Dustin Cook returns to skiing after serious injury
27-year-old missed last season after suffering serious knee injury in crash
Ottawa skier Dustin Cook is finally back on the slopes.
A serious crash ended his 2015-2016 campaign just days before the season began, but Cook is finally ready to put the difficult year behind him and focus on skiing again. He's recently returned from France where he had his first on-snow training since the injury.
"I'm feeling really, really good," Cook said in an interview with Alpine Canada. "I wasn't sure what to expect but everything I did and felt surpassed my expectations. Once I got back on snow, I didn't even think about my knee ... It truly feels like I haven't missed a beat and I'm right back to where I left off."
The 27-year-old was coming off a breakout 2014 season where he reached the podium three times in Super G, including a World Cup win and a silver medal at the 2015 world championships.
But three days before October's season-opening giant slalom in Austria, Cook crashed in training. He tore the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his right knee as well as an adductor muscle in his left leg.
Cook now has his sights set on the 2017 world championships and the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea.
"I have every intention of chasing another world championship podium and I'm really optimistic for the upcoming season. ... Right now, my sights are set on one goal — podium finishes."
Cook will continue to work in the gym over the next few weeks before travelling to Switzerland in August to train with the men's speed team.