Laurent Dubreuil is not looking for excuses for finishing 4th in a long track speed skating race in which he was one of the favourites. But he doesn’t apologize either.
He was the reigning world champion in the 500 meter sprint event and had just made eight podiums in eight races. It was normal that we had high hopes for Saturday’s race and that he had them too. The Quebecer finally stopped the clock at 34.52 seconds, two tenths of a second (34.32 seconds) behind the winner and crowd favourite, his great Chinese rival Tingyu Gao, and three hundredths of a second from a place on the podium, Japan’s Wataru Morishige won the bronze medal with a time of 34.49 seconds.
The 29-year-old athlete from Lévis made no excuses. It is true that he had to deal with a false start, but so did the Japanese. It’s true that he was given the inside lane when he prefers the outside, but that didn’t stop the Chinese from winning. “I’ve already won races after a false start or starting in the inside lane. »
The real problem, he explained, was mostly that he made “little mistakes” here and there, including a somewhat slow start, a first corner that was perhaps lacking in rhythm and a second corner a bit heavy. “I didn’t have a bad race, it just wasn’t good enough. »
But Laurent Dubreuil does not apologize either. “In our sport, you win by a few hundredths and you lose by a few hundredths. Sometimes you fall on the right side, sometimes you fall on the other. […] All it took was one of the three guys in front of me having a slightly worse race and I was on the podium and we were having a completely different conversation. Fourth in the world, it’s still good. »
A happy champion
Listening attentively a few steps away from him, one of the other Canadian riders, Antoine Gélinas-Beaulieu, did not hide his admiration for the class displayed by his teammate. “What a champ! exclaimed the man who took advantage of a place that had become free at the last moment to get to know the track better in anticipation of his 1000m event and who finished there in 29th and penultimate place well that he is only a second and a half from the winner. “He will now have to have a goldfish memory and quickly forget all that to think about his next race. »
Laurent Dubreuil’s coach was very proud of his protege. Don’t believe him, said Gregor Jelonek, when he tells you that the false start had no impact on his race. “Without that, he might well have won the race. “But we’re not looking for excuses,” he said in turn. “In the 500m at the Olympics, you can’t afford any mistakes. You have to have a perfect race. And it was a great race, but it wasn’t a perfect race. »
But it’s already a feat to arrive at the Games with a chance of winning a medal, he continued. “I have been coming across people who are looking at us with funeral faces. But he has just finished in 4th place at the Olympic Games. The last time [aux Jeux de Pyeongchang], Laurent had finished 18th. Tomorrow it will be okay. He will prepare for his next race, then there will be the World Championships… The wheel will continue to turn. »
The main interested party must still run the 1000 m in 6 days. Although he is not a specialist, Laurent Dubreuil remembers finishing 6th in the 500m at the World Championships two years ago and winning the 1000m race the next day. “Of course my best chance is over, but it’s not over. »
And then, the speed skater has often recounted how becoming a father and having a family life put everything back in perspective and helped him find a better balance as an athlete and as an individual. “Of course I’m disappointed, but I’m already less so now than I was ten minutes ago. Before, when I had a bad race, the food didn’t taste the same. Tonight, she will taste what she usually tastes. […] I was happy in life yesterday. I will be happy in life tomorrow. »
This report was funded with support from the Transat-Le Devoir International Journalism Fund.