In hindsight, Marianne St-Gelais admits that she should have wagered something. A night out at a fancy restaurant. A cup of coffee. Anything.
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St-Gelais outshines famous boyfriend
- February 19, 2010 1:04 AM |
- By Michael Traikos
Story provided by
VANCOUVER -- In hindsight, Marianne St-Gelais admits that she should have wagered something.
A night out at a fancy restaurant. A cup of coffee. Anything.
Of course, when the Olympics started, the St-Felicien, Que., speedskater never thought she would beat her speedskating boyfriend to the podium. She did not even think she would win a medal.
But four days after Charles Hamelin of Ste-Julie, Que., finished sixth in the 1,500 metres, St-Gelais celebrated her 20th birthday by finishing second in the 500 metres. Aside from winning a silver medal, she might have also won some bragging rights.
"It wasn't a race. It wasn't a challenge," St-Gelais, in a news conference Thursday, said of competing against Hamelin. "But had I known, I think I would have bet something. I might have been able to make a little bit of money."
St-Gelais was joking. But having joined the national team less than 12 months ago, not many people were betting that she would be the first short-track speedskater to win a medal. After all, at around this time last year, she was still on the junior team.
And while she has quickly risen to become the fourth-ranked skater in the world, the smart money heading into the Olympics was still on Kalyna Roberge.
An experienced skater, Roberge had finished fourth in the 2006 Olympics after winning the consolation final. And she was ranked second in the world heading into the Games. But St-Gelais, who had switched skates on the day of the competition, seemed to make a Cinderella-like run on her new blades.
Winning her quarter-finals, she finished ahead of Roberge in the semifinals. And was second only to the dominant Wang Meng of China in the final.
"It's really the biggest reward an athlete can have in the end, because the Olympics are the highest an athlete can go," she said of her second-place finish. "You can't go any higher, so it's a huge reward that you get. People always say they remember you more if you win a medal, and it's true. If you don't win a medal and finish fourth, people don't remember it."
That message is likely to be passed on to Hamelin as he prepares for Saturday's 1,000-metre final. The distance is considered one of his strongest. In January, he set a new world record.
And, though he probably does not need any more motivation, the thought of one-upping his girlfriend by winning a gold might also be on his mind.
"Actually, I think that Charles is really stressed when I skate," said St-Gelais. "It doesn't necessarily show, but I think I stress him out more than he puts pressure on himself. So now he knows that I've got what I wanted. I have my medal. He can concentrate on what he needs to do. He still has two distances and the relay, and he's ready to give it everything he has."
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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