THE CANADIAN PRESS
Jeremy Wotherspoon’s season is over, and perhaps his career is too, after the Canadian speedskating star underwent surgery for an infection in his groin.
Brian Rahill, Speed Skating Canada’s high performance director, confirmed to The Canadian Press via email Thursday night that the 33-year-old went under the knife in Erfurt, Germany, and that he would be unable to skate in this weekend’s World Cup final in Heerenveen, Netherlands.
Wotherspoon said in December that this season would be his last and decided at the Olympics to compete in the final two World Cups of the season because he wanted to race more before walking away. He finished 11th in the 500 metres Saturday in Erfurt.
"Unfortunately, Jeremy is done," wrote Rahill. "He had surgery in Erfurt last Wednesday to address an infection in his groin."
Unclear is what led to Wotherspoon’s infection, what his prognosis is and what his future plans are.
If he does indeed retire, the native of Red Deer, Alta., leaves as one of the greatest-ever speedskaters. He holds the 500-metre world record of 34.03 seconds, owns more World Cup victories than any other male skater with 67, possesses three 500-metre world titles plus another in the 1,000, four sprint world championships, and an oft-forgotten 500 Olympic silver from 1998.
Wotherspoon battled back from a broken left arm last November to compete at his fourth Olympics last month, finishing ninth in the 500 and 14th in the 1,000.
In an interview last month, he said he’d like to remain in the sport as a coach: "For me that feels like the most natural fit, but I won’t know until I try it."
Wotherspoon’s surgery comes with the Canadian long-track speedskating team preparing for the first of the season’s two remaining events that opens Friday in Heerenveen, focused as much on the start of a new Olympic cycle as on finishing out the campaign strong.
There are overall World Cup titles at stake for the likes of Christine Nesbitt (who plans to race despite neck stiffness), Kristina Groves and both the men’s and women’s pursuit teams this weekend, but it’s also a time of transition.
Veterans like Clara Hughes and Mike Ireland retired after their races at the Vancouver Games, with Wotherspoon and perhaps Groves and Cindy Klassen to join them at season’s end.
That’s why the World Cup final and next weekend’s World Allround Championships, also in Heerenveen, represent an opportunity for the next generation of skaters like Lucas Makowsky, Mathieu Giroux and Nicole Garrido to get a headstart on building for the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia.
"Obviously in an Olympic year these events don’t have their usual status," said Brian Rahill, Speed Skating Canada’s high performance director. "The way we look at it, these two races are almost more the beginning of the next quadrennial in many ways.
"For some athletes it’s perhaps their last races to compete if they’re deciding to retire but in many ways we’re looking more at some of the other participants taking perhaps the first step towards the next four years."
Still, there is some immediate business to be taken care of with Nesbitt front and centre in that regard.
The Olympic 1,000-metre champion should have little trouble locking up the overall World Cup title at the distance thanks to a big lead over German Monique Angermuller, and she is also just 50 points behind Groves for the 1,500 championship.
But soreness in her neck hampered the London, Ont., native at last week’s World Cup stop in Erfurt, Germany and has lingered this week. She’s hoping to get through this weekend but the injury prompted her to pull out of the allround championships.
"Easy day (Thursday) before the last races of the year!" Nesbitt said on her Twitter feed. "Made it through last weekend, it wasn’t pretty! Still not great, but got a couple days yet!"
It’s unclear if she’ll join up with Ottawa’s Groves and Brittany Schussler of Winnipeg to try and secure the team pursuit title over Russia, which is 50 points back. They may be looking for some redemption after their stunning quarter-final loss to the unheralded U.S. at the Winter Games.
Groves, who won silver and bronze at the Olympics, will also be looking to improve her position in the 3,000 standings with a good skate. She’s also in line to compete at the allround championships, but her future after that is a question mark.
She said earlier this season that retirement was a possibility but that she wouldn’t really think about it until the racing was done.
The same goes for Klassen, the Winnipeg native who is tied with Hughes as the winningest Canadian Olympian with six career medals. Klassen made a gutsy recovery from double knee surgery in the summer of 2008 to skate in the 2010 Games but said afterwards she wasn’t sure if she’d continue in the sport.
The toll on her knees means she has lost much of the trademark power that allowed her to win five medals at the 2006 Olympics, and it’s unclear if she can improve enough technically to make up for it.
Denny Morrison of Fort St. John, B.C., meanwhile, will be hoping pick up a few more positives after his see-saw Vancouver Games with a strong performance in the men’s 1,000, and by helping the Olympic champion pursuit team track down the leading Dutch in the World Cup standings.
Morrison won’t skate in the allrounds, but Regina’s Makowsky and Montreal’s Giroux, his pursuit teammates, will as they continue their growth for 2014.
Also scheduled to skate this weekend are Jamie Gregg of Edmonton; Jeff Kitura of Langley, B.C.; Kyle Parrott of St. Albert, Alta.; Shannon Rempel of Winnipeg; and Justin Warsylewicz of Regina.
The others rounding out the world allround championships lineup: Nicole Garrido of Edmonton; Kitura; Schussler; and Warsylewicz.
"For some of them it’s just trying to finish the season on a positive note," said Rahill. "For others, we hope it’s a building block for the next four years in what they need to accomplish."