The name Ashleigh McIvor is now synonymous with the sport of ski cross. The former UBC student and Whistler resident won the first gold medal ever awarded at the Winter Olympics for the sport in Tuesday’s finals. The Ubyssey spoke with McIvor after her race.

Ubyssey: The pressure must be intense at the top of the hill right before you run. How do you deal with it?

McIvor: I just think about a certain feature on the course that I feel good about. I think about stuff that has nothing to do with the race that makes me happy. Then I’ll do a visualization [of the course].

U: How was it competing on your home mountain with the home crowd? [Editor’s note: McIvor grew up in Whistler. She started skiing—down the stairs at her house—at the age of 2.]

M: I couldn’t hear the crowd up at the top of the run, and during the run, you’re just so focused.

U: Have government funded programs like “Own the Podium” helped you?

M: A lot of us have been racing ski cross for years before it was an Olympic sport. And it’s tough traveling to Europe by yourself, tuning your own skis, not having a coach to go to the coaches’ meeting….It’s really nice to [now] be able to focus on our training and our competition.

U: How do you feel about competing in a sport that hasn’t had very much exposure, especially in hockey-crazed Canada?

M: That’s the exciting part of it. Being a part of the Olympics is just going to expose the sport to so many more people, and everyone who sees it loves it. It’s pretty exciting to watch.

U: How did you get into ski cross?

M: I grew up racing alpine and I broke my leg when I was 16, skied powder for a couple of years and then some friends encouraged me to get involved, because the women’s field wasn’t so deep at that point. There were some local races, and it looked fun, so I just jumped in.

U: Balancing sport with school must have been a challenge, correct?

M: It didn’t work out very well. School has been on hold for a little while because my number one priority has been [ski cross] now.

U: What are your future plans in the sport?

M: Go finish the World Cup circuit and hopefully move up a spot. [Editor’s note: McIvor is currently ranked second in the World Cup circuit.]

U: So now that you’re all done for the Games, what Olympic events do you want to see?

M: I want to watch the slalom up in Whistler. Hopefully Mike Janyk does well.

Side notes on McIvor

McIvor took an English Composition class in 2003 with UBC Professor Lindsey McMaster.

Students had to pick their own essay topics, and McIvor chose to write a letter to the IOC about why ski cross should be an Olympic sport.

“Ashleigh made a persuasive argument for her paper at the time for her sport,” McMaster said. “This paper was original; no other student had thought to write a letter to an official body.”

McIvor told McMaster about her interest in sports. However, the professor said that “at the time, she was just another student with student issues.”

McMaster has been mostly just following McIvor during the Games.

“I don’t follow sports.” said McMaster. “Ashleigh was the only person I was interested in watching…Today I got to see her live, which was nice.”