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Jessica Gregg, speedskater

Speedskating has come a long way since its roots over 1,000 years ago in Scandinavia and the Netherlands, when people laced animal bones to their footwear and glided across frozen waterways. Long metal blades, indoor frozen ovals, and very fast gliders have transformed the sport. Few Canadians have become legends of speedskating but among them are ferocious competitors named Boucher, Le May Doan, Klassen and Hughes.

Skating is a family affair for the athletic Gregg family of Edmonton. Dad Randy played hockey at the 1980 Olympics and for the Stanley Cup-winning Oilers, while mom Kathy was on Canada's speedskating squad at the 1976 and '80 Winter Games. It's no surprise their daughters are naturals on the ice, too. In 2005 the focus is on daughter Jessica, who takes home bronze in short track speedskating at her first international competition at age 16. In this profile from CBC Edmonton, Jessica Gregg says her biggest goal is to reach the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver.
• Jessica Gregg was born March 16, 1988 in Edmonton. She first learned to skate as a toddler on her backyard rink and tried speed skates for the first time at age five. Her older brother Jamie, not seen in this TV clip, is also a speedskater.
  • Gregg's Olympic ambition was realized when she made the short track team in August 2009. In her CBCSports.ca blog, she wrote: "I was almost speechless after my final when I clinched my spot on the team, and after I got my skates off the first thing I did was run over to my coach, Jon Cavar, and give him a huge hug. My eyes started to fill with tears - happy ones, obviously - and at that moment I realized I had accomplished my dream goal, the goal that I have had since I was a little girl when I first started racing around the track."

• At the 2010 Olympics, Gregg finished fourth in her 500-metre individual race and won a silver medal in the 3,000-metre relay. Her teammates in the relay were Tania Vicent, Kalyna Roberge and Marianne St-Gelais.

Medium: Television
Program: Canada Now
Broadcast Date: Jan. 13, 2005
Guest(s): Jessica Gregg, Kathy Gregg, Sarah Gregg
Reporter: Jorgen Nielsen
Duration: 2:29

Last updated: February 15, 2012

Page consulted on April 3, 2013

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