Impressive medal haul for Team BC long trackers

By Jennifer Scott, Team BC Mission Staff

Team BC long track speed skaters had a terrific day at the Pomeroy Sport Centre today.  Team BC earned two gold medals in men’s and women’s 500m with great performances from Jacob Graham (Dawson Creek) and Sara Spence (Kamloops) respectively.

The third medal of the day was a silver in the women’s team pursuit comprised of Abigail McCluskey (Penticton), Carolina Hiller (Prince George), Emilie Medland-Marchen (Calgary) and Spence.

So what exactly is team pursuit?  We went to the experts (and silver medalists) to get the scoop.  It’s a six lap race, with two teams of four people starting at either side of the track.  All four skaters skate and the team’s time is determined by the third person to cross the finish line.  “Team pursuit is really unique for speed skating because it’s usually an independent sport.  It’s really exciting to get on the ice and skate with your girls.  It pumps you up and it’s really cool,” added Medland-Marchen.

The athletes are from various B.C. cities and Calgary, Alberta, so they only had a couple of opportunities to practice together.  Medland-Marchen said the team was “focused on the process and doing everything right.  The execution was there, so it ended up in a good result.”   

Team BC is definitely competing in front of a hometown crowd.  McCluskey felt that “it was really fun to have that much support and it makes the race go really fast.”  Hilled said, “it makes us go faster.  It’s about the atmosphere and you can feel the energy in the building.”

The team is certainly riding the high of their race but know they have three more races to go.  For this team, it’s all about focusing on the work ahead.  “When you have a really great performance, it’s easy to get caught up in the good feelings…we’ll ride the high tonight, but we’ll tomorrow we wake up, regroup and we’ll be ready to go,” exclaimed Medland-Marchen.

See Canada Games live streaming at www.canadagamestv.ca and follow live updates on Twitter from @GoTeamBC with the hashtag #TBCSpeedskate.