Motivated Manitobans burning up the oval

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/01/2024 (819 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Heather Carruthers (McLean) didn’t feel fulfilled after her second trip to the Olympics.

The Winnipeg speed skater settled for 27th place in the women’s 500-metre at 2022 Beijing games. Four years earlier at 2018 PyeongChang, Carruthers finished Top 15 in the same event.

“I was very disappointed with my performance and result at the last games. Leading into that season, I wasn’t in a great place. I was battling injury, and after those games, I definitely considered retirement, but I didn’t want to leave the sport feeling kind of bitter about it,” said Carruthers, 31.

She took the following season off and stayed away from the ice for nearly 10 months to focus on rehab and strength training.

“I had moved to Calgary in 2011 and I had my foot on the gas up until 2022. That amount of years without really ever taking a break mentally or physically was pretty taxing. I feel like I had a weight lifted off my shoulders and I was able to reset,” said Carruthers.

The break has paid off in a big way. Earlier this month at the Canada Cup in Quebec City, Carruthers finished in first place in the 500-metre. The result qualifies her for the next two World Cup events: Jan 26-28 in Salt Lake City and Feb. 2-4 in Quebec City.

If she skates well, she’ll qualifiy for the 2024 ISU World Speed Skating Championships in Calgary (Feb. 15-18).

“I made the commitment that I wanted to get back to international racing so long ago that there were days, weeks, and sometimes even months where I felt so out of touch with how long it was going to take or what I needed to do to get back,” said Carruthers, who got married in 2023.

“It’s just been a really, really long time. I feel uncomfortable not racing internationally. I feel like I’m my most normal self when I’m at the World Cups competing with those girls, racing consistently. That’s when I feel my best.”

She’s focused on the near future but qualifying for Milano-Cortina 2026 to become a three-time Olympian is the goal.

“There’s always going to be a handful of really young athletes that are up-and-coming that can have very consistent international results. But I’d say the majority are a little bit older, a little bit mature,” said Carruthers.

“There’s quite a few female sprinters who have had their best quadrennial from 30-34 or from 31-35 so I definitely don’t count myself out. There’s been some domination from female sprinters at that age so it’s definitely possible.”

An up-and-coming skater who turned a lot of heads at the Canada Cup is fellow Winnipegger Ryan Kulbacki. The 19-year-old went head-to-head with the fastest males in the country and grabbed second place in the 1500-metre to also qualify for this month’s World Cup races.

Alexa Scott, a 22-year-old from Clandeboye, also earned silver in Quebec City to advance with Carruthers and Kulbacki.

It’s been a promising start to 2024 for Manitoba speed skaters as Sofia Bieber and Skylar Van Horne were recently named to the Canadian junior world team.

Kulbacki arguably took the biggest leap of all as he placed seventh at last year’s Canadian junior championships. He also didn’t medal at the 2023 Canada Winter Games in P.E.I. Those shortcomings served as extra motivation all summer.

“It kind of just sits in the back of my head as a memory of how I felt when I didn’t make the podium. And when I’m training, when I’m at that point when I want to give up or it’s too hard, I just remember how I felt after those results. I’m like, ‘I just got to work a little bit harder and push a little bit more so that I can feel good when I race,’” said Kulbacki, who moved to Calgary in 2022 to train at the Olympic Oval.

Carruthers, Kulbacki and Bieber are all in the same training group.

“The way he skates — his technique and his corners — are world class,” said Carruthers.

“I think it’s really exciting he was able to put that performance together for the competition. But I think moving forward, he has a really great foundation and I think it can take him really far internationally as well.”

Kulbacki spent years with Speed Skating Manitoba’s provincial team before head out west after graduating from St. Paul’s High School. If he continues to progress at this rate, he’ll likely earn a spot on Canada’s next-gen team next season.

This month will see Kulbacki represent Canada for the first time in his young career.

“I expected it to take a bit longer. When I first moved out here for long track, my main goal was just to make the Manitoba long track team for Canada Winter Games and do my best at that and then see what I wanted to do after that,” said Kulbacki.

“I saw some good improvement that year, so I wanted to keep going, but I never really expected to make this level quite yet. I think it’s pretty special. Not a lot of people get to say they got to go to World Cups when they were 19.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

X: @TaylorAllen31