麻豆社区

Eighteen-year-old short track speedskater Heather Clarke surprised herself last weekend.

After enduring a number of falls in her races at a national qualifying event in Calgary, the Yukoner found herself ranked 18th out of 60 skaters following competition. She entered the event ranked 26th.

She finished 11th among juniors, a ranking which should eventually qualify her for national junior competition January in Montreal, where her goal is a top-10 finish.

"I didn't feel like I should've finished 18th, but I met my goal of placing in the top 20,鈥� she told the Star yesterday. "This was a weekend of a lot of falls, which sucks.鈥�

Clarke finished 38th in the 1,500-metre, 11th in the 500-m, and 37th in the 1,000-m last weekend en route to her final ranking.

Clarke returned to her parents' home in Golden Horn this week for some well-deserved rest and relaxation.

Next week, the recent Vanier graduate will return to Calgary where she will enter her third season in the high-performance Oval Program. It will mark another stepping stone in her quest to eventually make the national team and compete at a World Cup.

She will also skate in two major competitions in Richmond, B.C. and is debating whether she should represent the Yukon a final time at the Arctic Winter Games in March.

Clarke has eight medals to her name from past Games, including four golds. She said if she does attend the tournament in Fairbanks next year, it will be with a goal of breaking some of Yellowknife skater Jill Gilday's records.

Clarke said her favourite race continues to be the 1,500-m, where her top time is 2:30.60.

"I've always liked it,鈥� she said. "When everyone's tired, I like pushing through that to the finish.鈥�

Clarke's personal-best time in the 500-m is 46.75, and 1:37.00 in the 1,000-m.

She said she remains proud to represent her home territory at events.

"I definitely love being from the Yukon,鈥� she said. "Growing up, I never had a lot of confidence, but now I love wearing the Yukon colours at competitions.鈥�

Calgary's short track development coach Alan McIlveen said Clarke's results at the national qualifying races didn't surprise him.

He said her hard work and perseverance has paid off in spades.

"Through all the time she's been out in Calgary, Heather's been faced with a lot of challenges that are really out of the ordinary for any athlete to kind of deal with,鈥� he said. "Through all of it, she's still come out on top. She keeps pushing through it.

"She's got an incredible amount of determination and it's up to her how far she takes it.鈥�

McIlveen said a top-10 finish at the national juniors is "completely within reason,鈥� adding a top-five position would give Clarke a great shot at her goal of making the national team.

"I wouldn't put it past her to be able to do that.鈥