Hamelin shrugs off injury in dominant effort
Quebec skater gearing up for Sochi Games, wins all eight races at Canadian short-track trials
MONTREAL Double gold medallist Charles Hamelin appears primed for the 2014 Sochi Olympics — even if he suffered a minor setback at the Canadian team trials on Sunday.
Hamelin was forced to withdraw after slamming into the wall with two competitors during a 1,000-metre semifinal. The threetime Olympic medallist was walking on crutches after the race.
Hamelin, a native of Levis, Que., said he stretched a ligament in the crash but that the injury isn’t serious. He expects to be back skating in a week.
Up until that point, Hamelin had dominated the competition, winning all of his eight races during the meet, which began Aug. 7 and ended Sunday.
“Even in my dreams, I couldn’t dream of that,” said Hamelin.
“It’s really fun to see that I was able to do everything I wanted to do on the ice, and that I was as strong as I was for the whole two weeks.”
The trials were spread over 12 days to replicate the schedule at the Sochi Games.
Hamelin said the injury likely won’t affect his preparation for the Winter Olympics, but that he’ll get a precautionary X-ray on Monday.
Overall, the makeup of Canada’s short-track team headed to Sochi became a little clearer after the team trials. Canada, a powerhouse at short-track, is led by an accomplished veteran group along with some promising emerging stars.
On the men’s side, Hamelin, Charle Cournoyer and Olivier Jean are on solid footing to represent Canada at the Olympics. Marie-Eve Drolet, Valerie Maltais and Marianne St-Gelais are the front-runners on the women’s side.
The Olympic group isn’t yet official, however. Speed Skating Canada will announce a list of five men and five women on Aug. 29. Then the athletes have to confirm quota places for themselves and Canada at Olympic qualifying competitions in the fall.
As the meet wrapped up, skaters said they would focus on fine-tuning their approach in the months leading up to the Olympics. St-Gelais, who took silver medals in the 500 metres and the relay in Vancouver, said she feels fast and strong, but wants to be more aware of her competitors on the track.
“My goal was to be top three and I did that,” said St-Gelais, a native of Roberval, Que.
“I think I’m strong and I’m going to try to keep that shape until the Olympics, but I need to be more aware of others on the ice.”