Hughes gets a boost from rookie
Olympic champion Clara Hughes wanted to race like a rookie so she found inspiration in one.
After earning an Olympic berth with her victory in the women’s 3,000 metres Monday, the 37-year-old veteran speed skater said she got fired up the day before by watching 20-year-old Anastasia Bucsis earn a ticket to the 2010 Winter Games in the women’s 500 metres at the Olympic Oval in Calgary.
“Watching someone that young at her first Olympic trials lay it all on the line and race with pure heart and soul, I said, `That’s what I want to do,’” said Hughes. “I may not be that young, but I can get into that mindset.”
Another young gun, Lucas Makowsky of Regina, 22, earned a berth to his first Games with a win in the men’s 5,000 metres Monday night.
“The feeling’s amazing,” said Makowsky. “It’s part one of that Olympic dream. Just knowing that I got that Olympic berth is awesome.”
It’s that raw enthusiasm that Hughes believes gives the Canadian long-track speed skating team the perfect blend of youth and experience as it heads towards the Vancouver Olympics in February. The squad is expected to win the lion’s share of medals for a Team Canada intent on winning the overall medal count.
“They bring something special to the team,” said Hughes. “As much as me and Kristina (Groves) and Jeremy (Wotherspoon) and Cindy (Klassen) have experience, they bring something we really need.
“It’s that combination of beginner’s mind and master’s mind. You combine those two and you have something awesome.”
Hughes was already pre-qualified in the women’s 5,000 metres, where she’s reigning Olympic champion and won the silver at last year’s worlds, but it was critical to her game plan to qualify in the 3,000 metres as well.
The shorter distance is held the second day of the Games, while the 5,000 is at the end and she didn’t want to be idle for that long.
