Podium pursuit Medal expectations high for Manitoba speedskaters By: Taylor Allen Posted: 7:00 PM CST Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2019

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This article was published 12/02/2019 (2146 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The expectations are high for local speedskaters Alexa Scott and Tyson Langelaar — and they wouldn’t have it any other way.

Scott, 17, and Langelaar, 19, compete for the Canadian Junior World Cup speedskating team, but for the next two weeks, they’ll be trading in their red and white skin suits for black and gold.

The pair will be medal hopefuls for Team Manitoba at the upcoming Canada Winter Games in Red Deer, Alta. The quadrennial competition, which features more than 150 events between 19 sports, kicks off with Friday’s opening ceremonies. There will be 208 Manitoba athletes competing over the next two weeks.

Scott and Langelaar may have had a little less time to think about the Games than most of their teammates, but that doesn’t mean they’re not equally as excited and prepared.

Langelaar, a Winnipeg native who now lives year-round in Calgary to train at the Olympic Oval and study at the University of Calgary, had competitions in Norway and Germany over the past couple weeks, before returning to Calgary to have a couple days off before the Games start. But Scott, who’s from the small town of Clandeboye, is currently in Italy for the ISU World Junior Speed Skating Championships. She won’t arrive in Red Deer until Feb. 18, with her first race coming the next day.

“It’s not very common to have that,” said Scott, a Grade 12 student at Lord Selkirk Regional Comprehensive Secondary School, on competing at two major events in one week. “I kind of double booked myself because I never been to the Games and I really wanted to represent Manitoba. But, juniors are still a very important competition to skate if you make the team. It was almost perfect timing that I could come back and skate some of the Games. I don’t think many people have done this before, so I’m trying it out.”

Scott is used to doing things the hard way. After all, she has to drive an hour into the city for her training five or six times per week. She also took as many classes as she possibly could in Grade 11 to make more room for training in her final year of high school.

“Speed skating has really been the only thing I’ve really thrived at,” said Scott, who qualified for the Junior World Cup team last winter. “As I’ve progressed more in it, my parents were happy to take me to training and stuff, and now, I can take myself. It was their support through it that allowed me to do it. I enjoy it so much, it’s like my break from everything, and now it’s becoming my career. It’s so fulfilling that I can do something that I love so much.”

Langelaar is gearing up for his second Canada Winter Games, as he competed in 2015 in Prince George, B.C. Just 15 at the time, he brought home a gold medal in the mass start race. This time around, he’s determined to bring home more than one piece of hardware.

“I think I expect myself to medal more than anyone else,” said Langelaar, a Westwood Collegiate graduate. “I’m not too nervous going into it, but I definitely have some expectations because you only get to represent Manitoba once in a while. I think if I can go out, skate my best and perform, I think I’ll represent the home province pretty well.”

Langelaar said making the move to Calgary has helped take his skating to the next level, as he’s now working and training with the best in the country. During his final two years with Manitoba’s provincial team, he was the oldest in the group, but now he’s back to being a rookie, as some of his teammates are in their 30s. Despite the move, Langelaar hasn’t forgotten his Manitoba roots.

“I think having provincial pride is still important, even when you move up and skate for your country instead,” said Langelaar, who hopes to qualify for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

“But I think always going back home and representing Manitoba every chance I get is something I don’t take for granted. I think it’s going to be a lot of fun, especially wearing Manitoba clothing again. It’s going to be a full week of trying to represent Manitoba to the best of my abilities.”

Scott said they’re both well aware of their expectations to medal for the province. She said they don’t see it as extra pressure; instead, they appreciate the fact people have confidence in their abilities to reach the podium.

“Tyson and I have skated at a lot of national competitions and we’ve had a lot of good placements,” said Scott, who also has her sights set on the 2022 Olympics.

“Yeah, it’s the Games and a different atmosphere, but you’re skating against the same people and it’s still a national competition. It’s pretty routine by now, I’d say.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31

Taylor Allen
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Eighteen years old and still in high school, Taylor got his start with the Free Press on June 1, 2011. Well, sort of...

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