‘Come on ... it has to be fate’
Coquitlam’s Austman pushing for spot on Canada’s Olympic figure skating team with a Top 3 finish at nationals
Larkyn Austman is a fan of fate. Coquitlam’s Austman, who was a flower retriever for figure skating at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics and played an aspiring skater in Procter and Gamble’s “Thank You Mom,” TV commercial for Sochi 2014, has a legitimate shot to compete at PyeongChang 2018.
Canada is sending three women’s skaters to South Korea. Austman finished fourth at last year’s national championships, jumping up from sixth in 2016. This year’s nationals, which will help finalize Canada’s Olympic entries, start Monday at UBC’s Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.
Women’s skating in PyeongChang holds its short program on Feb. 21. The long program is Feb. 23. The day in between marks Austman’s 20th birthday. You see what we’re getting at here? “Come on — right? It has to be fate,” said Austman.
Austman won the national junior women’s title in 2013 as a 14-yearold in a rout, finishing 25 points ahead of her nearest competitor. That led to a stint a little more than a year later training in Colorado Springs, Colo., under Christy Krall, a renowned American coach who has worked with the likes of Patrick Chan.
Austman was living with a family there, but handling her own cooking and taking school by correspondence. She wasn’t ready for such responsibilities, became frustrated and came home after a short period and quit skating.
After some time off the ice here, Austman was coaxed back into coaching. That led to her wanting to compete again, and eventually she rejoined her old Coquitlam Skating Club. She’s quick to credit coaches Zdenek Pazdirek and Liz Putnam for a “positive environment,” there.
Recently, Chan has been training with the CSC competitors at their Poirier Sport and Leisure Complex digs in preparation for the nationals. A nine-time Canadian champion and three-time world champion, Chan, 27, has set a good example with how diligently he works again and again on his skills, according to Austman.
Austman even did a three-week stint in December in Colorado Springs again with Krall. Alaine Chartrand, 21, the Prescott, Ont., native who finished third at the Canadian nationals last season, and would seem to be Austman’s main competition for an Olympic spot, was also training there for some of Austman’s stay.
Going back to Colorado Springs offers up some hint of Austman’s mindset right now.
“I’ve improved a lot in my skating in the last year and I will acknowledge that,” said Austman. “In the last two years and specifically the last year, though, I’ve really improved mentally. I attribute a lot of that to my coaches. They’ve done a lot for me.”
Staying in the right head space now has to be crucial, one would think. Being so potentially close to an Olympic spot creates its own stress. Vying for that on basically home ice multiples that, due to all the possible distractions.
The women’s short program at nationals is slated for next Friday at UBC. The free skate is Saturday.
“I don’t think you can keep the pressure out. You just have to acknowledge that it’s there and learn to deal with it,” she explained. “I had a pretty stressful nationals last year as well. I wasn’t skating how I wanted to before the nationals. I still managed to skate decently well and place fourth, and my goal going in had been to finish in the Top 5.
“As I got on the ice for my long (program) there last year I was terrified.
I was like, ‘Why am I doing this to myself? Why am I so scared right now?’ But that’s what competing is. It’s the rush you get. And I wouldn’t still be doing it if I didn’t love it.”