The next day, the rain indeed persisted, and it poured throughout the entire 30 k event. Conditions were miserable. Renner’s ski suit was sopping wet, her feet swimming in her boots. When it was over, she crossed the line in 16th place.
“I was disappointed because I think if I had an excellent day I could have been on the podium,” she said. “As it turned out I had a good day. It wasn’t enough but at the same time I skied with every ounce of energy that I had and I really gave it my all.”
After she crossed the line, Renner was greeted by her three-year-old daughter Aria. “She was wearing a garbage bag because it was raining so hard,” Renner laughed. “She was such a little trouper through the whole Olympics.”
Along with a big hug from Aria, Renner said skiing in front of her hometown fans more than made up for any disappointment in her 30 k result. “The crowd that day was so amazing and so supportive. A lot of people knew it was my last race. It was almost overwhelming to see how people really cared.”
Renner also paired with Dasha Gaiazova to finish a gutsy seventh in the team sprint and earned a solid 10th place finish in the individual 15 km pursuit.
While she didn’t bring home the Olympic hardware she had dreamed about, Renner’s Vancouver 2010 experience was everything she had hoped for. “It was a really magical time in Canada,” Renner said. “It surpassed everyone’s expectations, how people got behind it, how it moved them and made them think about reaching higher. Just how the ’88 Olympics changed my life, I think we’ll see that in kids who were at the Vancouver games. It was really phenomenal.”
While the 2009-2010 World Cup cross-country season carries on, Renner has officially said goodbye to ski racing. She has no regrets. “It’s time to move on. I feel like I ended it the right way.”
Her 14-year career is filled with highlights, including an Olympic silver medal in 2006 and six World Cup podium finishes. For Renner, a bronze in her final World Cup event this February in her hometown stands out. “That was really special,” Renner said. “Just to perform really well in front of my friends and family. It was such a beautiful day. And to see the whole community rally around cross-country skiing, it was just a magical weekend.”
Renner now plans on spending more time with her family, working with Right to Play, an international humanitarian organization that gives children in developing countries access to sports programs and equipment, and helping the Canadian cross-country team in any way she can when time permits.
“I would be a mentor to athletes. I would cook. I would help be a wax technician. I would do anything they needed. I think I’ll always be involved but, as for being an athlete, I think my goal for the next few years will be to beat my neighbours!”
Photos by Pam Doyle
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