BC speed skater Denny Morrison is poised to be a top contender at the 2010 Winter Games

By Kristina Urquhart

The eco-friendly roof at Richmond Olympic Oval. Photo by KK Law

Under a magnificent domed roof, the cavernous arena echoes with the sound of the starting bell, of the first moment a sharp skate blade touches the pristine rink, of 8,000 spectators cheering wildly.

This is the Richmond Olympic Oval (see “Fast Facts,” below) just one month from now, when it will host the long-track speed skating events during the 2010 Winter Games. This is where Denny Morrison, Canadian speed skater and Olympic silver medallist, will vie for the gold.

Unlike many athletes who only recently discovered whether they’d be competing in sport’s biggest contest, the 24-year-old Morrison has known since his stellar race results last winter.

“I’m really excited,” he says. “I have good feelings about Richmond. The oval is pretty spectacular.”

Morrison now calls Fort St. John, BC home, but he was born in the tiny town of Chetwynd where there was no hockey league. Eager to skate, a three-year-old Morrison started speed skating lessons. The rest is, as they say, history.

No stranger to the podium, Morrison brought home a silver medal in the team pursuit race

Denny Morrison will skate for gold at Richmond Olympic Oval. Photo by Ewan Nicholson

at the Torino 2006 Winter Games. This year alone, Morrison won the bronze in three events at two ISU World Cup events. He is also pictured on the packages of Wrigley’s Excel Polar Ice chewing gum—a portion of the proceeds goes to the Canadian Olympic team.

Morrison’s busy training and competition schedule doesn’t offer much down time, but he likes to try new restaurants, including Chop for both its innovative cuisine and its proximity to the Richmond Olympic Oval, where he trained last year.

Watch Morrison on Jan. 16 and 17 in the World Championship Sprint in Obihiro, Japan, and tune in during the 2010 Winter Games to see him race the 5,000 m (Feb. 13), the 500 m (Feb. 15), the 1,000 m (Feb. 17), the 1,500 m (Feb. 20), the 10,000 m (Feb. 23) and the team pursuit qualification (Feb. 26) and finals (Feb. 27). Whether or not Morrison ascends to the podium, he is sure to make Canada proud.

FAST FACTS

• The Institution of Structural Engineers gave Richmond Olympic Oval a design award. Its roof is made from pine-beetle-damaged wood.

• Post-Games, the $178-million oval will house fitness and sports medicine centres, basketball courts, an ice rink and running tracks.

• The oval was named the 2010 Winter Games’s “sexiest” venue by Omega Lifetime magazine. Other venues are reportedly jealous.