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What is a sacrifice?
Canadian Veronica Brenner, 26, is considered a veteran in the sport of freestyle skiing. The aerialist was a member of the 1998 Canadian Olympic team and won the 1997 World Cup title. Brenner, a native of Scarborough, Ontario, missed the past World Cup season after tearing her ACL but is back on track to make the 2002 Olympic team. Check out Brenner's diary on CNNSI.com as she prepares for Salt Lake City. July 10, 2001 sacrifice n. 1. giving up a valued thing for the sake of another that is more worthy or more important or more urgent. (Oxford) During a recent interview, I was asked if all of the time I spend on the road, time spent training, being away from my family, if all of the sacrifices I've had to make to become an Olympian have been worth it. It's a question I've been asked many times before, yet it's not a question I've ever thought to ask myself. In fact, I sometimes smile when I hear or read about all of the "sacrifices" athletes have to make to get to where they are. I've never thought of any of the decisions I've made in my life as a sacrifice. Instead, I like to think that it's been my choices, choices that have come naturally to me, that have led me to become an elite athlete. For a while, every dollar I made went towards something ski-related. Do you think I considered it a sacrifice to be out shoveling snow to make some extra cash while many other kids my age where sitting on the couch watching TV? Are you kidding? I was hoping it would snow a few more feet so I'd get to shovel more. Because our competition and training schedule made it difficult to go to university full-time, I gave it up after one semester (although I still take courses through correspondence). "For sure that's a sacrifice," you're probably thinking. Not if every morning when your alarm goes off you resent the fact that the rest of your team is getting ready to train and you're getting ready to go to physics class. Sure my career offers no stability, I have a hard time figuring out which town to call "home", and I don't see a whole lot of my family, but once again, these are all things I've never thought twice about. Really, what is a sacrifice? I think of people like my grandparents, who escaped from post-war Germany with nothing, not even getting able to say good-bye to friends, for the chance of a better life for themselves and my father in Canada. I think of that as a sacrifice. While my choices may not have always been conventional, they have opened up a world of new opportunities for me. I have traveled all over the world, met all sorts of interesting people, and learned a lot about life and its lessons in the process. I have had experiences that would not have been possible had I spent my days behind a desk. I realize that some athletes and their families have made some truly tough choices in order to forward their careers. And I know that despite their best efforts, many will never compete in an Olympic Games. I have been very fortunate to have been born into an incredibly supportive family that was able to provide me with many opportunities, opportunities I took advantage of. Becoming an elite athlete has required a lot from me. Commitment? Yes. Persistence? Definitely. Focus? Most certainly. But sacrifice? Not for me. I consider it an incredible honor to be able to make the choices I do. Every day I am choosing to live my dream. How could that ever be considered a sacrifice?
"It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves"
-- Veronica Answers to your questions:
I was wondering what you were able to do during the rehab to stay in shape?
I went through different phases during my rehab. Initially all I could do was pedal with one leg on a stationary bike and lift weights with my upper body. Gradually I progressed to pool workouts (water sprints, walking drills, kicking, squats, hopping, etc.), two-leg biking (then spin classes), and light lower body weights. I also spent a lot of time retraining my agility and balance (after surgery most people find they have lost quite a bit of their body awareness) and learning how to walk and run without favoring my newly repaired knee. Towards the end of my rehab I was swimming, sprinting, tramping, skiing, lifting weights, and doing agility drills-pretty much everything except jumping. The entire process took six months.
Truly enjoyed your comments about being a "nomad". Where is your favorite place and why?
I don't think I have just one favorite place. I love the way the alps seem to grow out of the water in Meiringen, Switzerland and the food in Northern Italy is simple but unforgettable. The people I met in Japan were incredibly kind and generous, not to mention well organized, and in Western Canada, the Rocky Mountains are the most majestic and rugged of any I've ever seen. It's hard to forget the friendliness and buoyancy of Australia, and of course my adopted hometown of Lake Placid will always be special to me. One thing traveling has taught me is that there is something special and beautiful about every place I've ever visited and to pick just one town as a favorite would be impossible, not to mention an injustice to all of the other wonderful places in the world.
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