They took her words to heart and gave it all they had … and then some. Never have fifth, seventh, ninth or 10th place finishes been seen as causes to celebrate, but when it comes to three young Estevan athletes, it’s exactly what was in order.
Adah De Leeuw, Josie Andrist and Mikayla Hack might have taken the words of Catriona Le May Doan to heart when she told over 900 young athletes attending the opening ceremonies of the Saskatchewan Summer Games to “imprint the sights and the sounds in your brain and in your hearts.”
The two-time Olympic champion told the youngsters that “some of you will fall short of your goal, but that’s sports. Success and failure don’t determine your greatness. Stop, look around and let it sink in,” she instructed.
So they did. They took it in, and then it began to sink in. But they didn’t back away.
The three Energy City athletes chose one of the highest sporting mountains to climb and took it on with enthusiasm and energy even though they lacked a key ingredient … skill development … in one tough sporting world assignment, swimming, biking and running at marathon-like distances.
The importance of specific training needs were brought to the forefront by a determined and well-disciplined team of triathletes from Regina who dominated the medal podiums over the three days of triathlon competition.
“It’s a long haul,” said their coach Sean Hooper, when asked to comment on the growing medal trend the Regina team was enjoying over the Games triathlon course set out in the central part of Estevan.
“We started our multi-sport club in Regina in 2012 with two members. Now we have a full roster with dozens of kids. The idea is to start working with them early and make sure they’re having fun. If you’re learning while having fun, you’ll probably stick with it,” he said, pointing to a large group of athletes aged 12 to 15, who were gathering around the RM of Estevan Aquatic Centre pool for the opening night’s medal presentations.
“Really, I didn’t figure the heat was that big an issue today,” said triathlete Cosmas Markatos. “I’ve run in 36-degree heat before, so today’s was OK,” he said, referring to the muggy 31-degree heat that hit Estevan earlier that afternoon.
“I liked the track, it was pretty clean and clear,” he added.
Markatos said he and his older teammates cycle four times a week in training and probably run twice a week over long-distance routes and swim three times a week. Other members of the triathlon troupe are members of the Regina Dolphins swim team, so they get their water endurance from training with them.
The triathalon route for the 14-and 15-year-old competitors consisted of a 500-metre swim, a 10-kilometre bike race and a four-kilometre run.
“Ella and I work together a lot,” said 12-year-old Molly Lakustiuk, referring to her friend Ella Perras.
The two would end up on the gold and silver platforms later. “Ya, we like to push one another,” said Ella.
“We had to learn when to turn it on, like today, I waited until the second loop on the run,” said Molly.
That’s something the Estevan Eels swimmers, turned triathletes, had to learn the hard way as they attempted to pick up some last-minute instruction from their South East coach Tianna Dodds from Lumsden, who said she admired the Estevan girls for putting forth the effort without having received any type of disciplined triathlon training beforehand.
“I think it’s fun, but ya, it’s also a bit nerve-wracking,” said Adah.
“I’m in the pool and I’m just trying to comprehend all the stuff that’s ahead, and I’m thinking maybe I need more training,” laughed Josie who not only worked her way through to a fine finish in the middle of the “ triathlon trained” pack on Monday, but also participated in team triathlons on Tuesday and Wednesday before representing the South East in the pool in the second half of the week, as did Adah and Mikayla.
“I figured I just had to keep focused on the task at hand, one thing at a time,” said Adah.
Would they do it again, knowing now what they didn’t know then?
“Oh, for sure, I’d do this again,” Josie noted without hesitation. “I don’t know how we could train in winter, do some running on the indoor track, maybe more skating.”
Mikayla, who finished 10th in her very first marathon, said she might have done a bit better, but she developed a cramp early on during the run. She too thought she might like trying to do it again if the opportunity arose. “Working with the Eels makes it easier in the water and I tried to listen to the coach who told us to just watch where we were going and where we should be to start running a little quicker, like picking up the pace at the halfway point of the biking and running and then sprinting to the finish.”
“I’m just so proud of the fact that these girls are trying this,” said Robert Andrist, Josie’s father. “They’re probably a bit crazy, but what a challenge this is for them, it’s great just to see them out there putting in that huge effort.”
And, as it turned out, Le May Doan was right. Rewards don’t always mean a trip to the podium. Success is measured in many ways.
