When Katie Calder begins her cross-country competition at the Winter Olympics, she could be forgiven for having a small part of her mind on events to take place in four years.
Calder, Canberra-born but with New Zealand parents and who calls Tauranga home, was the first athlete to complete the qualification criteria for her sport to get to Vancouver.
But while she’s determined to justify her selection, the next Winter Games, in Sochi, Russia, in 2014 are in her thoughts too.
The 28-year-old believes that will be her best shot at making the podium, so Vancouver is partly about storing up as much knowledge as possible.
“These Olympics will no doubt be nerve-racking and a great challenge, but it is also an important stepping stone in my quest for a medal in 2014,” she said.
“That is when I’ll be around the physical prime age for a cross-country skier.”
Her parents were from Palmerston North and Rotorua, but from an early age she divided her time between the two countries.
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