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‘Heartfelt gesture’ by teammate will allow Denny Morrison to skate in 1000m event
Later this afternoon, or this morning, depending on which side of the planet you're on, Denny Morrison will compete for Canada in the 1000m long track speed skating Olympic event, along with countrymen William Dutton, Muncef Ouardi and Vincent de Haitre. Morrison, the Fort St. John, B.C. native, was the first alternate in the event for Team Canada, and will be skating only thanks to what Speed Skating Canada is calling a "heartfelt gesture" on the part of one of his teammates.
Individual men's long track isn't exactly an event where Canada has been a medal threat. Not since 1998 has a Canadian man won an individual medal on the track—not counting the team pursuit medals, not since Jeremy Wotherspoon and Kevin Overland earned silver and bronze medals and men's 500m has Canada medaled and not since the legendary Gaétan Boucher has a Canadian won gold. The team's best result four years ago was Jamie Gregg's 8th place finish in the 500m, with Morrison earning 13th in the 1000m and 9th in the 1500m.
Morrison, at 28, is in his physical prime, and represents a medal hope for Canada at the 1000m. Problem was, he fell on his last turn at the Canadian trials and failed to qualify for the distance. One of the skaters who did, however, Gilmore Junio of Calgary, withdrew from the event to allow the first alternate—Morrison—to take his spot.
In an act of true Olympic sportsmanship, Gilmore Junio of Calgary has elected to opt out from racing in the 1000m event tomorrow at the Adler Arena. Denny Morrison, who was the first alternate in the distance, will compete in his place for Canada.
"Denny and I are made of the same fabric - we both want to win and represent our country at a level that reflects that passion” said Junio, who finished third in the distance at the Canadian Olympic Team trials back in December. While the decision was a tough one to make, Junio felt that “I believe it’s in the best interest of the team if he races. To represent Canada at the Olympics is a huge honour and privilege but I believe that as Canadians, we’re not just here to compete; we are here to win. Denny has proven to be a consistent medal threat in the distance”.
It sounds an awful lot like a commercial produced by a leading Canadian coffee chain. Junio, at 23, specializes in the 500m, with gold and silver finishes on the World Cup circuit last year. He's already raced in the men's 500m these games, placing tenth as the top Canadian in the event, and the only other race he'd qualified for was the 1000m, but after stepping aside to give Morrison his spot, Junio's games will finish.
Morrison was part of the pursuit team in 2010 that won a gold medal, and a silver as well in Turin 2006, but he's running out of chances for an individual medal, while Junio is the second youngest member of the team. Make nice with the national team now, and it will pay back a little down the road when Junio has a little more experience at the longer distances.
And, yes, Morrison at 1000m is probably Canada's best hope for a medal in individual skating. Morrison is 6th in 2013-14 World Cup standings at this distance (after missing much of last season due to a broken leg) and has two fourth place finishes so far on the tour this season. A gold medal may be asking for a little much. American Shani Davis owns this distance, having won gold medals in both Turin and Vancouver, and is still the leader on the World Cup circuit and has won three of the four events so far this season. The other major threat is Michel Mulder of the Netherlands.
But Morrison has a shot, and it may be his last, and we can certainly get behind Junio's gesture to cut his games short and give his starting spot to Morrison. The British Columbian isn't a medal favourite, but there is a chance, and this may be Morrison's last shot to get on the podium at this distance. The race is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. Eastern.
