Speedskating-online

Nicole Garrido looks back on a rocky first season as a senior. She skated an eleven second personal best time in the 5000m at Finale in Calgary, but she also had to face some major disappointments over the course of the past season. However, instead of letting these setbacks get her down, Garrido decided to use them for the better and to let them contribute to her development as a person and as an athlete. So now, after a season of learning, Garrido is confidently looking forward to the upcoming Olympic season, during which she hopes to qualify for the Olympic Games in Vancouver.

By Jolanda Abbes

How do you look back on this past season? Did you meet your goals and expectations? 

“Last season was one of many disappointments. Many hours of hard training were put in during the summer months and I felt hopeful for the season ahead. It was my first season as a senior and I was determined to show the maturity of my strength on the ice. Unfortunately, I got too far ahead of myself. Things were going so well in the Fall, my confidence increased but my focus progressively started to slip away. My attitude was different but not in a positive way. Personal situations became obstacles and a slew of other things made me falter when I had attempted to improve myself. It was an extremely steep learning curve for me but a cloud always has a silver lining and I believe these experiences were necessary for my development as a person and a skater.”

What would you consider to be the highlight and greatest disappointment of the past season?

“I have already put my greatest disappointments of last season behind me. I tend to not let my disappointments get the best of me by dwelling or letting them occupy my thoughts. I dump my disappointments in a city of potential regrets and I fly off to the next task. This is not to say that I do not learn from them. I extract valuable lessons from my disappointments. I just don't believe in dwelling on them anymore. I live in the moment and I go into each race with a clear mind – a Tabula Rasa. As for highlights, should I really dwell on them too? To some extent, yes. It is important to celebrate the accomplishments I have worked so hard for because it contributes to the fuel that drives me in this sport. However, I have realized that it is important that I do not get ahead of myself.

This year the highlight of my season came as a result of my disappointment. I was able to get refocused after having lost a big part of my motivation during the Fall World Cup circuit and I was able to end the season with an eleven second personal best in my 5000m at Oval Finale! What was the reward? A portion of the $10,000 pot for any national team athlete to break a personal best in their World Cup distances! There were only three skaters, including myself, that were successful in this challenge, so I think you can do the math and figure how much of it I was able to claim as my own. For me, it was a pretty generous portion! :)

How wonderful it is that I can use one highlight to feed another! The prize money will be invested into my Olympic dream – it will go towards the rent for my costly, but worthy, apartment near the Olympic Oval in Richmond.”

How do you look forward to next season?

“I look forward to the upcoming season most definitely with an ‘eye on the prize’, but also with an attitude that treats each day and each training session as a building block towards my ultimate goal. For me, it is all about the baby steps. Each year I build stronger relationships with my closest and most important supporters: my coach, Xiuli Wang; my mentor, Jacques Thibault; Canada's leading support staff of sports psych's, physio's and massage therapists; and my parents. It is without a doubt that this group of people make my goals more realistic and attainable.”

What would you consider to be your chances of qualifying for the Olympics and who do you see as your most important competitors?

“This is a tough question. I am one of the youngest girls competing for an Olympic spot and the Canadian women's team is at the top of its game in terms of strength and depth on the international stage. Thus, I go into the qualifications as a promising young talent, but also as the underdog. This will be my first Olympic Trials where I feel that, if I would do everything right, I could potentially grab a spot on the team. I consider every skater to be an important competitor. With a stressful competition like the Olympic Trials, you never know who might crack or who might come out on top.

At a camp earlier this summer, my entire training group sat around discussing the Olympics with our sports psychologist, Terry Orlick. Over half of the women on my team have already been to the Olympics, all of them winning medals in individual distances, or the Team Pursuit. Having never participated in the Olympics, I spent most of the discussion listening and soaking up the experiences of my Olympic teammates. One thing that stuck out in my mind was something that Kerry Dankers said in response to the subject of dealing with internal and external pressures: ‘Don't count yourself in, but don't count yourself out.’ I couldn't have said it better myself. It is easy to get caught up in the end result without immersing oneself in the entire process leading up to it. I am optimistic about the upcoming season, but I’m going to take it all in stride (no pun intended). Regardless of the outcome, I will go to the start line knowing that I have put in a lot of hard work and focus into my training leading up to the trials and I will cross the finish line knowing that I have done everything in my power to skate at my full potential.”

What is the one thing/most memorable moment that sticks out for you when you think of the Olympics?

“I think of three different types of metals: Gold, Silver and Bronze. Each rightfully respected and cherished, but only one having the mysterious power of making people express every kind of emotion known to man. It is amazing how one gold medallion can symbolize so many beautiful things. To be able to possess it is a dream for most, but only a reality for very few.”

