Turin — It was a simple message written on long-track speedskater Clara Hughes' left hand. "Joy," it said, reminding her of her why she had to fight through the pain and exhaustion of the gruelling 5,000-metre race.
And afterwards, once the tightness in her legs let up and the air slowly returned to her lungs, that's precisely what she felt — the joy of being an Olympic champion.
"I really felt that," Hughes said Saturday after winning gold at the Winter Games. "Just sheer joy and happiness and the rapture of being alive. That's what I feel right now.
"I feel completely alive as a human being and it's a really beautiful moment."
Clara Hughes drapes herself in the Canadian flag after winning gold in the 5000 metres speed skating event at the Olympics in Turin Saturday. Canada's Cindy Klassen wins bronze. (FRANCK FIFE/AFP/Getty Images)
Related Articles
Skating in the final pairing, Hughes glanced at the scoreboard after crossing the finish line with the fastest time. Her jaw dropped, eyes lit up and a look of absolute joy spread across her face. She extended her arms in the air and the magnitude of the moment started to sink in. She had finally accomplished her dream.
Hughes kept up with three-time defending Olympic champion Claudia Pechstein of Germany for most of the race before really digging in on the final two laps. Hughes was slightly ahead at the final turn and held on for the victory.
"I was fighting for my life and that's how I thought about it," Hughes said. "It was just getting everything out of my body. I knew that I had the strength in the finish."
Seconds later, Hughes was sprawled out face-down on the infield, her head in her hands and the pain searing through her legs.
"All of my muscles just seized up and I couldn't stand anymore," Hughes said. "(My legs) were buckling under me. It feels like you have about 100 horses kicking you in the legs all at once."
She got up a short time later and hugged her coach before embracing good friend and teammate Cindy Klassen, who won bronze, her fifth medal of the Games. Klassen handed Hughes a Canadian flag and she skated around the oval for a victory lap, picking up roses and stuffed animals along the way as the near-capacity crowd at the Oval Lingotto showered her with applause.
Hughes was the only skater to crack the seven-minute mark, finishing in six minutes 59.07 seconds. Pechstein was next in 7:00.08 while Klassen took third in 7:00.57. Kristina Groves of Ottawa was sixth in 7:03.95.
Hughes could barely contain her excitement when she stepped on the podium, jumping up and down, her arms extended in the air. After receiving her medal, she invited Klassen up to the top step, where they put their arms around each other and exuberantly sang the national anthem.
"I felt kind of strange up there," Hughes said. "It was interesting, I've come second and third a bunch of times but to have won it was amazing.
"But then I turned around and I saw Cindy and I just thought I don't want to be alone up here listening to O Canada and I'm surely not going to sing by myself."
Hughes won a silver medal in the team pursuit and won bronze in the 5,000 at the 2002 Games in Salt Lake. She also won two cycling bronze medals at the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta. Hughes is a distance specialist and her years of training in both sports gave her the endurance she needed for the final kick.
"This whole time here I had to remind myself that I am a speedskater now," said Hughes. "And I should not be afraid to be the best in the world."
Pechstein's medal was the eighth of her career, tying former East German speedskaters Karin Kania and Gunda Niemann for the most by a woman in Winter Olympics history.
"I had to fight until the end and because I was not feeling 100 per cent, this is a beautiful silver medal," said Pechstein, who has fought coughing and breathing problems for the last week.
Hughes said it was a bonus to skate with Pechstein, who set the world record at the 2002 Games.
"I knew I had a great pair with Claudia," Hughes said. "I thought 'Just try to stay with her until those last two laps and then just skate like you are fighting and running for your life.'
"And that's what I did."
The gold and bronze gave Canada's stellar long-track team eight medals at the Games, one-third of Canada's total of 24 heading into the final day of competition.
39
