Wednesday, February 27, 2002
Fans flock to see Olympic speed skaters
By ROB GRANATSTEIN -- Toronto Sun
Some of Canada's fastest Olympians put on a heavy metal show at the Eaton Centre yesterday.
Fans lined up early to see the country's short track speed skating team show off its new collection of gold, silver and bronze claimed in Salt Lake City.
The love-in for all the athletes wearing the maple leaf has stunned the speed skaters.
"I wasn't expecting that at all," Marc Gagnon said. "Maybe a little attention in Montreal for us, but elsewhere in Canada is a surprise," the double-gold and bronze medallist said.
Kids and adults gawked and asked to hold the medals the 10 athletes brought home at RW & Co., the store that sponsored the team. Most couldn't believe how heavy the medals are.
"It's great, especially when you see kids coming up for autographs and seeing how happy they are," said Gagnon, who, with five medals, is Canada's most successful Winter Olympian.
"Saturday night, that was a dream, winning two golds in an hour-and-a-half," he said. "It was just amazing, seeing the Canadian flag raising and hearing the anthem."
Short track coach Guy Thibault said Gagnon is not the strongest man on the ice, but he's the smartest.
"He's like Mario Lemieux, he knows when to go and where to go," Thibault said. "He doesn't force the race and get disqualified like younger racers."
Thibault expects even more in 2006 from his young team.
Expectations are high for Jonathan Guilmette, 23, who brought home a gold and silver from the Games. He said Olympic fever is tough to shake.
"After the competition I wasn't able to sleep, I was just lying in my bed," he said. "I just couldn't believe it. It was too good."
Mathieu Turcotte, who provided one of the great moments of the Games by sliding across the finish line for a bronze after crashing with U.S. skater Apollo Anton Ohno and a Chinese skater on the last turn, couldn't believe his race was front-page news.
"Short-track is a great race to watch, and I'm glad people at the Olympics liked watching us so much," Turcotte, who also won gold with the relay team, said.
As Isabel Charest, 31, signed autographs, she reflected on her Olympic experiences. A bronze medallist in Salt Lake, she plans to retire.
As for her medal, it goes in the closet with her silver from '94 and bronze from '98.
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2002 Games Short Track Speed Skating Coverage
