Trading battles in court for those on the mat
On display often enough are clues of her double-edged existence.
Wearing heels — with her battered ankles taped up. Sporting black eyes around the office. (“Kind of my style.”) Nose puffed up. (“I probably break it every tournament.”)
Laughing, she recalls ordering a nurse, who had been busily stitching up her split eyebrow between matches, to do a nice job.
“Because I’ve got court on Monday.”
Meet Brittanee Laverdure, elite wrestler and litigation lawyer. The combination is curious. But not unique. Her boss knows well the two sides of this particular coin. Clive Llewellyn, who runs a law firm in northwest Calgary, is a former wrestler and Olympian.
With his blessing — and a significant lightening of her lawyerly load — Laverdure is more free now to chase down her dream.
“He understands,” Laverdure says of Llewellyn. “At first, I was like, ‘I can’t do this.’ You can’t do this career (and wrestle). It’s either work at Tim Hortons and be an athlete — or have someone who will actually accommodate the schedule ... because (as an athlete) you can’t have any responsibility.”
Her single-minded mission, she dearly hopes, results in an invitation to Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Summer Games.
That’s the whole point.
“As an older athlete ... everything is a stepping stone because I’m only wrestling because I want to compete at the Olympics,” the 32-year-old says. “You want to be on that stage, right? So I might as well — I can always be a lawyer.”
Her master plan includes the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Laverdure leaves Thursday and, in the 55-kilogram class, competes the following week.
To fully appreciate the undertaking — how she is throwing her fivefoot-four frame unreservedly at the sport — consider her recent trail:
March — Canadian championship in Edmonton. She wins the title, her first national bauble since 2009 and her first time wrestling in nearly a year after right-shoulder surgery.
May — World team trials in Calgary. She places second in 53 kilograms. (“I lost in a barn-burner.”)
June — German Grand Prix. She finishes third. (“It was like, ‘Five matches and I’m still walking? Awesome.’”)
July — World team trials in Guelph, Ont. She prevails at 55 kilograms. July — Canada Cup in Guelph. July — Pan-Am championships in Mexico City. She ends up second. (“I got reversed. Kind of crappy, but a learning experience — ‘Don’t run that on that girl.’”)
Following the Commonwealth Games, Laverdure returns to Calgary for a national-team camp. In September comes the world championships in Uzbekistan.
Laverdure acknowledges a few creaks in her chassis.
“I always say that 80 per cent is 100 per cent in our sport,” she says, smiling. “I have a different perspective — even from what I had when I was 26. (Teammates) always make the joke, ‘We’re lucky you’re around because you make us feel young.’”
Once upon a time, Laverdure had been the up-and-comer.
Coming out of Watson Lake, Yukon, she attended the University of Calgary. In 2006 — after bagging the Canadian Interuniversity Sport crown — she was named Dinos’ athlete of the year.
On-her-mind—always—had-been the Olympics.
Standing in the way, though, was longtime ace Tonya Verbeek, who qualified for Athens in 2004, Beijing in 2008, London in 2012. Which left Laverdure settling for first alternative. Twice.
She did travel to China to serve as training partner for Carol Huynh, who would win gold in 48 kilograms. That ordeal was, well, interesting.
“That one hurt more because you’re there experiencing it,” Laverdure says.
“You’re really happy, but sad at the same time. You’re basically the bridesmaid — but you’re not in the wedding.”
Life, with law school starting in 2008, didn’t get less complicated.
Studying and grappling ... and, of course, juggling more than ever.
“I was the girl who was, like, ‘Take notes for me in torts class because I’ll be in Japan this weekend,’” says Laverdure. “I don’t know how I survived.”
She began articling in December 2011. Last summer, she was called to the bar — the morning after returning from a Grand Prix in Spain.
“I was staying in the game to make the push (for the 2016 Olympics),” she explains. “I’m not doing this to go to tournaments.”
These days, she can focus solely on the mats.
Twice-daily workouts and physiotherapy sessions are her priorities. The goal? Obvious.
“I’m way, way busier (with wrestling now), but I’m kind of professionally set up,” says Laverdure. “I’m a competitor, but I don’t stress about it.
“Stress is somebody getting sued for fraud. This? It’s fun.”