LOCAL DISABLED SKIER ON A TERRIFIC RUN

Joines Returns From Suspension, Rattles Off 11 Straight World Cup Victories

EDMONTON - Kimberly Joines wheeled herself into the Skyview Centre
Starbucks and began to unload her backpack -- a large, heavy ceramic
plate, four wooden hand-carved medals, trophies of various sizes and
designs -- the spoils of winning 11 consecutive World Cup ski races.

"A good thing I didn't win the first race," she chuckled. "The prize
was a 16-pound candleholder."

The 11 straight wins may or may not be a Canadian record -- although
it's difficult to imagine any Canadian athlete winning more
consistently on the international stage -- but for Joines what
matters is that she's back on the international stage and exactly
where she wants to be, on top.

The 26-year-old Edmonton sit-skier has battled injuries throughout
her six years on the national team, served a nine-month suspension
after testing positive last January for marijuana she was using for
pain management, and has come back with a vengeance.

"With the stuff I've gone through the last few years I needed a year
like this," she said during her brief stop in Edmonton before heading
to her new home in Rossland, B.C. "It's tough to keep doing something
when you don't get the rewards.

"Having the rewards give you a renewed life for the sport, renewed
incentive to push it that much harder."

Sitting out much of last season after the positive drug test that
cost her a major sponsor gave her time to re-evaluate her life goals
and Joines came to the conclusion she still wanted an Olympic gold medal.

"Being off last year made me really appreciate how much I wanted it,"
she said between sips of a latte. "This year has a lot to do with
training, changes to my equipment, moving to the mountains, doing
nothing but skiing.

"I've put school on the backburner for a bit. I finally made that
full commitment to skiing."

That became obvious on the second run of the first slalom event this
season. After falling on her first run and putting herself out of
contention for a medal, she roared back in the second and barely
missed the podium.

"I gave it all I had, skied faster than I had ever skied in a slalom."

"So confidence-wise, even though I didn't get the medal, it was a big
boost to show myself I could do that, go faster than anyone," Joines explained.

For the next two weeks she was untouchable, winning 11 straight gold
medals, some of them by more than 10 seconds.

"I now feel like when I'm having a really good run that no once can
beat me. Technically, I've always kind of felt that way, but was
never able to put it together. I always had the confidence that I
should be the best in the world."

She is that right now thanks in part to a repositioning of her
binding to give her correct balance and new skis designed for slalom.
The new balance enables her to ski on the edge and still pull herself
out of potential crashing situations, something she wasn't able to do
in the past.

She hated the new slalom skis last year because it hurt her hip to
ride them, but she figured that out and "discovered it really is the solution."

"It's pretty awesome to see my worst event (slalom) jump ahead to one
of my better events. I'm hitting every gate now. I couldn't imagine
being that aggressive, hitting the gates, running it likes the guys do."

When she first started hitting gates aggressively in the summer of
2006 and attacking them the same way as able-bodied skiers, her body
felt like she "was being caned for an hour." But new equipment was
designed to protect her arms, wrists, chest and face.

"The problem before was it was like I was driving a bus around the
slalom course, taking the long way. That's not how the skis were
meant to be skied."

Kind of like the erratic path her ski career was taking before she
found the route she was probably always destined to be on. Joines was
an outstanding high school athlete before a snowboarding crash left
her paralyzed from the waist down, but never fractured her
determination to be an elite athlete.

"I realize now that I really, really want it," she said of her ski
career. "It's not putting everything on hold, it's my path, the path
I was probably always destined to do, the path I want to follow."

And she's able to do it now with a healthy body, the right training,
equipment, coaching and team support, plus a "few good supporters
like Kalawsky GMC" of Castlegar, B.C, one of several sponsors who
have stepped up to give her the financial means to pursue her dream.

Just as she's lost the "cockiness of youth" and matured into a young
woman, she's also lost the negative doubts of being young in a
competitive adult sport and found the confidence and ability to not
only compete with the world's best, but beat them.

She resumes the chase for the World Cup championships next month in
Asia where she hopes to continue her domination and bring home the
crystal globes given to the top competitor in each of the slalom,
giant slalom, combined and overall categories at the end of the season.