It’s been more than 25 years since Gaétan Boucher laced his skates for a competition. The last time was during an exhibition event in Calgary in 1997. Despite the years, the DNA of the champion is still in him.
The Canadian speed skating pioneer has never lost a race at the World Allround Masters Games, either in 1996 in Quebec City or the following year in Berlin, Germany.
“But that was eight years after the end of my career. I was still physically strong and stronger than the other skaters of my age”, recalls the one who will compete next weekend at the Center de glaces de Québec among the 65-69 year olds, because “it’s the age at 30 June counts and I will be 65 in May.
“If I win the 500, 1,000 and 1,500 m, for sure I will work hard not to lose the 3,000 m! But it will be hard, ”he admits, very humbly.
clap skates
Met Thursday at the inner ring that bears his name in the Sainte-Foy district after training during which he achieved his best 400m of the year, without forcing too much, Boucher skated with fluidity and power.
But it’s not a foregone conclusion for the double Olympic champion.
Age, a long period of inactivity, physical condition, but also equipment come into play. Skates have changed over time. They are now equipped with clapperboard.
“It’s more unstable, observes the native of the borough of Charlesbourg, in the Capitale-Nationale. Before, we pushed with the heel to prevent the front of the blade from entering the ice, while now we push with the toe.
“It’s an adaptation that is done well when you go slowly. I spent 30 years skating a certain way, so when I try to go fast, the old way comes back. But I’m concentrating and it’s starting to get better. »
Not easy for a technician like Gaétan Boucher.
A rating of 1 out of 10
As he did when he was a member of the national team, the skating legend notes his performances.
“In my first race of the year, I technically gave myself a 1 out of 10. There was a lot of nervousness, like it had been a long time since I skated and a lot of people wanted to see me. I was just trying to go fast. It was really a zero,” says Boucher with honesty and Olympian calm.
“Despite everything, it gave me the second best time in the world [dans sa catégorie]. I was disappointed, but I said to myself that I had made this time having skated badly. There was a bit of confidence that was coming. If I skate like in training, better technically, I will go faster. Last week I had the fastest time in the world in the 1000m. If I focus on control, technique, I have no reason to be nervous. »
Some aspects are like riding a bicycle and cannot be forgotten.
“The weight transfer, the force, the thrust, it’s going well. It looks like what I used to do. It’s not gone. »
Valuable advice
To help him in his preparation, Boucher can count on the advice of friends such as Benoît Lamarche, former teammate at the Sarajevo and Calgary Games, François Drolet, who took part in the Nagano Games, or the coach of the national long track team Gregor Jelonek.
A camaraderie that the quadruple Olympic medalist missed.
“I missed group life with teammates. We go on bike trips, we have suppers. We are a good gang. I also have a bit of the same thing with my golf buddies in the Montreal area. When I was skating, we were together 24 hours a day for six months…”
Speed
Boucher is also rediscovering sensations that made him vibrate in the past.
“The adrenaline, the taste for speed… going at 50 km/h in a bend […], you have to be in control. It’s the fun. And there is the taste of surpassing oneself physically. I get what I pay for on ice! It’s fun to come back, to have a training routine. It’s difficult, but I missed it, ”concludes the former Olympian.
“I know I have a chance to win”
Photo Stevens LeBlanc
Gaétan Boucher and Alain Huot (right) had a good laugh during a warm-up on stationary bikes on Thursday.
Gaétan Boucher knows that all eyes will be on him next weekend. The Olympic champion will be the man to beat at the World Allround Masters Games.
“For someone who has never been to the Olympics and who finds himself in a category with a guy who won, that must be an additional motivation, recognizes Boucher. I have that pressure. But me, I like skating and I’m very proud. »
And the media attention he’s been getting for the past few weeks also adds a certain weight on his shoulders.
“But the pressure, it’s me who puts it on myself all the time. People say that the important thing is to participate, but I would like to win. I know I have a chance to win, he says confidently. If in November or December I had realized that the best I could do was eighth or tenth, I’m not sure I would have signed up. »
Finally healthy
Despite knee problems, Boucher began to think about a return to skating when the announcement of the construction of an indoor ring in Quebec.
“If the ring had been there before, I would not have stopped, I would have kept in touch [avec mon sport]. But coming to skate in extreme conditions, too cold, too windy, dirty ice because of the boulevard next door, that didn’t appeal to me. »
However, he started training two years ago on the outside ice ring of the Plains of Abraham. Then, it moved to the new Ice Center, which opened at the end of summer 2021.
But a heart problem came to slow down his preparation. He couldn’t go all out. However, when a 90% clogged artery was unblocked last August, he was finally able to open the machine.
“I was recommended not to compete before February!” laughs Boucher. I told the cardiologist that the championships were at the end of January. He told me that for a couple of weeks it was okay, but to be careful. »
Boisbriand-Quebec
Photo Stevens LeBlanc
We see him talking with Alain Huot near the ice surface.
Every week since September, the resident of Boisbriand makes the road to go skating in Quebec from Thursday to Saturday, and sometimes until Sunday.
But the general manager of a corporation that manages a sports complex on the North Shore of Montreal begins to find all these trips exhausting.
“Sometimes I get in the elevator, and I don’t know which floor I’m on because I’m always changing places. »
It’s only a beginning
Despite the pitfalls, Boucher still has a passion for his sport and he would like to continue training and competing.
“I want to continue, I want to train hard this summer. I have lost about 10 lbs since the beginning of the summer. I skate well, better and better and faster. I don’t want this to go away. I want to enjoy it while I’m able. But we’ll start with next week’s competition! »
Gaétan Boucher’s best results
Olympic Games
- 6th in the 1000m at Innsbruck in 1976
- Silver in the 1000m at Lake Placid in 1980
- Gold in the 1000 and 1500 m, as well as bronze in the 500 m in Sarajevo in 1984
- 5th in the 1000m in Calgary in 1988
Sprint World Championships
- Gold in 1984
- Silver in 1979, 1980, 1982 and 1985
Short Track World Championships
- Gold in 1977 and 1980 (cumulative)
- Silver in 1976 (cumulative), 1977 (500m and 1000m), 1981 (cumulative) and 1982 (cumulative)
Sources: Olympique.ca and ShorttrackOnLine.info
►Access to the World Masters Games of All-Distance Speed Skating, which will take place from next Friday to Sunday at the Center de glaces de Québec, will be free. The event will welcome 130 athletes between the ages of 30 and 88 from eight countries.