HEERENVEEN, Netherlands | If he lived the apotheosis by winning silver at the Beijing Games, Laurent Dubreuil does not only keep good memories of his Olympic experiences which sometimes turned into a nightmare.
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The road leading to the Pyeongchang Games in 2018 was particularly difficult and its results bear witness to this. He finished in 18e place on 500 m and in 25e position on 1000 m.
“I showed up in Korea in the worst possible conditions and my Olympic experience was ruined,” summarizes Dubreuil. Those were the worst moments of my career. It was impossible to be good after living two miserable months. It was frustrating to get such results. »
Qualified for Pyeongchang, Dubreuil found himself with a sword of Damocles over his head.
His teammate William Dutton filed an appeal with the Sport Dispute Resolution Center of Canada (SDRCC) stating that he should have been retained at the expense of Dubreuil.
“I’ve never been stressed like that even though I was convinced that I was going to keep my place, underlined the skater from Lévis. I experienced excruciating stress. I had no control. With encounters that could happen at any time, I arrived in Korea completely drained. »
Dutton, now an assistant coach with the Canadian team, did not win the case, but the damage was done for Dubreuil, who nevertheless ended his season with a silver medal in the second 500m of the world sprint championship in China. .
“I rediscovered the pleasure of skating at the World Cup and a bit of happiness. »
Missing Sochi by dust
Four years earlier, Dubreuil had missed the 2014 Games in Sochi by 0.04 s.
Canada retained the first four skaters in the selections and the communications student at Université Laval finished fifth.
A few weeks before the selections, Dubreuil had learned that his father, Robert, had been diagnosed with prostate cancer.
“It was a shock, but the news of my father did not hurt my chances. My absence from Sochi hurt. It didn’t work at all. I was stuck in 15e place in the World Cup. I changed everything during the summer. My boots, my blades, my technique and my mental approach, it’s all there. »
New approach
Dubreuil believes that a new mental approach was the most important factor.
He bounced back with a world championship bronze medal in 2015 and won his first five World Cup medals in the 2014-15 season.
“I was jaded and I accepted the 15es squares. The excuse that I was young and had to take it one step at a time extinguished my desire to win. It was okay to finish at 15e rank at 20, whereas at 19 I wanted to win. »
“I said to myself that I was putting too much effort and that I had too much talent to settle for finishing in 15e place and my expectations have increased. If I had had the same ambitions in 2014, I wouldn’t have missed the Sochi Games. »
One of his strengths
Gregor Jelonek shares his protege’s point of view.
“For the first time in his career, Laurent felt like he could lose something when he had everything to qualify,” said the coach of the National Center for Eastern Canada. He was a little afraid of not being classified. »
As early as 2015, Jelonek saw the difference.
“He restored that aspect where he was able to perform when the situation called for it. Laurent responds to challenges. He tells himself that he has more to gain than to lose and he learned a lot from the experience of 2014. When a skater sets a good time before him, it motivates him to go faster. It is one of its strengths. »
As if it does not age
Photo by Didier Debusschere
Laurent Dubreuil at the Center de Glaces de Québec for a weight training session on January 2.
If it is between the ages of 22 and 27 that skaters usually know their best years, Laurent Dubreuil has rather unblocked after having blown out his 28 candles.
“I’ve never seen an athlete with exceptional genetics like Laurent,” says his physical trainer at the National Center Jonathan Pelletier-Ouellet. Since 2019, he has never stopped improving indoors. It’s going to stop one day, but we haven’t reached the ceiling. »
After his success on the junior scene where he won two medals in 2012, Laurent Dubreuil was convinced he could dominate when he made the leap to the professionals. However, his certainties were shaken after a few difficult seasons.
“At 18 or 19, I thought I could be dominant like I’ve been for three years, but I stopped believing after the difficult years leading up to the 2018 Games,” said Dubreuil.
