Canadian team built on trust, friendship
Women’s speedskating group has become cohesive unit leading up to Pyeongchang
A speedskating pursuit team is a fleet, fluid, three-headed beast, and the best of them meld personalities as much as they do arms, legs and abilities.
The Canadian women’s team has figured it out in the run-up to these Olympics. Two bronze medals on the World Cup circuit prove it.
All year they have been able to give and take constructive criticism, not always an easy exchange between elite athletes. But these women built trust and friendships at the Olympic Oval in Calgary.
Coach Marcel Lacroix, re-hired in June, also deserves some credit for fostering a positive dynamic.
“We worked really hard at it,” said team leader Ivanie Blondin.
“Having Marcel as coach has made a world of difference, and the mentality of our team is what a team pursuit should be. It really feels like we’re a team now and not just skaters being put together for the team pursuit.”
A fracture in the team dynamic, be it a clash of alpha personalities or a corps of bruised egos, can reap the opposite.
“Oh for sure. And I feel we have been there before, and I have experienced that before,” Josie Morrison said. “But this team, right now, that is not what we’re experiencing. I think it’s all positive and it’s all just moving forward. Anything is possible with this team.”
A medal is certainly possible, though they are essentially ceding gold to the Japanese and silver to the Dutch, and will fight the Germans and Chinese for bronze.
In women’s pursuit, two teams of three skaters start on opposite sides of the oval. The race is won when all three skaters cross the finish line after six laps or pass all three of the other team’s skaters.
Canada’s three skaters for the quarter-finals Feb. 19 will come from the ranks of Blondin, Josie Morrison, Keri Morrison and Isabelle Weidemann. Kali Christ isn’t scheduled to compete here, though she is a team member.
That’s a tough pill, but she took one, with no small measure of class and resolve, for the team.
“I’m the one left out. There’s no hard feelings,” Christ said.
“I am so happy to be a part of this team and to just be even considered after the past couple of years I’ve had is amazing to me.”
She bounced back from injury to put herself in the mix.
They’re all proud of the way she took the devastating news.
This really is more than a team. They look like a tight group of friends. And they trust one another.
“Team pursuit is all about trust,” said Josie Morrison. “When you’re out there, pulling your hardest laps and feeling it in your legs, you’re trusting that the people behind you are behind you and they’ll push you if you need a push.”
It sounds simple, but communication is vital. So, too, is the synchronization of movements. And somebody has to lead. That’s Blondin.
Blondin wondered openly about the team dynamic early on, but has been pleasantly surprised to find there has been joy not only in the results, but in their pursuit.