Laurent Dubreuil is not about to forget his 2021-2022 season anytime soon. The speed skater has really gone through the full gamut of emotions in recent months. He certainly had several exhilarating moments over the course of a year punctuated with success. But he also experienced the bitter disappointment of failing just off the podium in his favorite event at the Beijing Olympics.
If it is in adversity that we recognize the great champions, the Lévisien is now part of this line. And if he feels he has nothing more to prove, his passion for his sport should push him to pursue his career until the 2026 Olympics and perhaps even beyond.
Passing through Montreal on Tuesday, Dubreuil took the opportunity to take stock of a memorable season in more ways than one. “I remember from my season how much I was able, during important races, to bounce back after huge disappointments,” he confided from the outset during an interview with The Canadian Press.
“To know my best 1000 meters ever under pressure at the Beijing Games [médaille d’argent], after the disappointment of finishing fourth in the 500m, I am extremely proud of that. I don’t think many people would have been able to accomplish that. »
Two weeks later, he again experienced a disappointment difficult to digest. He was on his way to achieving one of his big career goals, to be crowned world sprint champion, when COVID-19 forced him to retire before his final race.
“No one was able to beat me that weekend. The only thing that could beat me was getting sick at the wrong time, and that’s what unfortunately happened to me,” Dubreuil recalled.
In this roller coaster season, nothing equals for him his title of World Cup champion in the 500m, a crowning achievement acquired in… unusual circumstances.
Let us recall the sequence of events. A week after his diagnosis of COVID-19, he gets the green light in extremis to compete in the last World Cup of the season, in Heerenveen, the Netherlands. He took the plane the morning of the competition and arrived at the sprint an hour and a half before his first 500m event, which he finished second. The next day, he finished his second 500m race in fourth place, which assured him of the world title at this distance.
“It really is the craziest day of my career, and I don’t think I’m going to have a more eventful one than this. »
“Thomas Kroll [champion olympique du 1000 m, et champion du monde de sprint à la suite du forfait du Québécois] told me after the race: “If anyone could do that, it’s you,” said Dubreuil. All the skaters couldn’t believe my performance. Even I, who trust me, didn’t really have any expectations that day. »
“That’s why it’s my favorite moment of my career. Of everything I’ve accomplished, it’s that race, that day, that week, that I consider the highlight of my career. It makes me really, really proud. »
He says he has indelible memories of it. “I knew my level was good. In addition to being able to finish this race, I won a medal in the Netherlands, in front of 10,000 people, in front of my wife and my daughter, I was even able to do a lap of honor with my daughter in the arm. This is the favorite story of my entire career. »
For the love of sports
After having experienced so many emotions in such a short time, does he think it will be difficult for him next season to find the motivation to keep his place at the highest level?
“It takes a lot of passion to think so,” he answered without hesitation. But I have a lot of them and I love what I do. At the end of the day, it’s about being focused on the task at hand, which isn’t necessarily always physically difficult. Sometimes it’s just difficult technically, mentally. »
At 29 years old and with the feeling of having already accomplished everything he wanted on the ice, he believes that the best is still ahead of him. “I love what I do. Just because I don’t need to win anymore doesn’t mean I don’t want to win yet. I’m a guy who will skate without pressure, and it’s in this context that I skate best, when I’m relaxed and not worried about the result. It’s the perfect place to continue my career. »
A career he intends to extend for at least another Olympic cycle. “I don’t see myself retiring before 2026 and I don’t rule out continuing afterwards. It will depend on my passion, on my results. We have just seen Charles Hamelin retire at 37. Me, I’m going to be 37 in 2030… Who knows? »
“You never know what life has in store for you, but I would love to skate as long as I stay competitive and still enjoy it. And I have a hard time imagining a world in which I don’t like that anymore. »