Klassen keeps a hopeful eye on swimmer McIntosh in Paris

CALGARY — Cindy Klassen's voice shakes when she talks about watching Summer McIntosh swim in the Olympic Games.

Klassen, whose five speedskating medals in 2006 is the most by a Canadian at a single Olympic Games, wants her four-year-old daughter Phoebe to see a young Canadian athlete chasing that kind of glory.

"To watch it with her, to think she could be inspired by athletes like Summer, I'm really excited about that," Klassen said. "It's a little moving."

Klassen won five medals, including gold in the 1,500 metres, over 13 days in Turin, Italy.

She was dubbed "the woman of the Games" by Jacques Rogge, who was president of the International Olympic Committee at that time.

Eighteen years later, Canada has another multi-medal talent on its hands.

McIntosh, a 17-year-old from Toronto, will race four individual events and likely a relay final or two starting July 27 in Paris. She's the world-record holder in the women's 400-metre individual medley.

"I don't think she needs any advice because she's just tearing it up," said Klassen, who is now 44.

"I would just say go out and have fun, enjoy the moment. It's easy to forget about having fun when you're racing all the time and you're so busy.

"I'm going to be so excited for her and proud of her. It could be such a great thing for all of Canada. There's a lot of people going through hard times right now and to be able to watch her, regardless of how she does, but if she gets five or six medals, it would be so uplifting for our country. It can bring people hope. I hope she can do it."

Their sports are different as are their schedules — McIntosh could swim a dozen times over nine days in Paris, as opposed to Klassen's six skates over 13 days in Turin — but there are parallels in managing recovery between races and making strategic decisions to maximize medal potential.

As Swimming Canada and her coach must manage McIntosh's participation in relays to not detract from her individual events — there are heats and finals — Klassen raced two of four rounds in team pursuit to conserve her energy for three individual races to come.

She skated the pursuit quarterfinal and semifinal to help get her country in the final, but not the final in Canada's silver-medal effort.

"It's tough because you want to be able to give more, but sometimes you do the best that you can and you listen to the plan, you have to trust that and stick with it," Klassen said.

She was guided in Turin by coach Neal Marshall, who says the Olympic Games are a beast to tame when an athlete has multi-medal potential.

"The Olympics are unlike any other event and I imagine it's the same for Summer, for both the athlete and the coach," Marshall said. "I feel excited and I also feel sympathy for the coach because that's a lot of pressure when you have an athlete like that.

"If you're like Summer or Cindy, where you know you have a good chance to medal in many events, you can't just focus on one day or even two days. It could potentially be very exhausting."

Both Klassen and Marshall say sticking to a plan is desired, but sometimes you call an audible. Klassen felt she wasn't quite on her game after a silver medal in the 1,000 metres.

Marshall looked at Klassen's training and racing history and made a dramatic change to her 1,500-metre prep to get her legs firing.

"The day before my 1,500, he worked me really hard that day," Klassen recalled. "I was the last one off the ice. Other coaches said 'you know you're racing tomorrow?' and they were surprised.

"But he knew that's exactly what I needed to be prepared for the 1,500. That was different than what I anticipated happening at the Olympics, but I'm so grateful he thought of that."

McIntosh is surrounded by teammates who have stepped on the Olympic podium — Penny Oleksiak, Kylie Masse, Maggie Mac Neil and Sydney Pickrem — and could again in Paris.

Klassen was similarly flanked by teammates Clara Hughes and Kristina Groves in Turin, where Hughes took 5K gold and Klassen bronze. Groves was a silver medallist behind Klassen in the 1,500.

"When one teammate starts doing well, it lifts the whole team up and can be a domino effect," Klassen said. "It can be incredibly helpful during the Olympics."

After retiring from speedskating, Klassen was a Calgary police officer for five years, during which time she met her husband Matt. The couple have daughter Phoebe and a 20-month old son Gideon.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 18, 2024.