Auch receives Hall call

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This article was published 03/12/2009 (5967 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Susan AUCH has fond memories of one of the races that has earned her latest honour — being inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame.

Auch recalls the days when her rivalry with American Bonnie Blair was the talk of the speed skating world. That rivalry reached a climax at the 1994 Winter Olympics.

"I think the race (1994 Olympic 500 metres) in Lillehammer, Norway stands out," Auch said yesterday from her home in Calgary. "I was a real long shot. I believed that if I was within striking distance of the medal I could win, but I don’t think anybody else other than my coach, brother Derrick and I believed that.

"I had the race of my life that day."

The Transcona speedster, who began competing when she was nine at the River Heights Speed Skating Club, finished second in 39.61 seconds for her first of two Olympic silver medals. Blair took the gold in 39.25. Auch went on to win another silver at the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, Japan, behind fellow Canadian Catriona Le May Doan.

"Then there was the race in Calgary against Bonnie at the World Cup," Auch continued. "It was shocking to me as to how many people came out to watch the race. I beat her the first day, and she beat me the second day.

"Bonnie is a great competitor. I challenged her many times, and I beat her head-to-head once in Norway, the year after the Olympics. That was probably my best season, because I was in the medals in every race."

Auch also won a bronze medal in the 3,000-metre relay at the 1988 Olympics in Calgary, when short- track speed skating was a demonstration sport, and competed in the 1992 and 2002 Olympics in Albertville, France and Salt Lake City.

Auch will be joined by two other athletes, three builders and one coach at the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame induction ceremonies in Montreal on April 23. Joining Auch are kayaker Caroline Brunet and sprinter Bruny Surin, builders Walter Sieber, Peter Lougheed and Carol Anne Letheren and athletics coach Paul Poce.

Two champions of the Olympic movement, outgoing Canadian Olympic Committee president Michael Chambers and former VANOC chair Jack Poole, will receive the Canadian Olympic Order.

Today, Auch, 43, is the mother of three girls, five-year-old twins Kennedy and Jordan, and 21/2-year-old Alex.

She gives credit to her successful speed skating career to her parents, Eberhardt and Rosemarie.

"I think early on in my career in Winnipeg, it was critical. I couldn’t get to, or from, events without them. Once I moved away to skate, they were still incredibly supportive. They came to every Olympics, but not that many World Cups, except maybe those held in Canada."

The sacrifices her parents made for her were huge. "Our family was very outdoorsy and adventure-driven. In the winter I am sure they gave up many trips to Germany just so that I could compete. They worked very hard and didn’t have a ton of money, but I never knew that then. They just always helped, and if we had to find a way to raise money, by bottle drives, etc., we did it. And then they put in hours and hours at Sargent Park (since renamed Susan Auch Oval) volunteering."

Making it to the top in 1995 was exhilarating but very difficult to adjust to, Auch said. "It was an awesome time, and a great learning experience. You kind of feel like a star for a minute, but it is all fleeting.

"It was hard, and back then," she continued. "Outside of Lillehammer, I was the only English-speaking female who won a medal at that distance. First it was exciting, but then it became very difficult. I would never complain about it, but it was just a just different reality. There were things I missed, because I was having difficulty adjusting. Once in Winnipeg I got invited to dinner with the Queen, and another time with the Dalai Lama, but I didn’t go to either of them. I regret that now."

Auch says the road to the Olympic podium is more memorable than finally reaching that pinnacle.

"Winning a medal and standing on the podium I remember well," she said, "but more clearly, I remember the race, and how exciting it was. I remember the training, travelling and the expectation of how I was going to do. Those are all the meaningful things."

She still dons the blades for laps at Calgary’s Olympic Oval. For her, nothing in the world to compares with speed skating.

"It’s such a nice feeling to be on the ice. That smooth, flowing motion. I try to think of it when I go to sleep at night."

allan.besson@freepress.mb.ca

Auch’s honour role

 

Olympic 500 Metres

1994: Silver medal, Lillehammer, Norway.

1998: Silver medal, Nagano Japan.

Olympic 3000-Metre Relay

1988: Bronze medal, Calgary, (demonstration sport).

Other Olympic appearances

1992: Albertville, France

2002: Salt Lake City, Utah

Other events

1985: Bronze, world short track championships.

1985: Gold, silver and bronze, World University Games.

1986: Gold, 3,000-metre relay, world short track championships.

1988: Gold, world short track championships.

1994: Third overall, World Cup 500 metres standings.

1994: Silver, world championships.

1995: Second, World Cup standings.

1995: Silver and bronze, world sprint championships.

Other honours

Three-time Manitoba Female Athlete of the Year.

1995: Canadian Press Female Athlete of the Year.

2010: Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame. To be inducted April 23.