Edmonton native heading to Sochi thanks to the kindness of strangers

Thursday, January 23, 2014, 2:03 PM -

Halfpipe snowboarder and Edmonton native Crispin Lipscomb will be competing in the Sochi winter games, thanks to an outpouring of support from his community.

Lipscombe, who placed eleventh at the Turin 2006 Winter Games, missed the 2010 Vancouver games due to personal reasons and knew that getting to the games this year would be a challenge.

"Because I started late ... I knew that I was going to have to get top twenties, top fifteens, top twenties, every week, in and out, or it wouldn't be possible," he told the CBC. 

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After qualifying for the 2014 Canadian team, there was a financial setback.

Lipscomb needed to raise $8,200 to cover his costs at the games but within minutes of a fundraising party Wednesday evening, two businesses stepped in, donating $10,000 total.

"Now I get to bring my coach for a week to Switzerland," he told CBC News.

The athlete says he wants to do the "best runs of his life" at Sochi, adding that he's thankful for the opportunity to compete once again.