- HOT TOPICS:
- The new VeloNews.com (BETA)
Fred Dreier’s Olympic Notebook: Jill Kintner’s long road to Beijing
- Article Extras
- Photos
- Race Index
The Jill Kintner that will compete in Wednesday’s Olympic BMX finals is not the same woman who took her third world title in four-cross mountain biking just 11 months ago. Sure, she still boasts the same chatty personality, curly ponytail and toothy grin — those qualities aren’t going anywhere. But the Kintner of today is a bigger, badder, stronger version of her former self. Bulging triceps flex from under her shirtsleeves, thick hamstrings and quads fill out her jeans.
She’s ripped.
“I feel a lot thicker — that’s for sure,” Kintner told me on the eve of Wednesday’s qualifying round. “My legs and booty got bigger and stronger. My arms got ridiculous. I’m like this little muscle person. I just feel thicker and stronger and more explosive.”
Those physical changes — even the booty boost — are the result of the 10 months Kintner has spent training her buns off (on?) at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California. Her daily routine includes plenty of BMX riding time — refining the meticulous racing skills that help riders gain that fractional advantage. She’s also hit a thorough regimen of plyometrics and weight training to build the power needed to propel a teeny bike with 20-inch wheels at light-speed.
The training wasn’t easy, or always fun. And at times Kintner’s body gave out. She ruptured her ACL in the spring, and then underwent arthroscopic surgery to trim her meniscus and remove scar tissue this summer, just a few weeks before her final race. She is racing in Beijing with a special stars-and-stripes covered knee brace — her “sweet exoskeleton” as she calls it.
Enduring physical pain, however, is something all athletes grow accustomed to, especially Kintner. She’s spent the lion’s share of her life racing BMX and mountain bikes, and has hit the deck more times than she’d like to remember.
I have watched Kintner race since my first year covering bicycle racing for VeloNews in 2005. I saw her case a jump at Mont-Ste-Anne’s round of the UCI World Cup in 2006 and crash hard on her chest. She was back up and riding in a matter of seconds.
As impressed as I’ve been with Kintner’s ability to bounce back from physical trauma, it’s been her ability to endure mental and emotional pain that has left me speechless. Kinter is tough, in the legs and upstairs. Each time she’s found a way to use heartbreak to fuel her fire for competition.
In 2006 her father, Peter — the driving force behind her bicycle racing — died of a freak heart attack. Kintner had previously written off a return to BMX racing and the 2008 Olympics. The personal tragedy changed her mind, and in 2007 she took her first steps away from her beloved mountain bike racing, back toward BMX.
Kintner’s next obstacle was in committing herself 100 percent to BMX. It’s an easier task said than done — Kintner is a celebrity in fat-tire racing, but just another girl on a bike in BMX.
“I would see my [mountain bike] sitting at the top of the stairs and it would remind me of this other world I had so much tied into,” Kintner said. “One day I just decided I’d put [the mountain bike] in the shed. I stopped thinking about it. As soon as I put it away, I felt like I was committed.”
This year, Kintner’s greatest letdown came packaged alongside her greatest triumph. In grabbing the United States’ only spot for Beijing, Kintner denied her close friend, roommate and training partner, Ariell Martin, the chance to go. Martin is one of the best in the business, and was the top dog in the United States until Kintner came back. Martin was ranked No. 8 in the world, and is the only top-10 ranked woman not to make it to Beijing.
“She was heartbroken. I didn’t want to celebrate, because it felt more like a loss than anything,” Kintner said. “We had a medal presenting ceremony at the boys [Olympic trials] and she was sitting up on top of one of the jumps looking so bummed.”
Martin and Kintner left Chula Vista immediately after the team was named. Kintner went home to Seattle to decompress and prepare for her final run at the Games. Martin packed her bags and headed home to Utah. But after a few weeks, Martin returned to help Kintner prepare for Beijing.
“She’s been a big part of my progress. I wish she was here,” Kintner said. “She’s the only one who really understands this experience with me. We put a lot of effort into this.”
Kintner knows the level of competition in Beijing will be tighter and deeper than anything she’s ever seen in mountain bike racing, which Kintner has dominated. Heavy favorite Shanaze Reed of Great Britain owns a world championship from track racing (team sprint) in addition to BMX. Frenchwoman Anne-Caroline Chausson is the most accomplished woman in the history of mountain bike racing. All of the women can sprint, jump and corner on the beefed up Olympic BMX course.
“Here, there’s national governing bodies who are pumping a lot of resources at these girls. It’s legit,” Kintner said. “Not to take anything against mountain bike racing, but it’s just not at the same level.”
Kintner said she’ll measure success in Beijing by the quality of her ride. If she misses a medal but feels she had a clean, perfect run on the bike — it’s all good.
And when the Olympics are over and done, Kintner said she’s going to have to re-evaluate her goals. She misses the mountains, but isn’t sure if she’s ready to jump headfirst back into racing. Fixing her knee comes first, and then the focus will follow.
There’s one thing Kintner is sure about.
Once Beijing is over, the booty has to go.
“I’m ready to do some long rides and lean out a bit,” Kintner said. “It’s crazy. My jeans barely fit me.”
