A World Cup winner, Marco Sullivan out of Squaw Valley has tasted the success of dedicating himself to his sport. But, for the one-time Olympian, being Vancouver-bound will help him reach the apex of his career.
“Vancouver-bound to me, the first thing I think of is fun. It’s the Olympics — the culmination of all the training we do all year long,” Sullivan said. “The actual competition is the icing on the cake. We get to go there and get pampered.
“We get treated like Olympians and have one of the biggest races of our lives.”
The biggest race of Sullivan’s career so far came on a blue sky day in the fabled French resort of Chamonix in late January 2008.
In the shadow of Mont Blanc, the fabled Kandahar sweeps and rolls down the mountainside to Les Houches — a course much to Sullivan’s liking. As he stood atop the podium that day, he couldn’t help but think about how the Whistler Creekside course would suit his style, as well.
For Sullivan, the 2009 season held much of the success that has him gunning for a spot on the 2010 U.S. Olympic team. The speed racer achieved four top-10 finishes on the World Cup circuit, one of which was a third place during the downhill in Wengen.
He closed it all off with a U.S. title in downhill before heading to the gym to prepare himself for one of the most important seasons of his career.