Silver medalist Courtney Sarault celebrates on the podium during the medal ceremony for the women’s 1,000-metre short track.Jamie Squire/Getty Images
After winning a silver medal – her third medal of these Games – short-track speed skater Courtney Sarault mused about split personalities.
In the world, she is one person – “nice,” “funny,” “likes to laugh a lot.”
Once the starter’s gun goes, she inhabits an alter ego.
Lots of athletes speak this way, but no one ever bothers to ask if this other person has a name. Someone did this time.
“It’s Bruce,” said Sarault – as in Bruce Wayne or Bruce Banner.
“You can kind of get the vibe,” said Sarault. “Bruce doesn’t take a lot of explaining.”
Okay, sure. If you say so.
Bruce didn’t have a great day on Monday. Bruce was in the lead for most of the 1,000-metre final, weaving around the oval like a reckless driving charge waiting to happen, making sure no one could pass.
With two laps to go, Bruce lost control of the race. He/she was “taking info” – figuring out where everyone else was – and drifted wide. That’s all it takes. Two skaters went past.
Bruce was able to regain one spot, but couldn’t get all the way back. Dutch skater Xandra Velzeboer won gold, the second time she’s pipped Sarault in Milan.
It was still Bruce in the moments after the race ended. While Velzeboer ran to her team to celebrate, Sarault took extra cool-down laps, visibly fuming. When she did make it over to her corner, she buried her head in the barrier, while her coach and teammates comforted her.
But by the time she got back to media, after the medal ceremony, Courtney had returned. She was smiling, laughing and very nice.
“I kind of looked like a sore loser there,” Sarault said. “I didn’t mean to do that.”
As it turned out, Courtney had had a wonderful day. She was near tears talking about how much this medal – all three medals – meant to her.
She was reminded of Beijing, where she’d been on a favoured team that bombed out of the relay, finishing fourth. She’d had to be coaxed back to the rink afterward.
Again speaking of herself disassociatively, Sarault said, “That girl was young. She was really hard on herself. I’ve learned over the years that your sport isn’t who you are … Short track doesn’t define who I am as a person. I’m a good person.”
Being there, this was a bit of watching an episode of Couples Therapy. From breakdown to breakthrough within the space of half an hour.
By the end of it, Sarault was beaming, cracking jokes. Most athletes, even the amateurs, know to be guarded in interviews. Sarault doesn’t have any of that armour. She’s just out there saying it as it comes into her mind. It’s as rare a quality as her athletic talent. It is the thing, as much as wins, that makes someone a superstar.
The other big short-track star here is William Dandjinou. He’s had a tougher go than Sarault – one team medal, but oh-for-two in individual events.
After losing on Saturday, he rolled into the mixed zone and said, “I can promise you that maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but one day I will be an Olympic champion.”
He was so committed to the idea that he repeated it to every reporter at every stop.
On Monday, he looked like whichever comic-book character is his alter ego, stomping through heats for the 500-metre (final on Wednesday) and 5,000-metre team relay (final on Friday). Then he came out and told media that it was gold or bust.
What would Sarault, Olympic champion and budding Zen master, say to that approach?
“He’s putting it out there that he wants it, and that’s great,” she said. “But I told him today, just focus, race by race. And don’t think too much about the outcome. Just enjoy it. Short track has to be enjoyed.”
As she said it, she clearly meant it. Sarault means everything she says. That’s obvious.
She would’ve sat there all day gabbing, being funny and very nice. They had to pull her away to go to the medalists’ press conference.
There is often a moment when the interview ends and the recorders are lowered that someone will lob up one last question or observation that provokes the telling quote. This is where the athlete is stuck between their public persona and the real person.
It was pointed out to Sarault that she now has a silver and two bronzes. That that is a serious, historic haul, though she still has the team relay to go.
Sarault looked back and her eyes narrowed a bit: “I’m hoping to get every colour.”
I guess that was Bruce.
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