Saskatchewan speed skater William Dutton is back on track
Picks up three medals on the world circuit after taking 6-month break this year
William Dutton is having a great start to the world speed skating season.
In three separate 500 metre events over the past two weekends, the 25-year-old from Humboldt, Sask. has won a silver and two bronze medals.
"I was pretty passionate," Dutton told Eric Anderson on CBC Radio's Saskatchewan Weekend about winning the second medal. "I was mixed between excitement and almost wanting to cry I was so happy."
What makes Dutton's performance so intriguing is that up until five months ago, he considered himself retired from the sport.
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'I didn't feel like speed skating anymore'
"It started in November in 2014, after the Olympics," he explained. "I was on the World Cup circuit, and we had a family member die while I was on the road. He stayed with the tour for another month.
"I still kind of felt like I was a little bit alone," Dutton said, even though he knew he surrounded by teammates and friends. He felt low and wondered if it was time to take a different path.
"I didn't feel like speed skating anymore," he recalled.
Dutton took a break and didn't waver from that decision until this past June when he was tending bar at fellow speed skater Jeremy Wotherspoon's wedding.
He remembered the words from one of Wotherspoon's speeches: "You might think you're busy when you're speed skating, but you're not."
The message resonated and Dutton realized he could pursue a long term career and his speed skating goals at the same time. He decided to lace up his skates again.
He has also, said in previous interviews, that when Speed Skating Canada hired Kevin Crockett to coach Canada's sprinters he was also motivated to return to the sport.
As he started getting more active, he realized that he was still in pretty good shape.
Preparing the mind as well as the body
Dutton said he has been working hard on his mental preparation.
He gave an example of one of his recent races.
"A couple of my teammates raced before me and they posted times that were better than my pb [personal best] at the time. I knew that if I wanted to get a medal I had to go out there and set a personal best."
He said he remembers thinking he could, in the moment, get stressed out, tense up and fail — or focus on the goal.
"You either step it up or you're not going to accomplish it," he said.
In his warm-up, Dutton did a fast 200-meter skate on the inside lane, recalling "it was probably some of the best skating I had ever done, and I kind of felt a surge of confidence before that."
He said the key is staying committed. Before, Dutton said he could be inconsistent, with great races followed by races where he was at the back of the pack. He said his commitment and preparation are now consistent.
"I'm enjoying the preparation just as much as the competition. The preparation just makes the race so much sweeter."