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| Contributed photo Kris Freeman, who trains with the Maine Winter Sports Center, was recently named to the United States’ cross country ski team and will compete in Sochi, Russia next month. |
Another athlete who has trained at the Maine Winter Sports Center has made it into the Olympics.
Kris Freeman of Andover, N.H. was nominated last week to represent the United States as a member of the Cross Country Ski Team at the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia. After a difficult, and at some time trying, early season, Freeman went to U.S. National Championships and secured his spot as the second-ranked male distance skier in the country.
“Kris has been an outstanding role model for us,” said Andy Shepard, president and CEO of the Maine Winter Sports Center (MWSC). “He has had to deal with Type 1 diabetes for most of his career and to have been able to remain at such a high level for so long is a powerful demonstration of his commitment, discipline and drive. He doesn’t buy into excuses; he focuses on what needs to get done and goes about getting those things done. These are life lessons for all of us.”
Freeman has spent more than eight weeks in Aroostook County this year training alongside his MWSC cross country teammates, offering insights to the junior racers, and serving as a spokesman and counselor at several diabetes fundraisers and camps. Additionally, Freeman serves as a spokesman for drug company Eli Lilly, attending diabetes camps in seven states during the past summer to help guide young men and women in managing their diabetes while enjoying an outdoor lifestyle.
“Kris’s drive and motivation are widely known throughout the sporting world,” attests Will Sweetser, competitive program director at MWSC. “He is the highest functioning diabetic in an endurance sport. But it is his quiet push to raise the bar for all of U.S. Skiing that, in my mind, has set him apart over the years. Many of the successes we see in cross country skiing in this country right now started with Kris nearly a decade ago. I am proud to see him off to his fourth Winter Games.”
Freeman joins Russell Currier, Tim Burke, Lowell Bailey, Annelies Cook and Lanny Barnes, all athletes with MWSC ties, on US Olympic Team. MWSC Paralympian Omar Bermejo remains in the hunt for a spot on the U.S. Paralympic Nordic Ski Team, which will named on or before Jan. 31.
