In spite of challenges, Winnipeg's speedskating pipeline keeps producing Olympians

Winnipeghasadded another checkmark to its impressive track record of producing Olympic-class speedskaters.

The latest star is 25-year-old Heather McLean,named on Wednesdayas a member of the Canadian team heading to next month's 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

"I'll stop smiling as soon as I get back to training and my coach makes me work hard," saidMcLean, who first laced up at age two atKirkfield Westwood Community Centre.

She now trains at the Olympic Oval in Calgary and willbe racing in the1,000-metre and 500-metre distances at the Winter Games.

McLean said she is still "processing all of the emotions" and will rely onbreathing techniques and meditation to calm herself before her big races. She'll also lean on her teammates.

"Speedskating is an individual sport but we all train together and we all rely on each other to get through the amount of training that we do. So it's really cool to be a part of that team," she said.

"There are so many strong athletes and we've really been working so hard to bring speedskating back to the top of Canada's success. In Sochi[for the 2014 Winter Olympics]it wasn't as successful as people wanted it to be and we've been working so hard.

"We really want to show Canada that we're a strong team, women and men, and I think we're really going to be ready to perform."

McLean'sappointment to the Olympic squad was being celebrated in her home town, where there is little doubt she is a deserving member of Canada's team.

"I've known Heather probably since she was five years old so it's really exciting to see how far she's come," said Elizabeth WilliamsonDerraugh, executive director of theManitoba Speed Skating Association.

"It's incredible, not only for her but for us as an association to see all her hard work and where it's taking her."

Competition for ice time

Just as incredible is that so many talented skaters come out of Manitoba, where speedskatinglives in the shadows of hockey and lacks the infrastructure that some other cities have.

'The conditions may not be perfect, but that makes us stronger. Winnipeggersare tough, passionate and hard-working people. That's why we succeed.'- Heather McLean

TheMSSAhas only about 200 active members and competes with dozens upon dozens of hockey teams for ice time inside city arenas.

"We can get ice, if we're lucky, six to eight weeks [in a season]. Eight weeks is pushing it," WilliamsonDerraughsaid.

"I was recently out in Quebec and they have a lot of members, and [was] asked, 'How do you guysdo it?' We don't have the facilities of the places you'd think would be the ones producing all the top athletes but we've always managed to squeak in there somehow."

Typically,short-track speedskating ovalsarethe same size as an international-sized ice hockey rink. Most city rinks are smaller than that.

Two of those rinks would fit inside a long-track speedskating oval. The only place that can accommodate that in Winnipeg is the Susan AuchOval, which is part of the Cindy Klassen Recreation Complex, but it's only available during winter and that can be challenging.

"You really have to love the sport of speedskating to train in Winnipeg because the conditions are so tough," McLean said, recalling how cold some of her outdoor training days were.

She and other skaters would motivate themselves by blasting Taylor Swift songs from the outdoor speakers, then rewarding themselves with hot chocolate afterwards.

But it's also those conditions that McLeanbelieves helped mould her into a fierce competitor.

"The conditions may not be perfect, but that makes us stronger," she said. "Winnipeggersare tough, passionate and hard-working people. That's why we succeed."

Unfortunately, any skaterserious about pursuing the sport must eventuallymove beyond Manitoba's borders. Many, likeMcLean, goto Calgary, which has a covered oval that allows them to train year-round.

"We call them our 'graduated skaters.' They compete still for Manitoba but are out-of-province for training," said WilliamsonDerraugh.

Alumni encourage next generation

She praisedthe mentorship of Manitoba's Olympic alumni for helping keep interest in the sport going in Manitoba, spurring on the next Olympians.

"Because we've had that history, that heritage, of excellent athletes come through our province through Winnipeg, especially you get those role models, those idols to look up to. And they inspire the next generation to keep going,"WilliamsonDerraugh said.

She cited Susan Auchand Cindy Klassenas just two of those alumniwho have done a lot for the sport.

Klassen, who now lives in Calgary, helped out as a coach when the Manitoba team was recently in that city. Auch still lives in Winnipeg and her children are among those developing their speedskating skills in the city.

