Sunday, January 20, 2002
Klassen class act on blades
Oly rookie gets shot at glory
By GREG DI CRESCE -- Winnipeg Sun
When coaches, friends and family talk about rookie Olympic speed skater Cindy Klassen, one word seems to come up again and again --surprising.
"I hope she's in as many events as she qualified for," said Klassen's old provincial coach Anne Mushumanski. "Because knowing the way she can surprise, she'll win one."
Klassen, a 22-year-old Winnipegger, qualified for all five Olympic races -- 500 metres, 1,000m, 1,500m, 3,000m, 5,000m.
She's elected to not race in the 500m but will compete in the remaining four events held in the Utah Olympic Oval just west of Salt Lake City from Feb. 9 through Feb. 23.
"She loves to surprise. To do the unexpected and never sit still," said Helga Klassen, Cindy's mom. "She's being doing that since forever."
Cindy began speed skating at age 18 and only after her dreams of playing for the senior women's hockey team were crushed.
"At two years old her dad made her a hockey stick," Helga recalled. "At four years old, all she played was hockey. She continued to play hockey against boys until age 14 and by 16 she was playing on the Canada's junior women's team."
Then, Klassen hit a wall. She tried out for Canada's senior team as a defenceman and didn't make the cut.
She had no Plan B.
"When speed skating had been suggested to her before, she said she didn't have any interest in getting in to 'those silly suits' and skating around and around," Helga said. "Her answer was always: `No way.' "
That changed in the winter of 1997-98.
"She showed up and she was so driven and so powerful and strong, I knew she was something special but she had to learn to lose her choppy hockey strides," said Mushumanski, Manitoba's provincial speed skating coach from 1995 to 1999.
In November of 1998, Klassen got her first real taste of success on the oval in Calgary, where she now trains as a member of the Olympic team.
In that CanAm competition four years ago, the unseeded red-haired Winnipegger surprised the competition by emerging from the event ranked third overall in her age group.
"That's when I told her if she was serious about speed skating she'd have to give up hockey. The flip-flopping wasn't doing her any good," Mushumanski said.
"When I told my parents that I decided to put hockey on hold for a year, they sort of looked at me and thought what are you doing," Cindy said.
"It's true, both myself and my husband were a little apprehensive about the idea but she was an adult," her mom said. "And we, of course, would stand beside her whatever she decided."
In January, 1999 at the Canada Cup in Saskatoon, Klassen had another strong performance and earned a spot on the national junior team.
From there her speed skating career took off.
Klassen excels at long-distance events and enters the 2002 Games holding the Canadian records for 1,500m and 3,000m races.
Last year, she shared Speed Skating Canada's Female Skater of the Year award with Catriona Le May Doan.
"I always thought I'd go to the Olympics as a hockey player," Klassen said.
"Now, I'm going to the Games as a speed skater and, you know, when I think about it I even find it a bit surprising. It's funny how things turn out."
Klassen will be dedicating her performance in Salt Lake City to her parents, but refused to speculate on whether she would win a medal.
"Let's just say, this way it'll be a surprise."
2002 Games Long Track Speed Skating Coverage
