Cross-country skier Kris Freeman, who has Type 1 diabetes, has won a spot on the US Ski Team and will compete in the 2010 Olympic Games this February in Vancouver. Freeman, who is a three-time Olympian, competes in all three cross country events.
He is one of only a few athletes with diabetes to compete in an Olympic sport that requires such endurance, and is considered the second most successful American cross-country skier of all time. Cross-country skiing is one of the most grueling endurance sports in the world and Freeman has had his fair share of success in the sport. This season he won his 13th national championship by taking the 15-kilometer race at the United States Cross-Country Ski Championships.
Freeman hopes to be the first American athlete to win a medal in the sport since Bill Koch won the silver in the 1976 games. He also hopes to be the first ever diabetic to medal in the sport at the Olympic games.
To help manage his diabetes while competing, Freeman uses the OmniPod Insulin Management System, which is an insulin pump that is tubing-free. While many like insulin pumps because the steady drip of insulin into their body helps them maintain better blood sugar control, one of the major drawbacks it the tubing and injection site management. The Omnipod system, however, is a newer version of the pump that doesn’t have the tubing and is controlled by a remote.
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