver. Sloan didn't know if she would see her daughter again before race day, didn't know if she would be able to compete or not.

There was a hard road ahead of her.

"Her last words before she went down were: 'No matter what happens, it's going to be good,'" recalled Sloan.

And it has been good. In fact, this season has been great as Julia ripped up World Cup courses across Europe, coming in fourth in San Candido, Italy, followed quickly by a third place in St. Johann, Austria, and then another fourth in Alpe d'Huez, France.

Those results secured her spot on the Olympic team just as she hurt her knee.

The timing couldn't have been worse. The last month has been an emotional rollercoaster, said her mom.

"When she hurt her knee it was just such a horrible moment, just thinking 'oh my god, her dream has been shattered, she won't be able to compete,'" said Sloan.

Her mom knows just how hard Julia has worked to get here.

In Grade 5, when Julia was 10 years old, she had a class assignment to draw a picture of her dreams on a paper bag. Her drawing was a skier racing gates down the mountain. It was Julia picturing herself competing in the Olympics.

"Ever since she was a little girl she's dreamt about it," said Sloan.

The idea of being 21 and competing in 2010 had a nice ring to it, she added, and that was before they knew that in 2010 the Olympics would be in her own backyard.

Going off her track record they believed, and hoped, that Julia was going to be one of the lucky ones; one of those skiers not plagued by constant injuries, those recurring issues of the body.

This is the first major injury of her career.

"Her dad never got hurt really," said Sloan.

Julia's dad is Crazy Canuck Dave Murray, renowned ski racer and Olympian. He died of skin cancer before Julia turned two.

Fellow Crazy Canuck and Olympian Steve Podborski will be watching Julia on race day.

"I'm going to watch her for a bunch of reasons," he said. "I've known her since she was a wee little thing."

Podborski was a close friend of the family's who used to go on holidays with Dave and Stephanie.

When asked what makes Julia a ski cross champion, Podborski described it the way only a ski racer could:

"In alpine skiing you're always a hunter," he explained. "You're always just hunting because you're just working with the hill. But in ski cross you're either the hunter, chasing somebody, or the hunted, somebody's chasing you. So you have to be able to change your mindset very quickly.

"She has that ability."

And when she has a job to do, whether it be racing down the mountain or rehabilitating her knee, Julia has the strength of mind to single-handedly focus on the task.

Napier sees that determination first-hand. She is, he said, completely committed to getting her knee ready to race.

Murray spends an hour with Napier every morning, heads to the gym for a couple of hours and then back to physiotherapy for another couple of hours in the afternoon. Since Day 1 of the injury she has been working to keep up her strength, her balance and her muscles.

"She's up to anything and will do whatever it takes," said Napier. "It's been inspiring to see the way she's been handling it."

Napier was by her side when top orthopedic surgeon Dr. Bob McCormack, who is the Chief Medical Officer for Canada during the Games, operated on her knee recently, cleaning up her meniscus and giving her full range of motion.

Napier said he wanted to be there to get the clearest picture possible of what's going on with her knee so that he can put together the best and most effective treatment plan.

There is little doubt that Julia is in the best of hands.

It's not unreasonable for her to compete without an ACL; several other skiers are doing it too.

"She's not alone in that category," said Napier.

Julia can have little doubt that the community is behind her after carrying the Olympic torch via snowmobile up the base of Whistler Mountain on Friday, Feb. 5 during Whistler's leg of the Olympic torch relay.

A roaring cheer greeted her announcement as Whistler pumped up their hometown girl.

"Just making it and being an Olympian is a huge accomplishment - she's worked really hard to get there," said Sloan.

"I'm very proud of her."

The women's ski cross competition takes place Tuesday, Feb. 23.

 



Comments