A Canadian speed skater sacrificed his own shot at Olympic glory so a teammate could take a crack at the podium in Sochi and the gamble paid off.
During the Canadian speed skating trials back in December, Denny Morrison stumbled and failed to qualify for the 1,000 metres. He held a spot in the 1,500 metres and team pursuit but was a reserve in the 1,000 meters for Sochi.
Fellow Canadian and Olympic team member, Gilmore Junio was 10th in Monday’s 500 metres and so Speed Skating Canada asked him to consider giving his place in the 1,000 to Morrision.
Junio says they left it up to him and that it was an easy decision to let Morrison take his place.
“I sent him a text that said 1000m, yay or nay, and he didn’t believe it was me. He thought it was some kind of joke,” said Junio.
This ends my Olympic competition; leaving the 1000m in the more than capable hands of @Denny_Morrison! #gocanadago
— Gilmore Junio (@cdnhappygilmore) February 11, 2014
That unselfish act inspired Morrison to bring his “A” game into the race and he ended up with a spot on the podium and an Olympic silver medal.
"It's a dream, a fairytale story," said an emotional Morrison after earning his third Olympic medal in three Games. "It's difficult to really believe that it's happening.”
Gilmore Junio trains in Calgary and his generosity has sparked a twitter campaign calling on him to be chosen to carry Canada’s Flag at the closing ceremony in Sochi.
Morrison sent out a tweet to get the conversation rolling across the twitterverse.
@cdnhappygilmore for Closing Ceremonies flag bearer! This guy showing everything that is Canadian pride and Olympic Pride. #ThankYouGilmore
— Denny Morrison (@Denny_Morrison) February 12, 2014
Alan McIlveen is Junio’s former coach at the Oval and says it was a classy move.
“It’s a little surprising that he did this at the games but it’s not so surprising he was the one to do it,” said McIlveen. “Seeing him step aside and allow another athlete the opportunity, I mean Denny to go and perform the way he did on demand, it’s absolutely incredible.”
“It’s a ripple effect not only for our team speed skating but also towards the entire sporting community,” said Marcel Lacroix, a former coach of Morrison’s.
Morrison is a three-time Olympian who won gold in the team pursuit four years ago in Vancouver and silver in Turin in 2006.
He has two fourth-place finishes in the 1,000 on the World Cup circuit this season and was 13th in the 1,000 at the 2010 Vancouver Games.
(With files from Ina Sidhu and ctvnews.ca)
