Mellisa Hollingsworth

0:27Melissa, thank you so much for doing this. Thank you for having me. Listening to that press conference, you're touted to basically win everything. There's a lot of pressure on you. You know, I don't really see it as pressure. It's definitely, it's great to have support from everybody. But as an athlete, we have high expectations for ourselves and we thrive on the competition and being put into those situations. And I can't imagine anything more exciting than competing at home Olympics and having the opportunity to stand on the podium. For sure, while you stood on the podium last time with the bronze medal. So you have that first one. So I'm wondering if that quest for the first one versus the almost addictive feeling to win another, what was harder for you? Or what is harder? Well, you know, four years ago, I was naive coming into all of it. It was kind of, I'd been fighting a long time, 10 years,

1:15but it was somewhat overnight success and going into the Olympics number one, my first Olympic Games. So everything was fun and exciting. And like I said, naive. And I'm a little more mature and more experienced four years later and in the same situation. But I just appreciated a whole lot more, I think. And understand that our program is obviously working because I had success on very diverse tracks this season. So my driving abilities, my instincts, everything's on track, my equipment, our team, my coaches, all that stuff. So it's really exciting to go into a home Olympics and know that you're just working on fine detail. Have you gone down the track before? The Whistler track? Yes, we had our very first World Cup competition there last year.

2:03And the last time I've been on the track was this fall for our team trials. So it's fair to say we have a bit of an advantage as Canadians because you've got to go down at more than others perhaps. Yeah, you know, we haven't had a whole lot more runs than everybody else. Like when the track was first built, there was plans of us to have all these runs. But we've obviously allowed the internationals to come on a lot more than originally scheduled. And we haven't had as much time. And myself personally, I haven't had as much time as originally planned because of it's a tough track. And last year I left that track with a broken sled and a concussion and stitches. And my training camp got cut short. So I had to go all summer long kind of wondering, you know,

2:48maybe I don't really know what I'm doing. I got pulled from the track and it was a pit in my stomach all summer getting back on my sled in September. That was very nerve-wracking. I can imagine. I don't mean to scare you or anything. But are you scared of that track now a little bit? I have a lot of respect for that track. Whistler, in my opinion, is the most dangerous track in the world. We're approaching speeds of 145 kilometers an hour. So when you're going that fast, it doesn't leave an error. And things can go wrong at any point of the track. It's not just one dangerous spot. You know, it's anywhere, which will make it a great race for everybody to watch. And you know who's going to be standing on the podium at the end of the day are going to be your absolute best sliders in the world over 14 years.

3:34For sure. Your helmet. I was talking to Jeff Payne about his raging beaver. Is yours like a skeleton horse? It is OK. Yeah. Yeah. I got my helmet painted this season by Voodoo airbrushing in Ajax, Ontario. And we came up with the idea of a horse skull. Obviously, I'm a country girl. And I wanted to bring in the aspect of skeleton to the painting. And I wanted to involve horses. And then on my chin guard, I have six rodeo events. And I sent out actual pictures of my family to the artist. And he was able to kind of pull out that stencil. So there's, yeah, it's very cool. I love it because both, you know, Saddlebronk and Bearback and Stu wrestling, calf roping, bow riding.

4:20And then myself on my horse brow racing are all on there. So when I put that helmet on, it's a piece of home every time I'm signed on the tour. Are you still running horses? Yes. Not right now. No. I've been here at Shtow. Of course not. Right up until September, yes. That's obviously we trained very hard as athletes, full-time athletes. But if I weren't training or doing my recovery therapy, my sole therapy was out with my horse rascal. That's where you could find me. Rascal. That's a good name. Yeah. He is right. Well, here skeleton is actually the safest of the three. You have illusion, Bob slay. How does a little girl get into skeleton of all things? My cousin Ryan Davenport is a two-time world champion, and he builds our sleds. So when I was 15, I was doing my normal high school sports track of field of volleyball,

5:06basketball, and he thought I'd be a good fit for the sport. And he was right. How does someone a good fit for the sport? Well, I was fast. So when you're doing track and field, I had that speed. So for skeleton, you have to be fast to be able to get moving that sled at the top of the track. Every tent that you can gain at the top will relate to around three-tenths at the bottom. So where the, obviously, very athletic side comes in, and then to navigate your way down, you have to have that finesse in those instincts to be able to drive the line. Because it's not just the track being at the top and then a crazy cover right out of the way down. You have to know what you're doing, and you have a plan, but it doesn't always go that way. So you have to react at high speeds and high g-fist. Awesome. I know you're busy, but what are you most excited for at the games? Besides your actual competition.

5:52Yeah, I'm obviously, I'm up for the challenge. It's going to be a huge challenge that you've got athletes in skeleton in the world, and definitely excited for my competition and to be able to perform in front of Canada and to have that support of my family and friends and the entire nation. It's just going to be a wild experience. Awesome. Cool. Well, Melissa Hollinger, thank you. Appreciate it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I understand. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

6:38Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.