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Winnipeg's Olympic medal-winning speedskater Cindy Klassen hanging up the blades
In the end, the only thing Winnipeg's Cindy Klassen ever did slowly as a speedskater was retire.
Nine years after she reached the pinnacle of her sport -- winning five Olympic medals at the 2006 Winter Olympics and being anointed in Torino by IOC president Jacques Rogge as "the woman of the Games" -- Klassen finally hung up her skates, telling a packed news conference at a Winnipeg hotel Saturday morning she'd at last decided she'd had enough.
"I'm truly grateful for all the memories, and while records fall and memories tarnish, the friendships I've made through the sport will last forever," said the 35-year-old Klassen during a prepared speech.
Afterward, Klassen told reporters she figured she'd retire after she didn't qualify for the 2014 Games in Sochi, but decided to take last winter off and do some soul-searching before making her retirement official.
"After I didn't qualify for the 2014 Games -- I didn't even try out for the team because of my concussion -- I kind of had in...