“It would have been almost madness to continue to believe that I could be dominant. While skaters know their best years between 22 and 27 years old, I was a few years without improving at all before I unblocked. »
If Dubreuil had doubts, his trainer Gregor Jelonek assures that he always believed that his protege could rise among the best in the world.
“I never doubted his potential, assures the coach who has overseen Dubreuil’s development since 2009. My fear was at the level of his back injury. »
“You can’t finish fourth in your first Senior World Cup by chance,” added Jelonek. Already two fourth places in his first world junior and his world record, it was impressive. I knew it was real. »
Hatching without blushing
The two World Cups and the world championship of 2021 disputed in the bubble of Heerenveen allowed the hatching of Dubreuil, who has never blushed since.
Working with physical trainer Jonathan Pelletier-Ouellet since the summer of 2019 and recently becoming a dad, the Lévis skater won four World Cup medals before winning gold in the 500m and bronze in the 1000m at the world two weeks later.
It would have taken little for Dubreuil to be deprived of the opportunity to go to the Netherlands. Speed Skating Canada’s (SPC) High Performance Committee wanted the Canadian team to skip the event due to the pandemic, but General Manager Susan Auch reversed the decision.
A decision that changes everything
The skaters had the choice to go or not without incurring penalties for those who remained at home.
“It was a key moment in my career,” said Dubreuil. […] There were zero cases of COVID-19 in a sealed bubble where no one was vaccinated. Only the amateurs were missing. It was one of my best trips ever. »
“My performances confirmed that my successes in 2020 were not the result of chance and my presence in the bubble is directly linked to my eight medals in eight 500m races in the fall of 2022”, continued Dubreuil, who does not was not shy to denounce the hesitations of PVC in our pages a few days before the decision is known.
IT AGES LIKE GOOD WINE
- January 2012 in Salt Lake City, junior world record
- November 2014 in South Korea, first medal (bronze in 500 m) in the World Cup
- November 2017 in Heerenveen, first individual gold medal in the World Cup
- February 2020 in Norway, silver medal in the general classification of the world sprint championship
- February 2021 in the Netherlands, bronze medal in the 1000 m of the world championship distance
- February 2021 in the Netherlands, gold medal in the 500 m of the world championship distance
- March 2022 in the Netherlands, 500m World Cup cumulative ranking champion
- February 2022 in Beijing, silver medal in the 1000 m of the Olympic Games
- February 2023 in Poland, champion of the cumulative World Cup 500m ranking for the second year in a row.
Become the oldest to win gold
In the best shape of his life and still pursuing his progress, Laurent Dubreuil sees far and does not think he will stop there even if he has reached the milestone of thirties.
“I’m more likely to be on the start line at the 2030 Olympics than I’m not,” he said. Will it be possible to aim for victory, I don’t think so, but I will continue as long as I am good, love my sport and be able to reconcile work and family. »
If he rules out the chances of victory in 2030 when he will be 37 years old, Dubreuil is however convinced that he will be able to aspire to great honors at the Cortina d’Ampezzo Games in 2026.
“Without the pressure because I’ve already won an Olympic medal, it’s realistic to believe in my chances. 2026 may be the last opportunity for me to win an Olympic medal. »
Clear objective
A goal motivates Dubreuil to pursue his career as long as possible.
“I would like to be the oldest skater to win gold in the 500m and 1000m at the World Cup. It stresses me out a bit because Lee Kyou-hyuk was just under 33 when he won his last 500m race. [mars 2011] and Hein Otterspeer is the oldest in the 1000m at 34. »
What does his close guard think?
“Laurent is a statistics guy and he is able to see that it is rare for a 35-year-old sprinter to still dominate, but he will only be 33 in 2026 and will have the potential to win even if he finds himself among the older, underlines his trainer Gregor Jelonek. Young people grow, but Laurent takes it as a challenge. It motivates him instead of bothering him. »
Jelonek is convinced that Dubreuil still has very good years ahead of him.
“It’s time to make the most of it because it’s possible to win every race. His Olympic medal and his world title take the pressure off and he must take advantage of it. »
