Charles Hamelin is a legend. In his last Olympic hurrah, he heads home with another gold

Opinion

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This article was published 16/02/2022 (1299 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BEIJING—They saved the best for last.

Last Olympic hurrah of this particular short-track speedskating squad. Last Olympic race in Charles Hamelin’s illustrious career.

And gold to be getting on with.

Canada’s third gold medal of the Games. Fourth medal from the short-trackers, on the final night of competition in this most undisciplined discipline, making it gold, silver, two bronze.

A complete set — gold, silver, bronze — for Steven Dubois, the breakout star of this acclaimed, push-push-push ensemble, at his debut Olympics, just an alternate four years ago and left at home. Which is Quebec, for all of them, because la belle province is a superpower state for short-track, just keeps cranking out masters of the universe.

Hamelin, though, he’s a legend.

Which is why his teammates — Dubois, Jordan Pierre-Gilles, Pascal Dion, Maxime Laoun — so desperately wanted this podium for him, as a skating-into-the-horizon gift, as a concluding group celebration, and as a historical record book entry.

With Wednesday night’s gold in the men’s 5,000-metre relay, at his fifth and finish-line Olympics, Hamelin tied the Canadian record — six — for most medals at the Winter Games, drawing level with long-tracker Cindy Klassen.

His fourth Olympic 5,000-metre podium, for those keeping score at home. To which should also be added — because the Olympics get most of the glory but this has been a full-time, year-in and year-out vocation for Hamelin — 142 World Cup medals and 37 medals at the world championships, including 14 gold.

It is mind-boggling, how Hamelin stands like a colossus over this sport. But don’t get blinded by the numbers or all that glitters. He’s also, at a gristly 37, the daddy-O of the platoon, the generational link, the emotional shepherd of the flock. As indeed the younger skaters, the incoming, flock around him, men and women, absorbing his esprit de corps.

“It means a lot to me, to all of us, to be part of the journey of someone like Charles,” said Dion, who’s most likely to assuming the mantle of leadership. “He’s been through so much, has won so many medals, has had so much success. He’s given so much to the sport. We’ve all learned a lot from him.”

In the mixed zone at the Capital Indoor Stadium, when the gang finally came through, literally arm in arm, all chuffed from their top-podium bows — and damn, we forgot to ask what that synchronized sweeping the platform gesture meant before they stepped up — it did sound awfully like a Charles Hamelin Appreciation fête.

He accepted the accolades as a career salute. “To be here is incredible. As I said earlier in the Games, my goal was to have a great experience and I did. With these boys, we had a lot of fun. We were just laughing all the time at practice. But we were serious when we needed to be. All the work we did for the last four years, it just shows Canada is the best short-track country in the world.”

But most especially, gold is the proof of the team’s mastery in an event they’ve commanded all season. “We did a perfect relay, with no stress at all on the ice. We were in control of everything.”

Yes, about the race. It was brilliant, tactically and strategically and adaptive to the potential chaos inherent in a 45-lap race with five times vying.

Pierre-Gilles at the starting line, the other three shadow-skating with him around the oval (Laoun was the alternate on this night but a crucial piece of the squad in their semifinal on Friday). “We’ve been dominating all year, so we knew the job,” said Pierre-Giles. “We knew what to do. Honestly, I wasn’t stressed. I was just enjoying the moment.”

It is short-track, though, where a clack of the blades can send a skater skidding, a jostle on any pass attempt lead to catastrophic collisions. With 36 laps to go, it was Hamelin who deftly side-stepped a potential looming pile-up.

Canada grabbed the lead, from the inside, with 26 laps remaining, on a passing mistake by the South Koreans, who’d been out front, but reclaimed the lead four laps later. Dubois seized it back, with 21 laps left, when a Chinese skater missed on an attempted move to the inside. Dion then opened the gap on an excellent exchange as the race grew frantic, giving Canada its widest lead.

“The strategy was to be well-positioned,” explained Dion, “to be sure we had the chance to win. We kept our legs through that whole race. We kept our energy. When Steven pushed me in the pass, I saw we had a good shot at it. At my second-last exchange, I took a little gap and I knew it was possible. On the last exchange, I pushed Charles and right then, I knew it was gold, I knew that my teammates would be able to keep it.

“I pushed Charles, he pushed Jordan, Jordan pushed Steven. After my exchange, I was just in the middle (of the ice), screaming.”

And Dubois brought it home in the final two laps.

“In the last two exchanges, I saw the guys, Pascal and Jordan and Charles, were taking gaps,” recounted Dubois. “I knew the Koreans were tired. They’d led a lot of the race. I had only one job — it was to go fast.

“I went as fast as I could. And then when I came back after one lap, I saw that we’d kept the gap and I knew it was done, I just had to stay up and cross the line.”

He did at six minutes and 41.247 seconds. The South Koreans were second at 6:41.679; the Italians third, at 6:43.431.

For Dubois, the 24-year-old from Terrebonne, Que., who only went into short-track because his parents didn’t like hostile vibe of hockey crowds, a gold to hang with his 1,500-metre silver from last week and his bronze in the 500-metre on Sunday.

“Honestly, I had no expectations from these Games,’’ said Dubois of his unexpected three-pack. “I’m just so happy to finally have a big event and show that I’m good.”

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Hamelin was not prepared to “rank” his many Olympic medals. But this one was very, very special.

And, while done with the Games, he’s not quite done with the games. Hamelin will be lining up on the ice at the world championships in Montreal next month, his swansong to the sport that has defined his life.

“My journey is not over yet. I’ll be there with the boys, to enjoy the last moments of my career with them. That will be it.”

Interviews done, they tootled off, arm in arm in arm in arm in arm again.

Rosie DiManno is a Toronto-based columnist covering sports and current affairs for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @rdimanno