(Laval) Cynthia Mascitto hung up her skates after the last Olympic cycle, a difficult decision taken with some bitterness due to the Italian selection system. But when a coach from the Canadian short track skating team suggested that the Laval resident train with his group this summer, she jumped at the chance.
Mascitto will therefore don the Canadian uniform on the senior international scene for the first time this weekend, during the Four Continents Short Track Speed Skating Championships, at Place Bell.
“I’m very happy to have this opportunity,” Mascitto said. I love skating and international competitions. It’s special to be able to compete against other countries and interact with athletes from around the world. »
After finding herself too often on the wrong side of the Canadian team’s latest choices, Mascitto took advantage of her family origins to wear the colors of Italy for six years on the World Cup circuit.
This decision also allowed him to participate in the 2018 Olympic Games in PyeongChang and 2022 in Beijing.
Mascitto finally hung up his skates at the end of winter 2022.
“I didn’t necessarily leave on good terms,” admitted the 31-year-old skater. The way it works there (in Italy), everything is discretionary. It’s not based on talent or performance. It’s difficult. If you’re not liked by the coaches, it doesn’t work well. »
The pole extended by a member of the Canadian coaching staff this summer, however, was enough for Mascitto to put his skates back on and rediscover his passion.
“Everyone gets along well, the staff and the coaches too. It gave me a spark to come back, she said. With the Italian team, there were always problems on the ice. I wasn’t always happy working out. Here, it’s the opposite. It helped me and made me want to give more and see what I could do. »
Mascitto’s performances during the Canadian selections were not enough for her to participate in the recent stages of the World Cup in Montreal. But coach Sébastien Cros decided to take advantage of the Four Continents Championships to do some rotation with his athletes. The door then opened for Mascitto.
“A year without training is a long time. It’s going to take a lot for me to get back to the level I was at, admitted Mascitto. I will give everything. I have noticed good progress so far.
“I still have six years of World Cup experience with Italy. I hope to draw on these resources, even if physically, I will not be at the same level as before. I hope to find solutions to achieve good results. »
European countries do not participate in the Four Continents Championships. Mascitto will therefore not rub shoulders with her former Italian teammates this weekend, and she will not complain about it.
“I think it’s going to be less stressful and I’m going to have more fun,” she noted.
She will also have the pleasure of being able to count on the full support of the crowd — even if the house announcer never missed the opportunity to remind the crowd that she was from Laval during the competitions presented in Quebec.
“I started in the Canadian colors in juniors in 2010 and 2011, and I will finish in the Canadian colors. “It’s special to be able to say that I started and ended my career like that,” she admitted.
For the moment Mascitto does not know how far this return to competition will take her. The adventure remains exploratory, and of course stimulating.