PAUL BONIFACIO PARKINSON FIGURE SKATING
Age: 22
Local Club: Nepean Skating Club
# Olympics: First
Medal threat: 1 star
By Michael Lapointe
Paul Bonifacio Parkinson has spent more than half his life preparing for just a few minutes on the ice, and he wants to make sure those minutes count.
When the Ottawa native straps on his skates to compete at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia in the men’s singles competition, he’ll be performing on a bigger stage than he ever has before.
“It’s taken years of sports psychology to get in the correct mindset and knowing that I have the capability to perform under the Olympic pressure, and knowing that, in that moment, I can’t doubt myself,” Parkinson explains. “It’s all mental.”
A key moment in the Ottawa native’s path to Sochi was having the fortitude to make the bold decision to represent Italy – his mother’s homeland – internationally, instead of Canada.
“We looked into it when I was younger, but at that time I wasn’t ready for all the international competition,” recounts the 22-year-old. “When I medaled at the Canadian championships in 2009 (winning silver in the junior category), I thought it was a good time to make that switchover.”
Parkinson says he misses his old team, but doesn’t regret the move.
“It lets me represent my heritage and it offered a few more opportunities to compete internationally,” notes the athlete who got his start at the Nepean Skating Club in 2002.
Just to add a little more international flavour to his palate, Parkinson spends most of his time training at the figure skating hotbed of Colorado Springs.
Stays connected with hometown club
Because he’s usually training down south or competing somewhere around the globe, there aren’t a lot of opportunities to come home, but when he does, he makes sure to check in with everyone he grew up with in the skating world.
“I’ve got a lot of friends that I stay in touch with from school and from skating here, and I always try to follow along with all the results of the local kids at the club,” Parkinson highlights. “Whenever I’m home – if it’s not a quick 24-hour trip – I usually pop into the Nepean club and try to skate for a bit.
“I know the coaches and a lot of the kids that I used to skate with are coaching now, so it’s cool to see how everything has progessed.”
Parkinson’s own evolution has included developing an intensive daily training regimen. He fine-tuned his diet, is on the ice at 9 every morning and finishes up with a workout session at 5.
“It’s almost like a full-time job,” Parkinson signals. “There are breaks in between, but it’s pretty much the entire day.”
Earns Olympic berth for new country
There have been many bumps along the way, including a 2011 injury when Parkinson put his hand down while landing a jump and got his thumb stuck in a hole in the ice, resulting in surgery to get ligaments re-attached.
A major high came when Parkinson earned the Olympic qualification quota position for Italy at an international event in Germany, which he followed up with an Italian men’s championship around the holidays and a 23rd-place finish at the European Figure Skating Championships in mid-January.
He was still waiting for the final confirmation on his Sochi participation that only comes last-minute, but having met all the required criteria, Parkinson’s mom Edi will be pulling a little harder for the Italian side at this year’s Olympics than usual.
“I was lucky as a kid, I followed every single Olympics and felt proud I could cheer on two countries – Canada and Italy,” Edi says by e-mail, stating her immense pride to see Paul reach the Games.
“It’s definitely a dream realized for Paul who has had this goal of Sochi 2014 since he was 12,” she adds. “So many obstacles, the ups and downs, the highs and lows, and then many more obstacles, but in the end he just never ever gave up.”
MESSAGE TO ASPIRING OLYMPIANS:
“The biggest advice I’d give to any athlete at a young age is to not give up, even when the times are tough – especially in the sport of figure skating. Your training and competing will go up and down, but in the end it’s worth it. After so many years, I’ve seen that if it ever goes down, it will always come back up.”
SCHEDULE
Thursday, Feb. 13
Men’s Short Program
10 a.m. ET
Friday, Feb. 14
Men’s Free Skate
10 a.m.