Chris Del Bosco: The road to Vancouver

To overcome any hardship, you must be a fighter. Chris is a fighter. He arrived back in Vail in January 2006 and had one chance to qualify for the ski-cross event at the Winter X-Games. He had not been on skis in over nine months.  While he had been working out as part of his recovery program, he was far from his "fighting" weight. 

Chris and my father packed up the truck and headed to North Lake Tahoe, Calif., to a last-chance qualifier race. Chris surprised us all and won. He had a spot in the X-Games and went to Aspen  to race with the big boys who had been training for months. 

I watched him race live on TV and at the same time, I had my mom on the phone who was standing at the finish line in Aspen. We screamed in delight with each heat he won.  I was weak in the knees and had a knot in my stomach. When Chris finished third, I wept.  I cried and cried. I am not going to lie, I cried again recalling that moment in time. 

Short-lived success

I think I thought the end had finally come.  Look at what he achieved. Sadly, I was wrong again. Shortly after his bronze-medal run in Aspen, Chris began to drink again. That spring, it caught up with him. He was arrested for a DUI and the judge was not going to let him off easy. After 10 days in jail, I spoke to him. I remember him telling me he was done. It took one more fall on his butt to get there, but he was done. He has never drank again. Chris has been clean and sober ever since.

Our attitude then and now has continued to be one of not giving up. Don’t ever give up.  Don’t. For those of you with struggles in your life, there is a plan for all of us. This road was not easy for Chris. It was not easy for me. It was not easy for my parents, my siblings or our friends and extended family. But just don’t give up. 

Now it was time for Chris to decide what he was going to do.  He had his eye on a shiny 2010 Olympic medal. 

At about this time of clarity for Chris, the Canadian ski-cross team was being formed. A group of skiers who were at a restaurant at Whistler were talking about ski cross and the X-Games. The waitress just happened to be my cousin. She’s like most of us in the family - she loves to talk. She overheard the conversation and mentioned that her cousin, Chris Del Bosco, competed and was half-Canadian.  

The benefit of being Canadian

A couple of days later, the team president was on the phone talking to an excited Chris.  The U.S. had not organized a team yet, and Chris was eager to begin training. The idea of competing for Canada seemed just about perfect.  

He spent the 2007-2008 season getting his bearings on the World Cup circuit. He spent the 2008-2009 season scaring his competition. Chris has battled his addictions with the same tenacity he uses to race down the mountain. His is not a battle against his opponents or the clock - he’s competing against himself. He is No. 1 in Canada, No. 1 in North America, No. 2 in the world. He kicks off the 2009-2010 season this week in Italy. He’ll be there to power out of that start gate. He’ll be there to test his mettle. He’ll be there to ski fast. He’ll be there to remind us all that there is hope. 

At the beginning, it was my family’s dream to see him on the Olympic podium. Now, the dream is different. Our dream for him is to continue to be the wonderful, strong man he has become. For him to excel in life. For him to be happy and healthy. For him to continue to make us laugh. For him to give a reason to cheer. Don’t get me wrong. We want him to ski fast. We want him to win. But we really just want him to be Chris. As for that Olympic gold medal, talk to us in February 2010.  We’ll be there cheering him on!