River Heights speedskater named to national team

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This article was published 30/03/2022 (1576 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

RIVER HEIGHTS

A River Heights teenager is making a name for herself in the world of speedskating after placing second overall at Long Track Canada Cup 3, a junior speedskating event that Speed Skating Canada used to name its national junior team.

Sofia Bieber began speedskating when she was just eight years old, after her parents introduced a “rule” to their two daughters — they had to take some form of skating every year.

“I was scared of the jumping in figure skating, and I didn’t like the amount of equipment you needed for hockey, power skating or ringette, so I took speedskating,” Bieber, now 16, said.

The sport didn’t come naturally, she added. She practises five or six days a week, and has a weekly program set out by her coach, William Dutton, which includes dry-land practices, short track practices and long track practices.

The Canada Cup event — which was held at the Olympic Oval in Calgary, Alta., from March 11 to 13 — was her first and last competition of the season.

“It was all leading up to this,” Bieber said. “A lot of these girls were more experienced and had a few years on me, so it was intimidating. I didn’t actually know how big of a deal it was going into the competition; I just wanted to race and do my best.

“After the first day, I realized I had gotten first in the 500-metre and third in the 1500-metre, so I was like, ‘I’m going pretty good. I’ve got to keep this up.’”

Now that the competition is over, Bieber will start training for next year’s event, which is slated for December. If she qualifies again, she’ll be able to go to the World Junior Speed Skating Championships.

Like most young athletes, Bieber has her eyes set on the Canada Games and, ultimately, the Olympics. She credits coach Dutton for her success so far.

“He’s really focused on each individual athlete and helping them achieve what they can, what we thought was impossible,” she said.

“There’s a huge mental aspect to speed skating; you have to be able to push yourself. No one can push you for you. Sometimes you have to force yourself up early in the morning. You’re not going to get anywhere if you’re stuck in a bad mental spot, so you really just have to overcome a lot of things.”