It’s no surprise that the Ottawa speed skating community is overjoyed with their local athletes, but Rivet knows it is well deserved. “As the race went on, I was just sitting further and further on my seat and it felt like I was there,” said 19-year-old Kaelan Jolliffe. “Seeing our sport in the forefront and doing so well, and Isabelle with three medals, it’s just amazing to see and it feels like our sport is making an impact,” says 17-year-old Brielle Durham. Now, a new generation of speed skaters at Brewer are looking to reach a similar goal. “And then Isabelle was here from age 11 until about 16, 17.” She stayed in Ottawa until the age of 15,” says Rivet. “Ivanie, I started working with her when she was eight years old. Rivet trained both Weidemann and Blondin as teenagers. “We’re very proud of all the changes we’ve made over the last four years and how we’ve taken the team pursuit in Canada and made it something special.” “It’s taken us a long time to build a team that has chemistry, that works well together,” said Weidemann in a press conference after the gold medal win. It was just great to see the girls finally get what they deserve with all of the hard work they put in over so many years.” “This is where they got most of their base work. “They skated on this very track here,” said Rivet. Mike Rivet has been coaching speed skating for more than 30 years, and is the head coach for the Gloucester Concordes. It all started for Ottawa-born Weidemann and Ivanie Blondin at the Brewer Skate Park in the nation's capital.
It was a moment that Isabelle Weidemann’s family will remember forever as they watched team Canada win Olympic gold in women's team pursuit speed skating.
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