17 février 2008


Marie-Catherine Bruno
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Bruno earns world berth

Vernon’s Marie-Catherine Bruno is thriving under new coach Luc Germain, head coach of cross-country Quebec ski team.

The 36-year-old has dominated the North American Cup circuit this winter, winning a recent Sierra Avalanche race in Truckee, Calif. to qualify for the World Ski Orienteering Championships next year in Japan.

“Even though I felt terrible, not only did I beat all the women, but I also beat all the men Masters and men Juniors,” said Bruno, who endured a 22-hour snowy drive to California. “I had the fastest time on the course that day. I could not believe my eyes.”

In Lake Tahoe the next day, Bruno settled for second place, 35 seconds behind Russia’s Nadezda Dvorko. The two were the only entrants to break the hour-mark.

Day three was again between Dvorko and Bruno.

“Knowing how close it had been the day before, I was pretty nervous at the start. I started off conservatively, knowing that Royal Gorge is super hilly and punishing. Halfway through the race, I caught a glance of her so I knew I was closing in.

“Well, that got me a little too excited and I lost my focus and proceeded to make the biggest error. I made a very bad route choice and found myself at the bottom of a hill the size of Silver Star. Yep, imagine being in the village at Silver Star and knowing that you now have to hammer straight up Milky Way to your next check point. No need to say the Russian beat me by quite a bit that day. Oh well, it's now 2-1 for the Russian but there's one race left, and it's a very technical race, so anything can happen.”

On day four, a major snowstorm in Truckee closed the highway westbound so the Russians couldn’t get to the race. Bruno opted to race with the Elite men in a very technical race, with 24 check points in less than 15km, with a trail junction at almost every 200m.

“Funny how there is less pressure when you don't race in your own category. I was super calm, had a really good race, and placed third.”

Bruno, a 5-foot-10 former University of McGill volleyball star who uses Rossignol skis and boots and wears Oakley eyewear and Eider clothing, trains at Silver Star Mountain Resort.

Next up are the B.C. Cups in Sun Peaks, Salmon Arm and Sovereign Lake, followed by the Canadian Championships at Stake Lake on March 2.

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Note du webmestre :
Marie-Catherine Bruno a écrit plusieurs articles sur les blessures pouvant survenir en faisant du sport. Vous pouvez avoir accès à bon nombre de ces articles en anglais en format pdf en cliquant ici


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