Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
Jeff Pain, one of Canada's best skeleton athletes with Olympic and world championship credentials, has shifted gears. Pain will lead the national women's ski jumping team as high performance director, Ski Jumping Canada said Wednesday in Calgary.
"As an athlete that found podium results, I learned that I was simply at the front of a large team, and without them, I simply could not achieve my goals," said Pain in a Ski Jumping Canada statement. He is trying to lead a sport that has had little exposure and little funding in Canada since the days when Horst Bulau was winning World Cup medals.
"Ski jumping has operated largely on volunteer spirit, and has never had a full system of support for its athletes. What they have been able to achieve with the resources they've had to work with is miraculous," said Pain, who is also ambitiously seeking sponsors to take the sport to a new level.
Pain retired from skeleton - the face-first sliding sport for the intrepid - after the 2010 Olympic Games. Now he will lead a team of coaches, athletes and an integrated support team. He will launch an aggressive talent identification and recruitment initiative. Pain will also guide the men's ski jumping and Nordic combined programs.
"I firmly believe that Canada has the best athletes in the world. Given access to proper funding, a great system with world leading coaching, support services and facilities, there is no doubt in my mind we can stand on the podium."
In his 15-year skeleton career, Pain won an Olympic silver medal, was a three-time World Championship medalist - twice gold - a two-time overall World Cup winner, and slid to the podium 22 times - including 10 victories - in 74 World Cup appearances.
"We believe Jeff's experience, combined with his competitive attitude and determination, will play a key role in leading our women's and men's programs." said Brent Morrice, chairman, Ski Jumping Canada.
With a goal of placing a Canadian women's ski jumping athlete on the podium at the Olympic Winter Games in 2014, along with a plan to develop a sustainable system that produces medal-winning performances, Ski Jumping Canada, along with its sport partners - Own the Podium, Canadian Sport Centre Calgary, and WinSport Canada - will combine their expertise to ensure athletes have access to the world-leading resources and facilities required to win. The four parties will form a high-performance management group that will support Pain in his new position, the Ski Jumping Canada statement said.
OTP is injecting $300,000 into the women's program. The funds will be used for the hiring of Pain and other coaches, coaching development, world-leading equipment and team travel expenses for the women.