Who would you consider to be the greatest Olympic speed skater ever?

“I find it difficult to single out only one great Olympian in a sea of a thousand talented and hard-working Olympic heroes, so I’m going to have to name off more than one. My first pick is Johann Olav Koss. I have had the opportunity to meet Koss and hear him reminisce about training, the Olympics and various obstacles that an athlete encounters within his or her career. His achievements on and off ice as a multiple gold medalist, certified doctor and head of the organization Right to Play are very inspiring to me as a young athlete and as a person living in the ‘real world’. Let’s face it, sometimes as athletes we tend to get lost in our own worlds and at times we might find ourselves enclosed in our little speed skating bubble. Koss stands out as someone who is extremely accomplished in both worlds and because of this, he is a big inspiration for me. I would have to say the same about Joey Cheek. I have a feeling Koss was a big inspiration for him too. 

Chad Hedrick is another one of my favorites. That guy is tough! He is the quintessential underdog. He went from inline champion to ice speed skating champion. How many people can say they have done that?! I am also a strong believer of happiness being the key to success. I think it is safe to say that Chad has gone through a bit of a slump after 2006 (keep in mind that this so-called 'slump' was not really slump at all but just in comparison to his past results). He has a beautiful new family now and I think he has found happiness not necessarily within the sport, but through loved ones around him. I think that is a very unique and inspiring personal story and I have a feeling that Chad Hedrick is going to knock some socks off this year, just hopefully not any Canadian socks! Hehe. Just kidding. ;)

My next pick might be considered biased, but then again, I have good reason to feel inspired by Clara Hughes. As a fellow teammate, I see her hard work ethic and focus every day during our training sessions. It is almost surreal for me to think back to a time when I attended one of Clara's motivational speeches as a star-struck twelve year old. I will never forget that. She is Canada's most decorated athlete in both the Summer and Winter Olympics and she is a strong advocate for Right to Play as well as various other organizations that promote healthy lifestyles through sport. You can call me a nationalistic feminist, but I am so proud that Clara Hughes is a Canadian female athlete! It makes the Canadian Olympic dream more of a personal thing for me.

Regardless of my top Olympic picks though, it goes without saying that every athlete has their own unique story that has inspired people from all walks of life. Whether the inspiration leads to taking up the sport of speed skating, giving back to the community or simply improving our lifestyles, every story is heroic.”

How do you look forward to the fact that the Olympics will practically be in your own backyard next year? Does that fact create extra pressure or do you think it will give the Canadian athletes a significant home advantage?

“Naturally, having the Olympics in Canada will add extra pressure for any Canadian athlete vying for a spot on the team. For an individual skater, the trick is in knowing how to convert it into something positive. Some can do it and others can not. Personally, I have never been in a position where I was competing for a spot on the Olympic team... until now. It is hard to predict whether or not I will crack under the pressure, but countless weekends of racing and many experiences preparing for important competitions have given me confidence in knowing that I can skate to the start line ready to skate at my full potential. If I really want it, I know that I can get it.

Team Canada has more pressure than at any other Olympic Games in Canada before Vancouver 2010. We have never won a gold medal at a home Olympics but, regardless of this fact, Team Canada will prosper from the home advantage. Taking this ‘shocking’ bit of historical information into account, we feel this will be our time to shine. We have the entire nation at our backs, cheering us on. The energy will be electrifying and it will come from the heart of every Canadian standing in the crowds that fill every Olympic venue in Vancouver.”

Can you describe what the Olympics mean to you?

“Just hearing the word ‘Olympic’ gives me goose bumps and sends me into a world of daydreaming. There is something grande about the word itself and everything it represents. The Olympics is the most peaceful international battle in all of history. I don't believe the United Nations ever had any qualms over the battles between Olympic warriors. It gives the world an opportunity to take pride in their nation through peaceful battle for no other reason but the physical perseverance and emotional integrity of athlete and sport. In a world full of diversity and conflict, there is something to be said for an international event that eliminates all discrimination – racial, gender, or sexual. If you have what it takes, it doesn't matter who you are. I have to wonder where I would be now if I hadn't been inspired by the Olympic heroes who have conquered the world in battles on ice, water, the track, by foot, blade, or boat. My life would be completely different had my eyes not graced the television set as Catriona Le May Doan raced to a gold medal finish at the 1998 Nagano Olympics. Maybe I would not have developed the same work ethic, discipline or perseverance I have been able to learn through this sport. I would never have had the opportunity to see the world at such a young age or engage in competition and build friendships with people from all over the world. Without the Olympic dream, I would never have fully understood the beauty and meaning of sacrifice in the face of something that I am so passionate about.”