September 21, 2011
By Rob Del Mundo
Hearing of speedskater Kristina Groves' retirement today and watching her press conference on YouTube was very surreal - for one very simple reason. I'm one of only 4 people to have skated with her in the past year, and it was just four days ago.
Refer to the 13-second mark of the press conference link where Kristina mentions coming to the rink this past Saturday and describes what it was like for her to put on the skates for the first time since last November. I was there at the Olympic Oval in Calgary to witness her brief return to the ice. Mind you, the entire setting was non-competitive.
To provide a bit of background, I was the winning bidder of one of the lots in a charity auction held last December by the humanitarian organization Right To Play which uses sports to enhance child development in disadvantaged areas of the world. Thanks to the opportunity provided by Kristina in coordination with Right To Play, I was lucky enough to have taken a two-hour speedskating lesson from the four-time Olympic medalist. Three of my Calgary-based friends joined us on the ice, while my very kind weekend host Debbie was more than happy to volunteer to take photos.
The session just whizzed by as Kristina was more than happy to demonstrate the basics of speedskating, from the basic stride, to maximizing power, to proper posture, to crossovers.
At one point I was exhaling at the adrenaline rush of the whole experience, as it was my first ever visit to the Calgary Olympic Oval. I was rounding the corner closest to the Wall of Excellence, where large banners of four legendary Canadian speedskaters - Catriona Le May Doan, Susan Auch, Derrick Campbell and Kevin Overland - adorn the oval walls.
I casually skated beside Kristina and asked "Are they going to have a banner for you soon?"
Just as casually, she replied "You have to retire, first!"
In that moment, the exchange was rather innocuous as we soon moved on to the next skating drill. Reflecting on it four days later, it just seems so astonishing. Not because the day would never come - everyone hangs up the skates at some point, right? But because her decision happened so quickly after she donned the skates again.
Like any Canadian glued to the television watching sports - particularly during the Olympics - I have purely selfish reasons for wishing that today's event didn't unfold. I wanted to see Kristina eventually return to the podium following her 2010-11 season that was shortened due to a concussion. I wanted to see if she would make a run at Sochi in 2014, the next Winter Olympic Games. I wanted to be able to watch her flash that congenial smile as she did on-camera interviews, like the one with Stephen Brunt in preparation for Vancouver.
However, if there's any reason to feel like today is a celebration of a career, rather than the ending of one, it's knowing that Kristina went out on her own terms. Viewers who watched her press conference, or readers who follow her wonderful blog know that her decision to leave the sport was made independently of last year's injury. If there is an athlete resilient, talented and focused enough to keep going, it's her.
When compared against the alternative of being forced into retirement (see Marc Savard, Boston Bruins), this outcome is far more positive.
It's funny, at about 12:45pm Eastern Time, I just finished typing and sending an email to Kristina thanking her for the event last Saturday. The last line read "Hope to see you on the ice again soon."
I was totally oblivious to the press conference that was going on in Calgary at that moment.
I don't know if Kristina will ever read this blog entry. If you are, my sincere thanks that I was conveying in that message are echoed once again. But you can probably ignore that last line.
It was a pleasure to skate with you. Thank you for the privilege.
When that next banner is unveiled at the Olympic Oval with your name on it, I hope that I'm in the building to see it.
(photo: Sept 17, 2011 - one last skate)
