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Canwest News Service
Canadian speed skating great Gaetan Boucher sat at a table at The Bay in Vancouver and signed autographs for more than two hours on Saturday.
His hand had to work almost as quickly as his legs once did. The lineup of folks hoping to meet Boucher and figure skater Kurt Browning, another legend, was a long one.
“It’s very nice,” Boucher, now 51, said of all the folks who came out for the autograph session supporting the launch of the Canadian Sport Heroes Collection poster series.
“For me, 1988 [in Calgary], was my last Olympics so it’s been more than 20 years. But any time you take part in an event with a crowd, with the public, it brings back all the memories of the past Olympics. This is a nice souvenir.
“I have very good memories from Calgary. Even though that’s not where I won, the crowd was behind me. I got a standing ovation after my last race. That’s the thing I remember the most about Calgary.”
Boucher raced in four Olympics, starting as a 17-year-old in 1976 in Innsbruck. In 1980 he won silver in the 1,000 metres at Lake Placid, N.Y. Four years later he left Sarajevo with gold from the 1,000 and 1,500 metres and bronze from the 500.
In Calgary, a 29-year-old battling injuries, he placed fifth in 1,000, ninth in 1,500 and 14th in 500.
Now he thinks there might be a standing ovation or two for the current generation of Canadian skaters this February at the Richmond Olympic Oval.
Boucher believes the Canadian team is strong and capable. It’s also gets a lot more backing than his group ever was.
“They are much better supported,” he said. “The difference now is they have support before the Games. We hardly had any. We had the Sport Canada support which allowed us to go to Europe and take part in world championships but that’s about all we had.
“I won a silver in 1980 and that hardly brought anything. We got our Oval in Quebec City after I won in ‘84. Again, it was after the Olympics and not before. We needed support before the Games and now that’s what they’re getting.”
Boucher doesn’t begrudge the current generation its relatively good fortune. Quite the opposite, in fact.
“I’m very happy to see it,” he said. “My time is over and I had a good time. I wasn’t complaining when I was skating because I was getting the most attention and as much support as possible at the time. If they have more support now and make a living out of it, then that’s even better for them.”
Boucher was part of a Canadian team that didn’t produce an Olympic gold medal on home soil. Canada’s the only country to do that, and it happened twice — in Montreal in 1976 and 12 years later in Calgary.
Boucher doesn’t think we’re in for a three-peat.
“Montreal was a Summer Games at a time when we weren’t winning many medals and that can happen, but Calgary was hard to explain,” he said. “We had quite a few medals in Calgary but not a single gold.
“It was bad luck. It’s not a big deal. I think we’ll be the best country in the world at these Olympics.”
That’s the plan. Own the Podium 2010 — a $117-million funding initiative that guys like Boucher could never have dreamed of — plans to deliver more medals than any other country.
Boucher lives in Rosemere, Que., a quick 40-km skate north of Montreal. He keeps a close eye on sport.
When he’s not working to improve hockey skates in the research and development division of Bauer, Boucher is a speed skating commentator with RDS. The 2010 Olympics will be his sixth Winter Games as a commentator.
He believes the skaters will give him plenty to talk about.
“It’s very strong,” he said of the Canadian speed skating team. “The women’s team is probably the strongest in the world. The men’s team is not as strong as the women’s but we have some good skaters and I think we could get a medal or two on that side as well.”
He should know.
tbell@theprovince.com
