THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
HEERENVEEN, Netherlands — Fresh off another gold medal at another international event, Canadian speedskater Kristina Groves chuckled when asked about any plans she might have to retire, declaring: "I’m getting old, you know?"
The 33-year-old used that veteran savvy again Sunday, capturing gold in the 1,500-metre race at the World Allround Speedskating Championships. She won in a time of one minute 56.64 seconds, overcoming the overwhelming sense of fatigue that had taken root in the chaos of an Olympic year.
The Ottawa native won silver in the same event at the Vancouver Games, took home bronze in the 3,000-metre race — and has been on the move ever since.
"Pretty much the entire time I was here, I felt like I wanted to go home, except when I was skating or racing — and I thought that was a really good sign," Groves said in a conference call with reporters. "Every time the gun went off, I felt like I was really enjoying it, and I was really focused and I wanted to have good races.
"And then when I was hanging out in my hotel room, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I want to go home."’
Dutch skater Ireen Wust took second with a time of 1:56.86, while Martina Sablikova of the Czech Republic placed third in 1:57.23. The Winnipeg duo of Brittany Schussler (1:58.28) and Cindy Klassen (2:00.26) finished in sixth and 16th, respectively, while Edmonton’s Nicole Garrido placing 24th (2:04.40).
Groves won a silver medal in the women’s final classification and also posted a fourth-place finish in the 5,000-metre race.
"It makes the Olympics seem like they were just a dream, or like it didn’t even happen," Groves said. "I haven’t even had a chance to enjoy what happened there, because it was back on the road, race, get ready and focus on the world championships."
Groves added that she is leaning toward returning to competition next season, but has yet to decide on whether she will aim for another run to the Olympics, which are another four years away, in Sochi, Russia.
"The thought of four years right now makes me kind of nauseous," Groves said with a laugh. "There’s nothing you can do to prepare for just the sheer intensity of a home Games experience. It was really exhausting and, in a lot of ways, it takes a lot out of you to be able to do that."
She did not offer a timeline of when that decision might be made.
"There is no way at this point that I would commit to four years, and there is no way that I would say that it’s not going to happen," Groves said. "So, it’s definitely wide open. I think, over time, I’ll be able to sort of step back a little bit and evaluate what I really want to do with the rest of my life."