Kris Freeman, "I probably skied my last race of this Olympics yesterday"
Image from krisfreeman.net
“I want to be clear that I do not believe my subpar performances here were attributable to diabetes”
Shortly after competing in his second Olympic event in Sochi, Kris Freeman posted a 'Thank you' on his blog where he announced that his 2014 Olympic pursuits are "probably" over and that, "I am clearly far from my best right now and it would be fair to give fresher teammates a chance in the later races".
Kris speaks at length in his open letter about his training plan for the games, that he is looking forward to competing in next year's World Championships, but most of all - he wants you to know that his performance had nothing to do with his type I diabetes.
Please take a moment and go to Kris's blog to read his full message.
“I will have to adjust my training to allow for more recovery in the future”
Everyone in our family is proud of Kris and we look forward to supporting him in the future. I hope Kris knows just how much his presence at the games has meant to Arden. Such a huge inspiration!
more about Kris on Arden's Day
Worried your child is too lean for an insulin pump or CGM
I saw this picture on four time Olympian Kris Freeman's twitter feed this weekend and smiled. It instantly caused me to remember the days that I spent worrying that Arden was too lean to wear an OmniPod insulin pump and Dexcom continuous glucose monitor (CGM).
Apparently, that was time that I could have spent on other concerns...
Photo by Kris Freeman. Used with permission. Also pictured, Kikkan Randall.
I met Kris last year at the Lilly Diabetes blogger summit so I sent him an email to ask if I could use his picture on Arden's Day. I told him that I wanted to illustrate to all of the concerned parents that their children aren't too lean to wear these devices. I've admittedly had that concern in the past, and it is one of the most often asked question when I hear from parents like you.
In my opinion Kris's body is an extreme example and thus why I wanted to show you his picture. Being lean doesn't mean that a person can't use an insulin pump or CGM, even if that person has almost no body fat. Kris told me that he can hit a muscle because of how lean he is, but that it is, "worth it" to be able to use the devices. It is my finding that Arden has plenty of body fat even at just over fifty pounds and in five years we've never hit a muscle.
My child is so active, I'm worried that a pump will get in the way.
The other concern that I hear most from parents who are considering an insulin pump or CGM, that their child plays a competitive sport and they worry that the devices will be an impediment. If you've ever had that concern, please take a look at this next picture from Kris's Twitter feed... Be sure to read the caption to put that concern out of your mind.
"Went for a 21 mile trail run..."
Kris is competing in Sochi with an insulin pump and a CGM, I watched his first event yesterday and it's safe to say that he is an inspiration to any person who lives with type I diabetes. Watching Kris ski makes me even more certain that Arden will be able to reach for whatever dream she can imagine. Knowing that he endures such physical rigors while managing his BGs is a great comfort to me, and I hope to all of you.
I'll be speaking with Kris again soon and reporting back. In the meantime here's a list of his remaining events in Sochi.
Good luck Kris, we are all cheering for you... I'm off to do a sit up.
Don't Miss Kris Freeman in Sochi
I have a picture of Kris and I together but I won't share it because he is like 9,000 times more handsome than I am.
Olympic cross country skier, Kris Freeman will be going for the gold in Sochi while wearing his OmniPod insulin pump - Here are the times and dates that you can catch him on your television. Times are EST.
- February 9th - Men's Skiathlon 30 km (starting 2pm)
- February 14th - Men's 15 km Classic (starting 5:30am)
- UPDATE: Kris announces he is probably done skiing at Sochi games
- February 16th - Men's 4x10 km Relay (starting 7pm)
- February 23rd - Men's 50 km (starting 2pm)
Kris provides an excellent example for people living with type I and I can't wait to sit down with Arden and watch him compete.
Kris wrote a guest post about the Olympics, for LillyPad, that you can find here.
“I will compete in the first of four races at the 2014 Olympics. Each time I will think of the thousands of children I’ve met over the last 10 years and try to win a medal for all of us.”