Photos: Sport Calgary shares love of Olympic speed skating at home, and abroad
Mikka Eaves, a member of the Olympic Oval speed skating program, does a mock race with another speed skater during the Sport Calgary day of sport demos at Olympic Plaza on Saturday, February 5, 2022. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARY
Calgarians looking for a little more speed skating action after Isabelle Weidemann’s bronze medal win in Beijing got a chance to see the sport up close on Saturday.
Sport Calgary put on an afternoon of skating demonstrations at Olympic Plaza, alongside figure skating, and synchronized figure skating.
And as for Weidemann’s win, the Calgarian bringing home Canada’s first Olympic medal of the 2022 winter games put the speed skaters into a jubilant mood.
“I’m absolutely stoked that Canada’s first Winter Olympic medal at Beijing 2022 came from a speed skater, as a speed skater myself. But what’s even more exciting is that it came out of Calgary and it came out of the Olympic Oval,” said Scott van der Linden.
van der Linden is the marketing and multimedia coordinator for Sport Calgary, and is also a coach with the Calgary Speed Skating Association.
Speed skating is one of the activities that Sport Calgary is encouraging Calgarians tor try during their All Sport One City event that starts on February 18. Calgarians can try the sport at the Olympic Oval on February 20.
“I think the biggest thing that I noticed when I joined speed skating is how friendly of a sport it is,” said van der Linden.
“You’re always friends with the people you race against until you step onto the line—they like to call it the sport we’re where your competitors are your friends.”
Mikka Eaves, centre, leads some of her fellow speed skaters in a relay demonstration as part of Sport Calgary’s All Sport One City events at Olympic Plaza on Saturday, February 5, 2022. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARYA speed skater does some starts for viewers during Sport Calgary’s day of sport demonstrations at Olympic Plaza on Saturday, February 5, 2022. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARYMarek Chomin, left, leads during a Sport Calgary demonstration of speed skating, at Olympic Plaza on Saturday, February 5, 2022. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARYAthletes stop to watch a video about speed skating from Sport Calgary at Olympic Plaza on Saturday, February 5, 2022. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARYSpeed skaters do some practice laps around the ice at Olympic Plaza on Saturday, February 5, 2022. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARYMaxine Volstad did some practice laps around the ice at Olympic Plaza on Saturday, February 5, 2022. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARYMikka Eaves, a member of the Olympic Oval speed skating program, does a mock race with another speed skater during the Sport Calgary day of sport demos at Olympic Plaza on Saturday, February 5, 2022. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARYLucy Anderson, centre, of the Calgary Speed Skating Association did some relay demonstrations as part of Sport Calgary’s All Sport One City events at Olympic Plaza on Saturday, February 5, 2022. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARY
