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Just the other day, the Winnipeg wonder kid touched her blades down to the Olympic Oval ice -- reputed to be the fastest track in the world -- and took her first earnest strides on the eve of the 2002 Winter Games. And it felt good.
"Getting to the Oval yesterday, it was real exciting," the 22-year-old beamed. "I mean, the stands go up to the roof and it's just something else. It's like nothing I've ever experienced before. And getting on the ice for some hard programs, it was fast and we were skating really well. "It's going to be good."
Yes, no matter what, the Salt Lake Games are going to be good for Klassen, one of only three other female long-track speedskaters in the world who will compete in four events in these Games. In fact, Klassen actually qualified to compete in all five, but declined to participate in the 500 metres in order to focus on her most promising events -- the 1,500 and 3,000 metres.
Remember, this is a young woman who didn't even skate competitively the last time the Winter Olympics were held in Nagano, before she skyrocketed on to the world scene in the last two years. Now this, an unlikely starring role on the biggest global athletic stage.
Here she is, Destiny's Child, and few will disagree that Klassen's Games will be good, even if she leaves Salt Lake empty-handed. No, the truly intriguing aspect of Cindy Klassen is the boundless potential of her future. Because just try to find someone from her past who will tell you it won't be great.
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Helga Klassen still has to pinch herself sometimes.
Asked recently if she's surprised by her daughter's meteoric rise on blades, Helga replied: "It does, constantly. Every once in a while we'll have to sit back and say, 'Wow!' It's incredible."
But Helga is only surprised by the time-frame involved, not the results. After all, even as a toddler, her daughter's first love was sport. When Cindy was just two years old, her father, Jake, made her a miniature hockey stick. "And every day," Helga reported. "she'd wait for him (Jake) to come home and play hockey with her on...