The Olympics present countless opportunities to marvel at its participants’ athletic ability.
For Nigel Emblin, one feat always stood out for the rest.
As the world’s best battled for Winter Games supremacy, the young novice speed skater sat glued to the TV with equal parts amazement and ambition as the sport’s elite took the corners.
The high-octane precision necessary to learn over and actually touch the ice for balance never failed to wow him.
“I always wanted to do that,” recalled the now 18-year-old Miltonian. “Getting fast enough to do that was a big goal of mine.”
Chasing down speed skating success since following big brother Isaac into the sport at the tender age of four, Nigel now finds himself in Calgary as part of the 40-member Short Track National Oval Elite Athlete Pathway program.
It’s the latest chapter in an ever-evolving success story that began as the youngest member of the Milton Speed Skating Club – where some “patient coaches” didn’t need long to spot Nigel’s potential.
Regularly tested against older skaters and gradually benefiting from the lengthy running that went with his Muay Thai training, the would-be standout won his first regional competition in London when he was 10.
Since that early springboard, Nigel’s continued to build on the fundamentals and chipped away at his personal bests – which now have him ranked first among Ontario’s juniors.
He’s trimmed his 500-metre time down to 43.9s, while his 2:22 in the 1,500m is top in the province.
“My progress in the past couple of years has been better (than a lot of top juniors),” said Nigel, who’s now studying electrical engineering at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, and recently took third in the 500m at Calgary’s Western Elite Circuit – besting a number of skaters with much more national-level experience.
“I’ve always been quite explosive in terms of big starts, and all that running for Muay Thai definitely helped with my endurance. In Calgary now the technical advice is so much more refined and precise. It’s been really helpful to understand the body mechanics behind skating.”
With an eye to making the junior national team, looks to shed a bit more time off his two bread-and-butter events – hoping to get his 1,500m under 2:20 – within the next year.
Up next in that overall pursuit is the Canadian Junior Short Track Open, set for Jan. 11 and 12 in Prince George, B.C.