Marc Gagnon is nervous. This sentence, we may have already written it in our pages 20 years ago, when he was preparing to take part in his third Olympic Games. Believe it or not, but this time, the stress will be increased tenfold. “I have 10 good reasons to be stressed because I have 10 [athlètes] that I don’t control, that I watch, and I want them to succeed. »
Posted at 9:00 a.m.
When answering the call of The Press, Tuesday evening at Montreal time, Marc Gagnon has just woken up on the other side of the globe, in Beijing. “Excuse the delay, it’s the first morning that I’ve managed to get some sleep,” he told us.
Pardon granted.
On February 23, 2002, in Salt Lake City, Gagnon won his fourth and fifth career Olympic medals. He then became the most decorated athlete in the history of the Winter Games. Almost 20 years later to the day, he is back at the Games, this time as assistant coach of the national short track speed skating team.
“When I was skating, I knew what I was going to do, how I was going to react, he explains. There, I have no idea what they are going to do. It’s really stressful. »
I already see [chez les patineurs] normal little reactions that remind me of my memories. I already have meetings planned with them to chat, reassure them, bring them back on the right track.
Marc Gagnon
Speaking of memories, the native of Saguenay has tons of them, he who took part in the Games three times in 1994, 1998 and 2002. The clearest in his mind remains the 500m final, in 2002, when he won gold and his teammate Jonathan Guilmette, silver. It was “the culmination of 24 years of training”, he says, that he was able to live with, at his side, one of his “good buddies”.
PHOTO BERNARD BRAULT, PRESS ARCHIVES
Marc Gagnon (left) and Jonathan Guilmette won gold and silver in the 500m at the 2002 Olympics.
“There’s never anything in the world that’s going to beat that,” he hints.
In Beijing, the short track speed skating events will be held at the Capital Indoor Stadium. It was between these walls that Gagnon was crowned world champion for the very first time, in 1993. His brother Sylvain finished second.
Several renovations have been made to the building since, so it is difficult for the ex-athlete to situate himself in the arena. “Already, in terms of orientation, I’m not the best. If I don’t listen to the GPS, I don’t go anywhere,” he jokes.
“I tried to visualize where the benches where we were sitting were located and I could never imagine where it was. […] But I know it’s there and I’m happy every time I enter. »
team chemistry
Marc Gagnon has been acting as head coach Sébastien Cros’s right-hand man for a year now. He previously spent six years as head coach of the Canadian Regional Training Centre.
“Every morning, I get up and I’m happy to come and do what I do,” he says. I’m happy to come and listen to the young people, help them, laugh with them too, because it becomes a family. »
It’s not a job for me.
Marc Gagnon
The Canadian delegation has always had the reputation of being tightly knit at the Games. It can even be felt on social media. Gagnon admires this chemistry which also reigns, on a smaller scale, in the short track team.
“It’s really a close-knit team. It’s crazy, they emerge, when you see them pass. They are united, all dressed the same. […] They help each other on the ice, they encourage each other. It really reminds me of my time when we were super dominant, Canada. »
In 2018, the short track team left the PyeongChang Games with five medals, three of which won by Kim Boutin, who will be in action in Beijing. But Marc Gagnon has no expectations when it comes to podium finishes. He just hopes the team will be able to put on the same kind of performance as at the last two World Cups of the season, which took place before the holidays.
“Are they able to replicate that?” Clearly, he says. We have been one of the countries with the most medals in the last two World Cups. It’s not just luck. »
But at the Games, there is additional stress. It’s big. It’s big. It’s impressive. And that’s where Gagnon will step in, to remind skaters that they shouldn’t “try to become Superman”.
“A lot of times they get lost in the bigness and the little, not so important details,” he says. It’s really about refocusing them on what they have to do to be their best. »
And who better to help them get there than the one who was in their place 20 years ago?
“We have no worries”
For weeks, Omicron has been wreaking havoc all over the world and people wonder if the Olympic Games will indeed take place. When he spoke of The Press, Marc Gagnon and the speed skating team had been in Beijing for six days. When asked if there is a “COVID stress”, the ex-athlete answers without hesitation: “Pantoute. Zero. We have no worries. Honestly, we know we’re in a bubble here. Everyone is tested every day. We are careful, we keep our masks. The only little extra precaution we have is when we skate with other countries. We keep our mask on because we trust others less than ourselves. »