Of the roughly 200 Canadian athletes competing in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics perhaps none were under more pressure than Jennifer Heil.

The defending Olympic champion in women’s moguls, Heil was widely pegged by the media as most likely to win Canada’s first-ever gold medal on home soil.

And while the Spruce Grove native fell just short, taking home a silver, her ex-coach Murray Cluff, who resides in Cochrane, was very impressed with her performance.

“What was really tough for me was that I couldn’t do anything,” recalled Cluff, who helped steer Heil to gold at the 2006 Games in Turin, Italy and watched her 2010 title defence on TV.

After placing second in her Olympic qualifying run on Cypress Mountain, Heil skied nearly flawless in the finals but American Hannah Kearney, who won gold, was simply better, Cluff said.

“It’s so tough to stay on top for five years, the year before the first Olympics and then the next quadrennial,” explained Cluff, who owns Cochrane’s Treetop Pet Resort and coaches locally. “The younger people aren’t just watching, they’re learning and trying to knock you off.”

Cluff said he spoke with Heil in the weeks leading up to the Olympics and that, while she admitted to feeling some pressure, “she was always the type of person that embraced pressure. No matter what she was facing she always excelled.”

Cluff also believes that having the spotlight focused almost solely on Heil helped Quebec’s Alexandre Bilodeau sneak in to snatch Canada’s first gold in the men’s moguls competition the next night.
On the competitive skiing circuit, Cluff often shared a room with Bilodeau and said no one is more deserving of the recognition he is receiving.

“He’s a pretty special guy,” Cluff said. “When he was talking about his brother (Frederic Bilodeau, who has cerebral palsy) being his inspiration that was from the heart that wasn’t for show. (Alex) was blessed with physical ability that his brother doesn’t have and I think that’s why he goes all out when he competes.”

Looking forward, Cluff plans to keep in close touch with Heil, whom he coached for 10 years, as the two run an introductory moguls clinic every year at Sunshine Village.

“She won the silver . . . there’s no embarassment in finishing second at the Olympics,” Cluff said. “Of course she was disappointed those first few moments but then she thought I finished second and that’s pretty special.”

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