Each in their own way, short track speed skaters Claudia Gagnon and Danaé Blais have changed their approach for the next season. Gagnon has thus regained his position on the national team, while Blais says he is ready to move up a gear.
Posted at 11:57 a.m.
Claudia Gagnon has not participated in a World Cup since February 2020. She had not been selected last year and the blow was hard during the first weeks following this announcement. She then had to give up on the Beijing Olympics.
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, PRESS ARCHIVES
Claudia Gagnon and Renee Steenge
With hindsight, the athlete from La Baie believes that this scenario was not necessarily a bad thing for her.
Maybe I needed a year like that, despite the fact that I would have really liked to go to the Olympics and it was difficult at the beginning. Maybe it was not my moment and it forced me to progress. When I see where I am now, I might not be at this level if I had taken another path.
Claudia Gagnon
She also highlighted the support of her teammate Rikki Doak, whom she will never thank enough. The two experienced the same disappointment and pulled together to come back strong this year.
Quickly, Claudia Gagnon went into overdrive in training. Not only did she want to regain her place in the World Cup, she wanted her selection to be unequivocal.
His efforts have not gone unnoticed by the coaching staff.
“She has matured a lot, both in her personality and in her intensity in training. She has improved a lot and has been very consistent. We saw it this summer and it gave the result we know now,” said Sébastien Cros.
Gagnon has no specific expectations in terms of results. Above all, she is eager to find the world elite. “I just want to give my maximum while keeping my composure. Show that I am there and not just passing through, ”said the one who will participate in the 1000 m and 1500 m at the Montreal World Cup.
Claudia Gagnon wants to gain experience and learn from her teammates this season.
Maturity
Sébastien Cros spoke of maturity for Claudia Gagnon, also for Danaé Blais.
The latter does not hide it: her first Olympic Games were a difficult experience, but they also rang a bell in her. Upon her return home, the athlete from Châteauguay went back to the drawing board to renew her working methods.
“I took this ordeal to motivate myself. I came home and I told myself that I was going to change everything, do everything to improve myself, ”she said, on the sidelines of the Montreal World Cup.
A new bodybuilding program combined with mental preparation and more adequate tactics, Danaé Blais decided that speed skating was going to become his priority.
I invested myself a lot more because I understood that I liked skating and that was really what I wanted to do. I also realized that you have to work hard to be among the best in the world.
Danae Blais
The work done with the help of sports psychologists served as a trigger for his physical preparation. Her attitude has hindered her progress in the past and that’s what she bet on during the off-season. More rigorous and dedicated to her goals on the ice, she feels like she’s heading in the right direction.
“Before, when I showed up to practice in the morning and I was completely tired, I skated just to do it. Now I have developed the skills to push harder. It makes a big difference when you train twice a day and are tired halfway through the workouts! continued Blais, who also has the firm intention of being “a better teammate”.
The Canadian formation having known ups and downs in Beijing, the team spirit was not always at its best in the Chinese capital, according to Danaé Blais, who, here too, changed his gun shoulder.
“It sounds silly, but less crying in training, being more present for my teammates… I don’t think I’m a leader and it’s not really in my personality, but I just try to make small changes to include people and take my place in order to bring the team to the top. »
Blais, used to the 1500m events, will step out of her comfort zone this weekend by taking part in the 500m and 1000m.
Veterans Kim Boutin and Courtney Sarault will also be in action on the women’s side until Sunday, as will Rikki Doak and Renée Steenge.