After her retirement at 19: Skater McGregor races to the Olympics for the second time

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Incredible. That’s the word Kaitlyn McGregor (29) uses to describe her career. The Canadian-Swiss skater has achieved what is very rare in elite sport: after a nearly five-year break from the sport, she has returned – and skates better than ever before.

But from the beginning. McGregor grew up in the canton of Zurich. Her whole family is hockey crazy. But as a girl, things aren’t easy for Kaitlyn during this time. There are no juniors of the same age, so Kaitlyn looks for another sport. Her family encourages her to take up skating because she is one of the fastest on her ice hockey team. And while there’s no fun at first (“running lap after lap was boring”), success comes very quickly. “And if you are successful, that is of course motivating.”

Difficult training conditions

She must first train in the Netherlands and then in Inzell, Bavaria, because there is still no 400-meter ice rink in Switzerland. McGregor focuses entirely on the sport and defines herself through her achievements. She trains alone, the problem from her youth ice hockey repeats itself. There is no national team for her to join. When she narrowly missed the Olympic qualification for Sochi 2014, she hit a mental low.

She plans to take a year off from sports. During this time, she focused entirely on her then-boyfriend, ice hockey player Ronalds Kenins. “He moved from Zurich to Vancouver at the time, but was soon passed on again. I was his source of support during this turbulent time for him.” She pushes her own worries to the background until the year comes to an end and she realizes: “I don’t feel like training again at all.”

She built a new life for herself

McGregor retires from skating at the age of 19. She is reorienting her life and completing training as a nutritionist and yoga teacher. The latter is especially good for her. «I have learned to perceive my body correctly. As an athlete you usually do the exact opposite. The body always hurts, so you try to ignore it.”

For four years she never thought about skating for a day. “I completely isolated myself from the stage and didn’t want to see this world anymore.” Until the day that Livio Wenger, Switzerland’s strongest skater, skates to a historic fourth place at the 2018 Olympic Games. Something is stirring in McGregor.

From the end of your career to the top of the world

A little later she visits the ice rink in Inzell, just for fun and to do a few more laps. “And suddenly the spark was there again.” Also because there is now a team. “It was what I always missed. Now I belong here, I have a house. “That makes me strong,” she explains.

McGregor is now running faster than ever before, a top 10 and top 15 placing at the recent World Championships in Canada confirms this and the limit has not yet been reached. ‘I know I can be much better. There’s more to it than that.” She is ready for the next Olympic Games in Cortina in 2026.

Source : Blick