Monday, January 28, 2002
Hughes most comfortable in speed skates
By AL RUCKABER -- Calgary Sun
Clara Hughes insists her first and most abiding love in the realm of sports is speed skating.
Never mind Hughes has experienced international success in cycling, having won two Summer Olympics bronze medals in that discipline.
Fact of the matter is, the perpetually smiling 29-year-old redhead from Winnipeg has been a speed skater at heart all her adult life.
"In 1988, I watched the Calgary Winter Olympics on TV and I saw (Canadian legend) Gaetan Boucher skate. At the time, I didn't even know what speed skating was. I said, 'My God, I've got to do that.' That's when I fell in the love with the sport," enthused Hughes, who put in a strong four minutes, 7.62 seconds clocking to finish third in the women's 3,000m event in yesterday's Pre-Olympic competition at the Olympic Oval.
The winner of the event, Japan's Maki Tabata, came extremely close to breaking the world record (3:59.26) with a clocking of 4:01.01.
"After the 1988 Olympics, I took up speed skating for two years -- when I was 17 and 18 years old. But I quit to become a cyclist. Then for the next 10 years, I always wanted to be a speed skater. Finally, in December 2000, I started back training for speed skating and have been ever since. I'm really happy I made the decision to come back. I've come full circle."
During that 10-year period away from the ice, Hughes competed as a cyclist in both the 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympics. She won two bronze medals in the 1996 Games in Atlanta.
While Hughes is now putting much of her concentration into speed skating and will compete in both the 3,000m and 5,000m at the upcoming Salt Lake City Olympics, she points out that cycling is definitely not off the agenda.
"I'm definitely not giving up cycling and I fully plan to compete in the 2004 Summer Olympics in cycling," she said.
"As for speed skating, this hopefully won't be my first and last Winter Olympics. I want to skate four more years, for sure, and then compete in the 2006 Winter Olympics."
A most demanding schedule, even for the energetic Hughes.
"I have a lot of energy and a lot of drive," said Hughes, who now resides in Glen Sutton, Ont., but spends considerable time in Calgary while training at the Olympic Oval.
"I want to do everything I can in sports while I still have that intense desire. That drive is especially there now in skating because I know I'd have regretted it the rest of my life if I didn't go back to it. Things have come along pretty fast in speed skating but then, I'm a pretty determined person.
"When I want to do something, I go out and do it.
"When somebody tells me I can't do it, like I can't compete in both sports, that's when I really get determined to show them that, yes, I can."
Hughes has improved so rapidly in such a short time frame that she is now a legitimate medal contender for the Salt Lake City Olympics.
"I won't make any predictions on medals but I feel very good about the 5,000," she said.
"I skated a seven-minute flat in the 5,000 at the Olympic trials and that's the fourth fastest time in the history of the event. I will skate in the 3,000 but definitely it's the 5,000 that I'm really looking forward to."
Summing up her rediscovered passion for speed skating, Hughes enthused: "I just really love speed skating. It's the most awesome sport."
DUTCH DELIGHT: At yesterday's pre-Olympic competition, Jochem Uytdehaage of the Netherlands continued to impress, winning the 1,500m in a very fast 1:47.17. A day earlier, Uytdehaage won the 5,000m ... The competition continues today and concludes tomorrow. Start time for both days is 10 a.m.
2002 Games Long Track Speed Skating Coverage
