MAIDSTONE — Talance Kalmakoff, aspiring mogul skier from Maidstone, had an amazing time in Hintertux, Austria despite an unfortunate injury.
Talance (15 years old) went over on Oct. 20 and returned on Nov. 12. With her coach, Kristi Richards, and her KR Academy team of seven other athletes from Alberta, Ontario, and the UK, Talance was there for training and to prepare for the first FIS Open Mogul competition of the season. Competitors from other countries were Olympic team and World Cup skiers, with the oldest in their 30s.
During the competition on Nov. 9, Talance qualified 14th putting her in the final. She was stoked and skiing well but unfortunately, during the “hot lap” (pre-final run), the bottom air got the best of her and she crashed, hitting hard, bouncing from one mogul to another and ending up in the middle lane. Her coach decided to pull her, dropping her to 16th overall.
Talance came home to recuperate and be ready for the next cycle which started at the end of November. She’s now in Apex, B.C. where she competed in the FIS Apex Classic Dec. 12 to 15.
A huge shout-out is given to Andrew at AK Athletic Therapy and Dr. Skylar Horton at Renew Chiropractic for getting her back into her ski boots. It was certainly opportune to have both right here in Maidstone.
Talance and her family are also appreciative of all who helped with this opportunity and the start to her 2024-25 season. She’s excited about her future endeavours and continues to work hard. Talance is fortunate to be coached and mentored by Richards who is an Olympic legend herself.
For the first few days that Talance stayed in Munich, Germany she was hosted by former Maidstone resident, Brennan Best and his family. Brennan is the son of Dave and Allyson Best.
(from information submitted by Chantelle Kalmakoff)
