Brady Leman proud to ski for more than himself
Ski cross star keeps memory of Abby Wunsch alive as he chases Olympic podium
Amid all the logos of corporate sponsors and athletic apparel brands that adorn Brady Leman's race suit, there's one badge that carries the most significance for the Canadian ski cross star.
It's a white heart with a light pink outline and the name "Abby" in pink script.
"She was a little girl that passed away in Nakiska [Alberta] in a ski accident, which was really sad," Leman says. "I've been fortunate to connect with Abby's family after the accident and got to know them really, really well.
"It's cool to race for something that's a lot bigger than myself."
After nine-year-old Abby Wunsch died in 2015, her family started the Abby Award for youth skiers at her age level to keep her spirit alive. "Abby always showed up to the hill with a smile, did whatever the coaches asked of her, put in 110 per cent and never said she didn't want to go," it says on the Abby Award website.
Leman felt an immediate connection to the Wunsch family's story. Abby reminded him of himself at that age.
"I wasn't super, super fast when I was little, but I loved to be on the hill and I loved being with my teammates, so it's been pretty cool to align with them," the 31-year-old from Calgary says.
"They've supported me financially and I've helped to try to raise as much awareness for those guys as I can."
Roller-coaster ride
Leman has his own story of perseverance. Named as an alternate on Team Canada for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, he was called up to replace Dave Duncan, who broke his collarbone during a training run.
However, in a twist more appropriate for a Greek tragedy than an Olympic Games, he crashed during his training run, re-aggravating a broken tibia and damaging the surgically implanted rod in his right leg.
"It was a pretty crazy 24, 48 hours kind of thing," Leman says about missing out on the Olympic debut of ski cross. "I went through such a crazy roller-coaster high to such a bad low when I got hurt.
"I totally got sidetracked with getting this wide-eyed look of 'oh my God, I'm actually going to be in the Olympics.' If I just approached it like another race, I think it could have gone really well, but that wasn't the case."
Since then, Leman says he's tried to stay more level with his emotions, and it's paid off in the form of 22 World Cup podiums — four gold, 11 silver and seven bronze — and X Games gold in 2016. Through all that, he's dealt with more injuries and competitive shortcomings — like just missing the podium at the Sochi Games in 2014 — but says he's prepared for the expectations heading into the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
"As much pressure as there is from sponsors and media and the ski team and stuff like that, I put more on myself," Leman says. "I'm OK with stuff I didn't really plan for or things that were outside my control, but if it's something that I overlooked or that I missed, I struggle with getting down on myself a little bit.
"But that almost does make the pressure a little bit easier because most of it is internal and if I can just focus more on my process and less on the results and just what I need to do to get there, that makes things a lot easier."
Not going it alone
Leman plans to ski the "full World Cup" tour in the build-up to the Games in Pyeongchang. For him, there's no better ski cross training than actually racing.
"You can't ever match the race intensity on the training slope, it's almost impossible," Leman says. "So you've got to get that competition environment and get comfortable with extra nerves and the extra excitement that go along with racing and be ready for that to be even more elevated at the Games."
He won't be preparing to chase that elusive Olympic podium alone. The Wunsch family is throwing him a going-away party before he heads to South Korea, and he's proud to wear Abby's name on his right sleeve.
"They've really leaned on the ski community, which I think is pretty unique. It takes a strong family to stay involved in a sport after a tragedy like that," Leman says.
"They've been a big part of my success over the last couple years."