Winter Olympians take inspiration from Canada's success in Rio

Even with a schedule of intense dryland training in Utah, Canadian speed skater Ivanie Blondin made sure she found time to watch her summer compatriots compete in Rio.

"Sometimes I would watch a medal performance and then I would go to training right after and it would just pump me up so much," Blondin, 26, said.  "I am like, 'that could be me in a couple of years.'  It for sure inspires and you can use that fuel towards training or competing every day."

There was no shortage of inspiring moments from Canadian athletes in Rio. From swimmer Penny Oleksiak's surprising gold in the 100-metre freestyle, to the medal march of sprinter Andre De Grasse, there was lots to motivate those watching at home.

"I would watch performances and just get chills as if I were there competing myself, biting my nails right along with them."

Blondin said after competing in Sochi, watching the Games in Rio was a different experience.  It was the first time she watched the Olympics after having competed in one. It's one thing to watch athletes simply compete; it's another to appreciate the intense pressure of the Olympic Games.

"One of my most favourite moments was after Jennifer Abel's fourth-place finish in the [three-metre diving] final," Blondin said, referencing the Quebec diver's post-competition interview. "It really resonated with me that she gave it all and somebody just beat her.  It's not because she lost, somebody just beat her. To me, that's something that's really inspiring to hear from a fellow Olympian."

Share similar experiences

Blondin also enjoyed watching the "bromance" between De Grasse and Jamaican superstar Usain Bolt. The playful relationship really connected with her after she shared a similar experience on the World Cup circuit.

"For example, with [veteran Czech speed skater] Martina Sáblíková, she kind of took me under her wing when we were competing against each other in 3,000 or 5,000 metres," Blondin said.  "It was cool to see other athletes going through that."

Kim Lamarre also couldn't stop watching Canadians perform in Rio.  The freestyle skier from Quebec City knows a thing or two about competing and winning at the Olympic Games. It doesn't mean the bronze medallist from Sochi couldn't learn lessons.

"It was awesome," she said. "I don't know how many times in my life I've heard watching girls' sports on TV is boring.  I don't think any Canadian thought it was boring to watch the Canadian women in Rio and see how strong we are.  It was awesome they got to stand out."

Gold medallist Derek Drouin's high-jump performance also inspired her.

"The preparation he goes through before every jump, how he visualizes it, because visualizing is a big part of my sport," she said. "Seeing how well he does makes me want to get better at it and inspires me get my tricks better on snow."

Lamarre also was paying special attention to athletes who had enjoyed podium success at prior Olympics.

"You see how much people expect from them to get another medal, the pressure," Lamarre said. "It was interesting to see how some athletes handle it better than others and I have to learn that, yes this expectation is there but I have to forget about it if I want to go on with my competition and do well."

Makes the training easy

Quebec's Samuel Girard was also watching what transpired in Rio.  The 20-year-old short-track speedskater is expected to make Canada's team for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.  He is ranked second in Canada beyond Olympian Charles Hamelin.

"Everything we do is for that," he said between training sessions.  This summer, Girard has been putting in exhausting six-days-a-week workouts. He says the joy he saw Canadian athletes experience in Rio makes the training easy.

"I am working hard to put together all of the things I have learned from when I started skating up until today to be the best in Canada, to be the best in the world. To be sure I am at the next Olympics."

Girard says the success of 16-year-old Oleksiak especially showed him that anything is possible at the Olympics.

"She's so young.  It was amazing to see.  And she will probably be in two or three more Olympic Games. It was really nice to see."