McLeansaid she has been given advice by, and even trained with, Manitoba alumni at the Calgary oval.

"They're so accessible.They're there to chat withif you have any questionsand that's meant so much to me," she said.

"My Olympic dreams were fuelled by countless womenfrom Winnipeg, even from my home club in St. James, that were having success on the world stage. These women really made me realize that no matter the training conditionsthe brutal Winnipeg wintersit was very possible to become an Olympic speedskater.

"The inspiration from those women still has a huge impact on my perspective to date."

Quality coaching

Anotherkey element to Manitoba's success is quality coaching that gets young skaters eager, involved and equipped with the essential skills, saidWilliamsonDerraugh.

"We've been really lucky to have great coaches in the past and right now, whoget them prepared and ready for that move on to Calgary.There's a nice pathway set out for them through our association," she said.

Manitoba's current provincial coach, who also happens to be herbrother, is Tyler Williamson Derraugh. He spent about 10 years withthe national team on the world championship circuit and missed going to the Olympics by one spot.

"To have him come back and help now has been reallygreat," Elizabeth WilliamsonDerraughsaid.

"Coaching is such an important part of it all and [it's] sometimes underlookedthat that's how you get your athletes to stay involved and go to the next level."

She would liketo one day see that "next level" happening in Winnipeg, so the athletes won't need anasterisk beside their name, sayingthey train in Calgary.

"The dream is to one day have that covered oval with one of the short-track facilities within the oval and maybe a hockey rink in there, too. It could be a multi-sport purpose," WilliamsonDerraughsaid.

"There'sa committee that's working towardhopefully having something like that here one day, but it takes a lot of work and a lot of money.

"But it would be amazing to think if we had that, the amount of athletes we could produce, considering how well we've done without something like that."

Winnipeg's speedskating Olympians

• Clara Hughes

A cyclist and speed skater, sheis the only person ever to have won multiple medals in both the Winter and Summer Games.

She wontwo bronze medals in cycling at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.

At the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, shewon abronze medal in speed skatingin the 5,000-metre event, just ahead ofKlassen.

Hughes won her first gold medal in the speedskating 5,000metre and a silver medal in the team pursuit as part of the Canadian team at the 2006 Winter Games in Turin.

She added a speedskating bronze in the5,000 metreat the 2010 Games in Vancouver, her finalOlympic event.

• Cindy Klassen

Asix-time medallist with one gold, two silver andthree bronze medals at theWinter Olympics.

She is the only Canadian Olympian to win five medals in a single Games and the first female speedskater to win five medals in a single Olympics. She did that at the2006 Winter OlympicsinTurin, Italy.

She is the current world-record holder in the 3,000 metre and also holds the Canadian records for the 1,500 metre and 5,000 metre.

Klassen is tied with fellow Winnipegger Clara Hughes forthe title of Canada's all-time most-decoratedOlympian.

• SusanAuch

Auchwon bronze in the3,000-metre relay at the1988 Winter Olympicsin Calgaryand silver in the 500 metre at the1994 Winter OlympicsinLillehammer, Norwayand the1998 GamesatNagano, Japan.

She also competed at the2002 GamesatSalt Lake Citybut didn't make it to the podium.

She was inducted into theManitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museumin 2003 andtheCanadian Olympic Hall of Famein 2010, and is currently the interimCEO of Speed Skating Canada.

• Mike Ireland

Ireland has represented Canada in speedskating at the 1994, 2002,2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics.

Although he has been held off the podium at the Olympics, Ireland holds four bronze andtwo silver medals, and a gold medal at the world championships

• Shannon Rempel

Rempel is an Olympic silver medallist from the2006 Winter Olympicsin theteam pursuit.

She has also participated in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, in the 500 metreand 1,000 metre distances, and still holds the Canadian junior records in the 500 metre and 1,000 metre.

• Brittany Schussler

Schusslerhas won two gold and two silver medals in the world championships.

She has appeared in three Olympic Games Turin in 2006, Vancouver in 2010 and Sochiin 2014.