Manitoba has speed to burn

Three provincial skaters will take to the oval in Beijing for the Olympic Games

By: Mike Sawatzky Posted: 6:41 AM CST Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022

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Manitoba’s exemplary record for producing Olympic calibre speedskaters continued Monday.

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Manitoba’s exemplary record for producing Olympic calibre speedskaters continued Monday.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/01/2022 (1353 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba’s exemplary record for producing Olympic calibre speedskaters continued Monday.

Winnipeggers Heather McLean and Tyson Langelaar and Virden’s Alexa Scott were named to the 16-member national long-track squad for next month’s Winter Games in Beijing after last month’s Canadian Olympic Trials were cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns.

McLean, 29, is making her second trip to the Olympics.

Tyson Langelaar has realized his childhood dream— competing at the Olympics. (Dave Holland / Speed Skating Canada files)

She’ll be hoping to improve on a 14th-place finish in the women’s 500 metres at PyeongChang in 2018.

“It’s not ideal to not have Trials,” said McLean. “It just made every race you did at the World Cup very important, not knowing kind of what was gonna happen. My preparation I wouldn’t say has changed that much compared to 2018. However, I do feel way more confident that I’ll be able to keep all of the distractions and everything kind of extra about the games a little bit more under control.”

Scott (1,000 metres, team pursuit) and Langelaar (men’s 1,500, team pursuit) will be making their Olympic debuts.

“I’m pretty much done my debut season — my first World Cup and my first on the Games now,” said Scott, 21. “Everything is just kind of gravy on top. I’m definitely super excited to go into these Games.

“My goal was always just to gain some experience. I feel super fortunate to be part of the team pursuit and get to skate with those great girls on my team. They teach me a lot every day and it just furthers that learning experience.”

Heather McLeanwill bemaking her second trip to the Winter Games and is hoping to improve on a 14th-place finish in the 500metres in PyeongChang. (Submitted photo)

The team will board a charter flight for Beijing on Jan. 26. Langelaar was able to give his family advance notice of Monday’s announcment.

“It was pretty emotional,” said Langelaar. “Just phoning the parents (Nadine and Mike) and the grandparents to tell them I accomplished the childhood dream. They’re extremely proud and I’m forever grateful that they put me into this position and have sacrificed a lot for me to for me to be able to achieve this dream. It’s a very surreal and sweet moment to appreciate.”

The 22-year-old will join Ted-Jan Bloemen, Jordan Belchos and Connor Howe on the men’s team pursuit team. However, only three men participate in each race and the makeup of the team could change between the quarter-finals on Feb. 13 and the semifinals and final, both scheduled for Feb. 15.

“We don’t know exactly what team is going to race when but being a part of those four, I hope to be able to race one of them,” said Langelaar. “It’s the one event where you feel very much like a team. You’re out there on the line with two guys and in eight laps, you’re going to be absolutely drained.

“I really enjoyed being a part of that team and and even if I am the fourth and don’t get to race, it’s gonna be a lot of fun to be cheering all the guys and just being a part of that atmosphere.”