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Countdown to Vancouver: Jamie Gregg
Jamie Gregg looks back on a successful season. After several top 10 finishes at the World Cups, the national title in the 500m and a solid 13th place debut at the World Sprint Championships, he raced to an 8th place in the 500m at the World Single Distances Championships in Richmond. These performances have proven to him that he will have a decent chance of qualifying for his first Olympic Games, but he will not take anything for granted.
By Jolanda Abbes
How do you look back on this past season? Did you meet your goals and expectations, and would you consider your past season to be a good blueprint for the upcoming one?
“I was very happy with how my season went last year. I think that I improved in every race throughout the year and that is what is the best part for me. My goal at the start of the year was to get top 15 at the World Sprint Championships and so I ended up meeting that goal with my 13th place finish. I did not even consider myself to be able to attend the World Single Distances Championships and so my 8th place finish there was extremely satisfying for me. For this upcoming season I just want to be able to again improve throughout the season and hopefully the results will follow.”
What would you consider to be the highlight and greatest disappointment of the past season?
“The highlight for me was skating in front of the Canadian crowd at the World Single Distances Championships in Richmond. There was such a great energy in the building and it was the first time I had ever competed at an international meet hosted in Canada. I would have to say that the greatest disappointment last year was the World Cup in Berlin, where two of my teammates (Jeremy Wotherspoon and Mike Ireland) injured themselves on the unsafe padding and could not return for the rest of the year. I really look up to both of those guys and to not have them training in my group and not being able to watch them race was a little disappointing.”
How do you look forward to next season?
“This will be my first year skating where it is an Olympic year and I have any kind of chance of qualifying. So there is a possibility for there to be some added pressure but I am just trying to train hard like I would any other year and really just work to improve myself. The most that I can do is skate my best, where that puts me in Canada and the world is not dependent upon me.”
“I think that based on my performances at the end of last season I have a decent chance of qualifying for the Olympics, but I will not take anything for granted. Canada has a very deep pool of talent in the men’s sprint and there are easily nine or ten guys that could qualify for the 500m alone.”
What is the one thing/most memorable moment that sticks out for you when you think of the Olympics?
“Just the fact that I will be representing my country is the main thing that comes to mind when I think about the Olympics. Both of my parents were Olympians and they would always tell me and my siblings about how representing your country at the Olympics is the greatest honour that you could have. I am very proud to be Canadian and I would love nothing more than to wear the red and white on my back in 2010.”
How do you remember the last Olympics, in Torino?
“The last Olympic season was actually my first season back into speed skating and I spent the whole time training in my hometown of Edmonton. So I was not around any of the National Team in Calgary and because of school I could not really watch any of the coverage on TV. I remember reading about Cindy Klassen's great Games but other than that it was not a big memory for me.”
Who would you consider to be the greatest Olympic speed skater ever?
“The greatest Olympic speed skater ever was Eric Heiden. His five gold medals are so impressive because of the immense difference between the various distances in long track speed skating. His feat will never be matched and that is why he is the greatest.”
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?
“I think that having the Olympics at home presents the chance for added pressure to be put on Canadian athletes. I think that it is up to each athlete to turn the pressure into something constructive and not have it weigh them down. The only pressure that is put on me comes from myself and I do this by not buying into what the media or other people are saying to me. I know that the feeling of competing at home for me was more excitement than anything and I will not allow myself to lose that feeling if I am lucky enough to compete in Vancouver. I think that if people are able to ignore the external pressure, then there will be a big home advantage for Canada come Games time.”
Can you describe what the Olympics mean to you?
“The Olympics to me is a chance to represent my country at the highest level of sport. The Olympics stand for fair play, competition, personal bests and peace. Competing at the Olympics is the reason why I got back into speed skating four years ago.”
