Regardless of the sport, sprinters are often a class of athletes apart. To make an explosive effort of a few moments where the rankings are decided by hundredths of a second, you need unwavering self-confidence. Long track speed skater Laurent Dubreuil is of this caliber.
It is with the title of world champion in the 500 meters and eight podiums in eight World Cup races over this distance this fall that he will arrive in Beijing as one of the contenders for the gold medal in the 500 meters and a podium in the 1000 meters.
Confident, not arrogant
Interviewing Laurent Dubreuil is candy for a sports journalist. His answers are frank, both after victories and after poor performances. His encyclopedic knowledge about his sport makes him a veritable “Wikipedia” on long blades, as does his contagious passion, his role as dad and fan New England Patriots. An athlete who stands out in high-level sport in the country.
“My goal was never to do the Olympics or the World Cups. It’s always been about winning. »
The covered ring awaited in Quebec for decades is now transformed into a field of possibilities for the new generation. When he skated on the ice of the adjacent field, in the cold and the wind, the one who has had both skates firmly rooted in his sport since birth already imposed no limits.
His parents, Ariane Loignon and Robert Dubreuil, are both Olympians in this discipline, while his brother Daniel and his sister Anna-Belle were part of the Canadian and Quebec elite for a few years.
His confidence in him, it is therefore innate as he explains.
“Some people might think my confidence was arrogance, but actually I don’t think it was arrogance, honestly. I am extremely direct and extremely frank in my everyday life. Just everyday, my wife cooks a dinner and she asks me if it’s good, I’ll tell her if it’s good. But if it’s not good, I’ll tell him. Anyway, when she asks me the question, she wants to know for real. If it’s not good, she’ll change her recipe. She knows me and she knows that I am like that. »
The tone is set. The skater says that’s how he was raised, especially by his mother, who coached him when he was younger.
“I was brought up in a direct way: we say what we think and that’s how we operate. It stayed. If I say that I am among the best in the world, it is not overconfidence. I am among the best in the world. when i was 15and in the world, I didn’t say that I was among the best in the world. When I’m not good enough, I say I’m not good enough. »
It is also in this way that he educates his daughter Rose, so that “she is able to be frank with herself”, continues the one who is about to obtain his baccalaureate in communication at the University Laval.
“A nasty big slap in the face”
Laurent Dubreuil’s international career got off to a flying start. Crowned with the world junior title in the 500 meters in 2012, he quickly made his place among the seniors. His selection to the Canadian Olympic team at the 2014 Sochi Games therefore seemed like a formality, but the skater missed his qualification and had to wait four more years to experience this great event. “The biggest disappointment of my career as an athlete” which he describes as “a huge failure”.
“I was not able to realize that I was not progressing, even though in my eyes I was progressing. But there, I didn’t rank and it was a nasty big slap in the face… and so much the better, because that’s what it took me to realize that my career wasn’t going well. I had my eyes closed in the face of my own problems and my own failures. It stopped me from progressing. »
We ask him the question: if he had skated at the Sochi Olympics, would he still be a top athlete today? His answer is unequivocal.
“I wouldn’t have had the season I had the year after where I won my first career World Championship medal and my first five World Cup medals. I had a dream year that is similar to what I’m doing right now. That year, I got it 100% because I didn’t finish (for the Games) before. And it reinvigorated my passion. Now I know where my passion is and I know how to fuel it. At that age, I had lost her. »
A momentum halted by the pandemic
The Lévisien was sparkling in 2019-2020. Among other things, he finished second at the World Sprint Championships and won three medals at the World Cup Finals. “It was my best skate of my career by far! »
Immediately after, the cancellation of the Fall 2020 World Cups due to the pandemic came as a blow. The skater learned the news while doing a stationary bike workout, a workout he doesn’t particularly enjoy. It was reluctantly that he ended his session, he recalls.
“That, that was tough ! I felt that I had just been prevented from winning several medals, because in my eyes, I was getting there and I was going to win a lot of them in the World Cup. That’s how I felt. […] I’m in the best years of my career, I’m 28, I’m doing perfectly well and they’re canceling everything. »
Gregor Jelonek, who has run it for nearly 15 years, has become Dubreuil’s friend and even his daughter’s godfather. As in an old couple who understand each other, the coach and the athlete did not have to talk for long to get along, take the hit and analyze the situation.
“I called Greg and didn’t even ask him. I told him : “Greg, I’m taking a week off. ” He has answered : “That’s what I was going to tell you. It’s the best thing to do. I know how good you feel and how motivated you were. I know how you feel. Relax and come back when you feel better. ” »
At that time, Dubreuil, his spouse and their daughter were staying temporarily with the skater’s parents before moving into their new residence. The athlete took advantage of this break to watch NBA playoff games, play video games, go to bed in the wee hours of the morning and sleep late. But not for long.
“I like doing this for a couple of days, but quickly I got bored. I was tired and looking forward to training. When I felt that passion coming back, I came back to training telling myself that there might be races or not, but that if there were, I would be ready. »
like music
Ready, Laurent Dubreuil was ready when he entered the competition bubble of Heerenveen (Netherlands). On the legendary Thialf ring, where the stands were exceptionally empty, the Quebecer became world champion in the 500m.
He cites a run by former world record holder, Canadian Jeremy Wotherspoon, as an example to explain how he felt during that 30-second moment.
“During his run, the Dutch commentator in his right said Muzieken. (See him skate), it’s like music. Hearing him skate is music. It’s like art. It’s beautiful, you can hear it and there are no abnormal noises. Everything looks perfect and he doesn’t look like he’s pushing, except right now he’s pushing harder than any human has ever pushed on blades. […] It’s fluid, it’s a movement and each step is linked. You accelerate and you never feel that you are really pushing. You feel very light on the ice. »
It is this state of grace that he will want to reproduce on February 12. No matter what will happen to this race, Laurent Dubreuil already knows the rest.
“My family life, whether I am world champion or not, it changes absolutely nothing: I have to help my daughter to develop, I have to help my wife at home. »
And don’t count on him to play predictions.
“I’m going to be the last person to predict a gold medal. I’m good, but again, I know my limits. I’m not Usain Bolt on skates either. It takes me a perfect race to beat all the other guys. »
