Devon Kershaw, cross-country skier, looking for elusive Olympic podium

Devon Kershaw wants to be in on Canada's first Olympic medal in men's cross-country skiing, even if it's not him who wins it.

Recently married to Norwegian skier Kristin Stoermer Steira, Kershaw said he wants to be a father soon and also go to university to "get myself educated, so my mom can sleep easier at night."

But there is unfinished business that drives the 32-year-old from Sudbury, Ont., to a fourth Winter Olympic Games in 2018 despite a major health setback and deep cuts to team funding.

Kershaw and teammate Alex Harvey made history over the last decade by becoming the first Canadian men to win world championship and World Cup medals in a sport dominated by Europeans.

Near-misses at the 2010 Winter Games and a flop four years later in Sochi, Russia, means there is an important piece of history yet to be achieved.

"I still have some — I'm not going to call them demons because I'm really proud of the things we've achieved as a team — but to be so close in Vancouver and be denied a few times and then just having the total fiasco in Sochi . . . ," Kershaw told The Canadian Press.

"The fact that no man has ever hit the Olympic podium just really irks me. That's a huge motivation for me. I feel I can contribute a lot to our team.

"I also believe on a great day I can still hit the podium at the Olympics myself. If it's not me, say it is Alex, if I can be of help to a fellow Canadian and push them in training, push them in races, help motivate them and kind of be a mentor and they end up being the ones that get that elusive Olympic podium, it's still important for me to be a part of the team."

The 2015-16 World Cup season opens Friday in Ruka, Finland.

Harvey, Kershaw, Toronto's Len Valjas, Ivan Babikov and Jesse Cockney of Canmore, Alta., Graeme Killick of Fort McMurray, Alta., Emily Nishikawa of Whitehorse and Michael Somppi of Thunder Bay, Ont., will race for Canada.

Kershaw came agonizingly close to that Olympic medal in 2010 when he finished 1.5 seconds off the podium in the gruelling men's 50-kilometre race. He ended up fifth in a group sprint to the finish line.

The Canadian men posted seven top-10 results in 2010 with Harvey and Kershaw fourth in the team sprint. When the two Canadians won world championship team sprint gold a year later, they looked to be tracking for an Olympic medal in 2014.

But Kershaw was struck with a lung infection in Sochi and, combined with waxing issues, Canada did not come close to a cross-country medal.

Injuries piled up

While Harvey rebounded in 2014-15 winning silver and bronze at the world championship, Kershaw lost a large chunk of his racing season to the double-whammy of pneumonia and whooping cough.

He flew to Quebec in May to consult a specialist, who said "'wow, you have some serious exercise-induced asthma,"' Kershaw said. Kershaw now has an inhaler.

Harvey, a 27-year-old from St-Ferreol-les-Neiges, Que., is now Canada's frontrunner to end the Olympic drought in men's cross-country, but Kershaw feels he can contend. He is by no means an old man in his sport as men win medals deep into their 30s in endurance races.

Harvey and Kershaw have been each other's "markers" in training as they use each other as measuring sticks for their own fitness.

Canadian team coach Justin Wadsworth feels Kershaw has bounced back from his illness as the skier kept pace with Harvey at the team's altitude camp in Park City, Utah, in September.

"He's there in the Park City camp pushing Alex to his limits. That's good for everybody," Wadsworth said. "The fitness is there. It's just up to him to put together the confidence to have some good races. That's the key for Devon at this point."

This World Cup season will end in Canada with eight races over 12 days in both Quebec and Alberta. The 2016 Ski Tour Canada opens March 1 in Gatineau, Que., and ends March 12 in Canmore, Alta., where the national cross-country team trains.

"It's probably my last chance in my career to be able to race an international race at home in Canada," Kershaw said. "That's not lost in me and that's a huge motivator for me. I've love to have my best races of the season here at home in Canada."

Cross-Country Canada's Own The Podium funding was more than halved from $1.55 million in 2014-15 to $750,000 in 2015-16. OTP doles out taxpayer money based on a sport federation's medal potential.

Instead of a half-dozen off-season training camps outside of Canada, the national team had one in Park City. There wasn't enough money for what had been an annual trip to New Zealand for summer training on snow.

"We lost about $250,000 off our budget last year. We managed and were still able to get two medals at the world championship," Wadsworth said. "This year it's another $250,000, so it's tough."

Kershaw estimates he will pay $20,000 out of his own pocket to race this season, but he can help his wallet by winning. A World Cup cross-country ski victory is worth about $15,000.

"If I ski fast, I'll make money," Kershaw said.