Copper Mountain – Lindsey Kildow wants to avoid any obstacles that could get in the way of competing in the Turin Olympics in February, and that includes her father.
A product of Ski Club Vail, Kildow figures to be a regular podium challenger on the World Cup and a medal contender in three events at the Olympics. Growing resentment for her father’s way of involving himself in her career came to a head last winter when he attended the world championships in Bormio, Italy, against her wishes.
Kildow, 21, is going public now for the first time so she doesn’t have to answer questions about it during the Olympics.
“I didn’t know when exactly to tell people about this problem, but what I don’t want is it to be a big explosion during the Olympics,” Kildow said this week during a break in preseason training. “I’ve said it, and I’m not going to say it again.”
Kildow’s father, Alan, raced in his youth and was recruited to the University of Colorado by then-coach Bill Marolt, who is now chief executive of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association. A knee injury prevented Alan Kildow from competing for the Buffs.
He sounded dismayed when told what his daughter is now saying.
“We’ve had an exceptional relationship over the years, and I’m confident that is going to continue,” said Alan Kildow, an attorney. “There are always bumps in a road in any relationship between parent and child, especially when they reach that age when they are going from childhood to adulthood. All I can say is that the parent has to let those things pass and love them. That’s what I do with Lindsey.”
She says they’re not speaking to each other. He says they’re not speaking about skiing.
Lindsey grew up in the Twin Cities before joining Ski Club Vail, one of America’s top youth ski programs, at age 11. Her father was instrumental in her development, which culminated with three medals at the world juniors championships, but she has gotten increasingly upset with his input in recent years.
“It was getting to be more of the explosion if I didn’t do well,” Kildow said. “He always supported me when I did well, which was 90 percent of the time, but when I didn’t, he didn’t handle it very well. It was so hot and cold. It was so much criticism and so much negativity, and it was really hard for me to balance emotions.”
Now entering her fifth season on the World Cup, Kildow said she appreciates what her father did for her when she was young but wants to make decisions for herself. She says her father tries to coach her and meddled in other areas.
“He goes about things the wrong way,” Kildow said. “He doesn’t like my boyfriend (former U.S. racer Thomas Vonn), so he’s trying to hook me up with someone else. That doesn’t work. I’m 21. I’ve been skiing forever. I know the game and how to conduct myself. He couldn’t accept that.”
With six World Cup podiums in downhill and super-G in the weeks preceding the world championships last season, Kildow was considered a medal favorite in those disciplines and the combined in Bormio. She finished ninth in super-G, fourth in the other two events.
“Things were really bad during the world championships,” Kildow said. “He came and I had told him not to come. That was really hard on me.”
Alan Kildow responded, “I went to Bormio because I had always been there for her, always been at major races for her, and this was a major race.”
But Kildow’s angst over his presence was well-known around the U.S. Ski Team.
“It was not a good situation for her,” U.S. head women’s coach Patrick Riml said. “It was a lot of pressure. Everybody expected her to win a medal, probably she did (expect it) the most. Then the battle (with) her father. She asked him not to come and he didn’t respect that. That definitely didn’t help.”
To her credit, Riml said Kildow dealt with these distractions, “and still she was performing well.”
When talking about her problems with her father, Kildow had a pained expression on her face. But she left no doubt she loves skiing and competing.
“I couldn’t live without it,” Kildow said. “It’s like a vent of my energy. It’s my purpose right now for my life. I’ve worked so hard my whole life to be in this position. If I stopped now, I would never forgive myself.”
Staff writer John Meyer can be reached at 303-820-1616 or jmeyer@denverpost.com.
