Athlete Bios
Long-track speedskating
Rodriguez delays retirement for Vancouver Games
Last Updated: Friday, February 5, 2010 | 12:05 PM ET
New York Times for CBC Sports
Jennifer Rodriguez has endured a lot in her personal life, including the death of her mother last year. (Jonathon Daniel/Getty Images)Olympic speedskater Jennifer Rodriguez believed she was done after the 2006 Turin Games.
She felt she could retire knowing she had won two Olympic bronze medals and a world championship, had participated in three Olympics and was the first Cuban-American to compete in a Winter Games. She thought she was ready to stop training and enjoy life after announcing her retirement at the close of the Turin Games.
It seemed like a good plan in 2006, but things have radically changed since then.
“I know I said I was retiring, and I meant it at the time,” Rodriguez said. “I had really no intention of coming back to speedskating. I was done. But as the time went on, I wasn’t so sure anymore.” The moment that transformed Rodriguez’s retirement into the crazy idea of working toward Vancouver — at the age of 33 — occurred on the ice in early 2008. Her husband at the time, the former United States speedskater KC Boutiette, talked her into going skating with him at a short-track rink near their home in Miami. She realized how much she missed skating.
The couple debated the merits of a comeback, finally deciding to move to Salt Lake City to train at the Utah Olympic Oval. Rodriguez also seriously considered training for the 2008 Summer Olympics in cycling, but decided to concentrate on speedskating.
It is not the first time Rodriguez has made a big switch work well. She started as an artistic roller skater, with two top-three finishes at the world championships. She switched to inline skating and won the 1993 world championship. She moved to the ice in 1996, trying speedskating. Rodriguez progressed quickly, finishing fourth in the 3,000-metre race in the 1998 Nagano Games.
She won her bronze medals in the 1,000-metre and the 1,500-metre races in the 2002 Salt Lake Games.
Rodriguez’s experience in the 2006 Turin Games was disappointing, as she was unable to live up to her status as a medal favourite. She finished eighth in the 1,500, 10th in the 1,000 and 11th in the 500. She was burned out and unhappy with her performance, leading to her decision to retire.
Her comeback for Vancouver has gone well. She won the 1,000 in Nagano in December 2008. It was the first time an American woman had won a World Cup race since 2005 — and that woman was Rodriguez.
She won the 500, 1,000, and 1,500 races at the national speedskating trials in October 2009 in Milwaukee, earning a spot on the World Cup team.
She has gone through a lot off the ice. She divorced Boutiette in October 2008 and her mother, Barbara, died of cancer last June.
This time, Rodriguez wants to enjoy herself on the ice.
“I am coming back because I love skating,” she told NBColympics.com. “I am not doing it because that is just what I do, and I am not doing it because that is my job. It is just so much fun, and I am really enjoying myself.”
