Long road to Olympics easier to travel with help of siblings Posted Monday, June 8, 2009 3:07 PM ET
By Jim Morris, The Canadian Press
www.ctvolympics.ca/short-track-skating/news/newsid=11600.html?cid=rssctv
Short track speed skating brothers Charles and Francois Hamelin pose during a photo shoot at a Canadian Olympic athletes' summit in Vancouver, B.C. in May 2009. CTVOlympics.ca VANCOUVER - As a kid, Britt Janyk used to get irritated when her younger brother Michael Janyk wanted to hang out with her and her friends.
"At times it was kind of uncool to have my baby brother around,'' the 29-year-old Canadian skier says with a chuckle during a recent interview.
But any friction between the siblings from Whistler, B.C., would disappear the moment they strapped on their skis and headed up the slopes.
"Once we were on the ski hill we were buddies,'' said Britt. "We were pals.''
The races the pair would stage as kids, with a cup of hot chocolate as the prize, sharpened the competitive skills of the brother and sister. It also formed a bond that exists today as the Janyks prepare for the 2010 Winter Olympics in their hometown.
"It's been a huge bonus having her there,'' says 27-year-old Michael, a bronze medallist in slalom at this year's world championships. "She's helped me so much and I've learned so much from her, seeing what she's gone through.
"There are so many struggles in sport. People deal with injuries or a mental lack of toughness. Its a tough life to lead on the road. To have someone going through it with you, makes it much easier.''
The Janyks are one of several sets of siblings expected to compete for Canada at next February's Games in Vancouver and Whistler.
Speedskating is by far the largest family affair.
Charles Hamelin, 25, is considered a medal threat in short-track speedskating. His brother Francois Hamelin, 22, could also be on the podium, but first must qualify for the Olympic team. Canadian record holder Denny Morrison, 23, has pre-qualified for the long-track speedskating team, while older brother Jay Morrison, 26, is still battling for a spot.
Jamie Gregg, 24, is expected to make the long-track team. His sister Jessica, 21, will compete in short-track. Veteran Jeremy Wotherspoon, 32, will skate in his fourth Olympics in 2010 but his sister Danielle, 29, is a longshot to make the team.
Erik Guay, 28, is one of Canada's best bets for an alpine medal. His brother Stefan, 23, is battling to regain his form after a serious knee injury in 2006.
Mike Moffat and Chris Moffat will wear the Maple Leaf in the two-man luge. Being slightly shorter, Mike is the one on the bottom.
"If you are sliding at Whistler and you tip over, it's a good place to be because I don't touch the ice as much as he does,'' Mike explains.
It will be the second Olympics for the brothers from Calgary, who placed ninth at the 2006 Turin Games.
A picture from the Turin opening ceremonies is one of Mike's prized possessions.
"It's the most memorable moment of mine,'' says the 27-year-old. "To actually be there as a team was a pretty special moment.''
Francois Hamelin said having a family member close can help ease the pressure of travelling and competing.
"When I started to do trips and training with the national team, he helped me and gave me advice,'' Francois says of his brother. "That was really helpful.
"I am really thankful to him for that.'' Denny Morrison says chasing his older brother made him a better skater.
"What ever goals he accomplished two years before, I would want to accomplish those same goals two years later,'' says the Fort St. John, B.C., native. "I would want to match his level of success.
"It made it easy for me to develop achievable goals but still push myself.''
Britt Janyk said Michael constantly pushed her.
"He says I always was better and he was trying to catch up, which in a sense was true,'' says Britt, who has won a World Cup downhill race and recorded eight top-five finishes. "His always trying to catch up to me, pushed me to move forward . . . because I knew he was right on my heels.''
The fact his big sister is a downhill racer, and Michael skis the technical events, doesn't go unnoticed by other alpine team members.
"I get flack from the guys saying she does the tough events and I don't,'' says Michael.
High performance athletes are competitive by nature. Losing is hard any time. Being beaten by a brother doesn't make it any easier.
Jay Morrison accepts that his little brother is the family's fastest skater.
"It's something I just have to come to terms with,'' he says. "Now I'm pretty well at peace with it. It doesn't change the fact I want to improve and to be the best as well.
"I've come to terms with the fact he is faster than a lot of people in the world who are older than he is. In fact, he's faster than everyone in the world sometimes. It's not something I need to feel bad about. I'm really proud of my brother.''
The Hamelin brothers are not afraid to race anyone in the world, except maybe each other.
"We try to race safely,'' says Charles. "When he's in the front, I will not try to do a pass if I'm not sure I will go by him.''
Francois hates racing against Charles.
"I'm always more nervous and anxious when I'm skating with him,'' he said. "If it was another skater, and I knew he was stronger than me, I would want to beat him. I would pass him.
"But my brother, we don't want to knock the other one out. I don't want to make that happen and make us angry at each other.'' No matter how close a family is, arguments are bound to happen.
The Moffats have their blow-ups. But Chris said it's often easier for brothers to clear the air.
"Mike and I can sort things out really quick and we can cut to the chase,'' he said. "That's half the problem with teams nowadays. Everybody is so worried about stomping on each other's toes or hurting somebody's feelings.
"Mike can say to me 'You're an idiot. What are you doing?' I'm not going to hold a grudge. I know it's for our better good.''
Denny Morrison says any disagreements with Jay are quickly forgotten.
"If we have fights, which we have, it's a lot easier to get over and move on because we've had 1,000 of those fights in our lifetime,'' he said. "We know we are still going to stick together in the end. It's easy to be honest with each other.''
Britt Janyk says the days spent on the national ski team will bind her with Michael long after their careers end.
"We both know the struggles and the triumph in sport,'' she said. "It brought us closer, and it's only going to keep us close when we move on from ski racing.''
Denny Morrison fulfilled the dream of many athletes when he competed at the Turin Olympics. But for him, something was missing because Jay wasn't part of the 2006 Canadian team.
"People talk to me about my Olympic dream,'' he said. "I always say my Olympic dream was never realized because my Olympic dream was to skate at the Olympics with my brother.
"Finally, hopefully, in 2010 my brother will be at my side and we'll be skating on the pursuit team, going for a gold medal together.''
, but I gotta cop - this guy is absolutely gorgeous. *blushing*
