Denny Morrison’s ‘guardian angel’ joins him on Canada’s Olympic long-track team

CALGARY When speedskater Denny Morrison was in the hospital after his motorcycle crash in 2015, he told nurses the Canadian teammate at his bedside was his future wife.

“We weren’t even dating yet,” Josie Morrison recalled.

Denny Morrison’s improbable comeback from a motorcycle crash and a stroke to compete in his fourth Winter Olympics is a compelling enough story.

That his wife of less than a year will join him at her first Winter Games adds the violin music.

Denny calls Josie his “guardian angel” because she recognized the signs of stroke after their multi-day bike ride in Arizona in 2016, and got him medical attention.

They were married May 13, 2017, but delayed their honeymoon until after the 2018 Winter Games.

Josie Morrison, nee Spence, found out early Wednesday morning she would wear the Maple Leaf alongside her husband in Pyeongchang, South Korea, in February.

After the Canadian trials concluded Tuesday night in Calgary, Josie didn’t know if she’d done enough to become an Olympian. It was just after midnight when the email came.

“My stomach hurt so bad. I was so stressed out,” she said. “I got the email and I sat on Denny’s lap and I opened the attachment together with him and saw my name. I was overjoyed.”

Said Denny: “It was pretty neat to witness that and to share that moment with her when she read that email and opened the attachment and ‘where is my name? There it is.”’

The nine women and 10 men who will race at the Gangneung Oval starting Feb. 12 were introduced Wednesday by Speed Skating Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee.

Canada is allowed to take a maximum of 10 athletes per gender in long-track.