Charles Hamelin is the first to admit that he does not not quite cut the figure of a superhero when wearing nothing but his street clothes.
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Hamelin has heart set on being a hero
- February 11, 2010 11:40 AM |
- By Michael Traikos
Story provided by
VANCOUVER -- Maybe it's that his bushy beard and unkempt hair make him look the type of person who seems more at home behind the counter of a coffee shop. Or that he spends his free time reading and drawing Japanese anime. Or that he is painfully shy.
But Charles Hamelin is the first to admit that he does not not quite cut the figure of a superhero when wearing nothing but his street clothes.
That, of course, changes when the spandex comes on. Like Clark Kent removing his eyeglasses and transforming into Superman, the mild-mannered short-track speed skater derives a certain confidence when he changes into his "superhero suit."
With his eyes hidden behind a pair of tinted Oakley sunglasses, a skin-tight cut-proof suit protecting his body and a helmet resting on top of his head, Hamelin feels invincible. He might not be able to leap a tall building in a single bound, but with skates on his feet, he swears he can travel faster than a speeding bullet around an icy oval.
"I think it's a little bit the same," the Levis, Que., native said in his thick French accent. "I'm on top of the world with what I'm doing. It's not that far off from a superhero, because there's not many people who can do what I am doing. We're kind of like the best of the best. Like superheroes."
Four years after he won a silver medal with the Canadian relay team at the 2006 Olympics, Hamelin has a chance to be a bigger hero for his country in Vancouver.
The 25-year-old, who last month established a world record in the 1,000 metres, will be competing in four events at these Olympics. While it might be too much to expect him to finish atop the podium -- or even win a medal -- in all four, he does have a unique opportunity to win Canada its first gold on home soil this weekend.
"For sure, if it happens, it will be the greatest moment in my life and a great moment for Canada if I can do it," Hamelin said of Saturday's 1,500-metre race. "If I'm able to realize success and bring back medals, I'll be a hero."
For every hero trying to save the world is a villain who is trying to take it over. Or, in Hamelin's situation, block him from crossing the finish line in first place.
Superman had Lex Luther. Spider-Man had the Green Goblin. Hamelin, meanwhile, has five-time Olympic medallist Apolo Anton Ohno of the U.S. -- and the entire Korean team.
"I think the team to be aware of is the Korean team," he said. "They will be really strong. They showed what they were able to do this year. It will be a really fun final with them, because they are rivals. It will be a good battle."
Perhaps the biggest battle will be the internal one that Hamelin and Canada's other athletes all face. Sure, performing in front of a home crowd should be a motivating factor. But in the previous two Olympics that the country has hosted -- Montreal in 1976 and Calgary in 1988 -- no Canadian managed to win a single gold medal.
Hamelin, of course, welcomes that and the other challenges he might face here in Vancouver.
As a child, his favourite comic book was the Japanese-published Dragon Ball Z. The series follows a young boy who learns martial arts and then defends the world by defeating villains in life-or-death tournaments. The theme of the series -- that the only way to become the best is by constantly being challenged -- is what Hamelin believes the Olympics are all about.
"Four years ago I was the rookie," he said. "Now I am the leader of the team. I will try to do it once again and lead the group and show them how to do it.
"People are saying to me that I'm the favourite and blah, blah, blah. So I think I am going more into the event with this in mind and hopefully more confident. For me to be at this position, it's a position that I'm not used to being. And I think it's a great thing."
About the Author
- Bruce Arthur Bruce Arthur is the National Post's national sports columnist. A Vancouver native, he has been with the Post since 2001, and a columnist since 2005. He is covering his second Olympics, after the 2008 Games in Beijing. He expects these Games to be slightly less propagandistic, and for China to win slightly fewer medals.
- Joe O'Connor Joe O'Connor is a roving sports feature writer with an open-ended beat. He joined the National Post in 2002, and has spent the past seven years bouncing from sport to sport, offering fresh perspectives and delivering unique stories wherever he goes. Whether it has been getting Don Cherry to open up about his love life; George Chuvalo to talk about heartbreaking loss; or racing down the side of a mountain with former Crazy Canuck, Dave Irwin, the veteran Postie chases a story wherever it leads. Before joining the newspaper he was a two-time silver medalist at the National Magazine Awards. Vancouver will be his first Olympics.
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