By Dan Plouffe
It was a feat that narrowly eluded her in rough fashion last year, and the year before as well, but Ottawa native Isabelle Weidemann will at last achieve a career-long goal when she makes her debut at the World Junior Speed Skating Championships March 7-9 in Norway.
“It’s a little bit nerve-racking, but it’s really exciting – more exciting than anything,” signals Weidemann, who qualified for the event by winning the all-around women’s title at the Jan. 24-25 Canadian Junior Long Track Speed Skating Championships in Saskatoon.
“I was definitely thinking about last year,” adds the athlete who skated poorly at last year’s trials and missed making the team by one position. “You try to keep it out of your head, but sometimes you think about it.
“I was really nervous for that competition. It was stressful. But it was good to have finally done it and just be relaxed for the rest of the year. I was so excited to make it.”
Bolstered by a background training on rough ice locally at the Brewer Park natural oval, Weidemann is a force on outdoor ice, which made Saskatoon the perfect venue for her trials. Alongside second-place finishes in the 1,000 metres and 1,500 m, Weidemann set a track record and an outdoor personal-best time in the 3,000 m.
“It was a little bit surreal, and definitely really cool to get my mark on it,” says the Gloucester Concordes club athlete who will skate in all distances at the worlds. “It was a really nice bonus to making the team.”
Set to make her first trip overseas, Weidemann is unsure of the competition she’ll face, but would like to place in the top-10, or even better, the top-8, since that would automatically clinch a spot on the national development team.
“It’s going to be really different, but I’m so excited. I really can’t wait,” enthuses Weidemann, who’s also looking at the event as a “learning experience” since she and all the other Canadian team members are eligible to return as juniors next year.
The junior worlds will be the final event of Weidemann’s season, which will complete her first campaign after moving to Calgary and the national long-track team’s home at the Olympic Oval.
“It’s been a long season,” highlights the first-year University of Calgary student. “Especially at this point, I’ve been at the oval for eight months, and it’s starting to get nice outside. Nobody really wants to be inside any more.”
A former standout cross-country running and track-and-field competitor at Colonel By Secondary School, Weidemann came to Calgary nursing a sprained ankle and strained ligaments from a steeplechase injury, which still bugs her a little. She’s carried on run training with the Dinos varsity team, while balancing a full course load in geology, and of course her high-performance speed skating pursuits.
“Sometimes it’s a lot, but it’s pretty manageable out here,” Weidemann shrugs. “My team keeps me pretty sane.”
Olympics within sight
Her team features numerous skaters who competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics, including clubmates Ivanie Blondin and Vincent De Haitre from the Concordes club, which held a Feb. 15 “Skate to Sochi” event along with the Ottawa Pacers to celebrate the local Olympians’ achievements.
“We were glued to the TV the entire time, everybody out here, for two weeks,” Weidemann indicates. “Knowing that they come from the same home club and I talk to them sometimes, it’s so cool. It brings it closer to home. It’s something you want to do.”
Weidemann, who enjoyed the atmosphere of being filmed and having crowds present when she competed at the Canadian Olympic team trials during the holidays, views the 2018 Games as an attainable target after finishing fourth in the 5,000 m and seventh in the 3,000 m.
“I was kind of the bottom of the pile, but it was really cool to have the experience and to do it,” the 18-year-old describes. “Maybe in four years I’ll be closer to the top. I’m working on that.”