Hoping to move from the balls to rings
Once upon a time, he was a TV game show star. Today, John Rasmussen wants to take his game to the Olympics
BEFORE LAUNCHING into a deep discussion about what he’s up to today, one thing needs to be sorted out. His name is familiar. Was he once a contestant on that rather silly TV game show, “Wipeout”? Y’know, the one with the mud and the water and the big red balls?
John Rasmussen bursts out laughing despite his dream being shattered that this part of his past wouldn’t be remembered. Especially the parts where the commentators teased him about his then-skinny physique and his allegedly sputtering love life.
“I like to think I’m a little more grown up since then,” he says.
Yes, it was him. And yes, he admits, it was fun. Ridiculous, but fun. Seven years ago, the Ancaster native and his dad — also John — travelled to Argentina to compete in the Canadian version of the game. They both made the finals.
Junior even made it across all four balls, which is a triumph of the human spirit and a high point of his athletic career. Right?
“It’s right up there with racing in Montreal,” he says.
Oh yeah, Montreal. The real reason for this piece.
LONG
BEFORE he was a TV game show star, Rasmussen was a triathlete. When he was nine, his father went to a bicycle trade show and brought home a bag of flyers. His dad dumped them on the table without ever looking through them, but he did. And one of them caught his attention, leading to a question that would change his life.
What’s triathlon, Dad? Already a swimmer, cyclist and runner, he thought the combination of the three activities sounded pretty cool. So for the rest of that summer, he bugged his parents to let him try it. Finally worn down by his constant badgering, they signed him up for a
kids’ event in Leamington. When he finished second, he was hooked.
Just weeks later, he sat on his couch and watched Simon Whitfield run one of the most inspiring races in Canadian Olympics history en route to winning gold in Sydney for Canada during the first triathlon under the rings. Immediately, his interest in the sport red lined.
FAST 12
FORWARD YEARS. To just before the London Olympics. Now a competitive, successful triathlete who was one of the rising stars in Canada — by this point he was travelling the world while racing on the elite International Triathlon Union — he moved to B.C. to keep training. Remarkably, with Whitfield.
“We were living in his basement,” he says, still sounding shocked this happened.
That must’ve been surreal.
“I have a terrible poker face,” the Ancaster High School grad says. “I’m sure my wide eyes told him everything.”
If he hadn’t already locked in on his goal of making the Olympics, this did it. Now training seven days a week — two hours each of swimming, cycling and running plus some additional time in the gym lifting weights — he nearly made the Canadian team for
Rio. Only missed it by one or two spots.
He still went to Brazil. His girlfriend (yes, girlfriend. In your face, “Wipeout” commentators) is a steeplechaser who qualified for the Games. So he sat in the stadium and watched Gen Lalonde set a national record in her 3,000-metre heat and advance to the final. That was easy. That was fun. Watching the triathlon, though?
“That was tough,” he says. “I felt like I was really close. It was hard to watch.”
He’s close again today. Right now, he’s sitting fifth among Canadians in the world rankings. This country could have as many as three spots at Tokyo. So every race matters. Every point he can pick up in any event is crucial. Every listen to the Arkells’ “Knocking At The Door” — which he does a lot — pushes him a little more to dig a little deeper.
Which brings us to Montreal. This weekend’s race is the second last of the season. A good finish here and he could jump up all the way to third, which is a spot held by Hamilton’s Taylor Forbes.
There’s still a lot of time before the 2020 team is chosen. But he wants to start climbing now. That said, he realizes that if he does make the Olympics, the little video introduction that’ll be broadcast across the country before his race will inevitably include a clip of him covered in mud working his way across the big red balls on “Wipeout.”
“Yeah,” he says. “I’m sure that’ll be shown.”
Would that be a fair trade for living his dream?
“I’ll take that.”
“I have a terrible poker face,” the Ancaster High School grad says. “I’m sure my wide eyes told him everything.” JOHN RASMUSSEN Triathlete, commenting on living in Simon Whitfield’s basement