In Part 1 of our interview with the Gregg Family, we heard about the family's start in speed skating. Read on for more about the Gregg's Olympic experience.
AMAZING EXPERIENCEKathy had many fond memories of her Olympic experiences but the one that seems to stand out the most was the opening ceremonies at Lake Placid. Kathy had to miss her first Opening Ceremonies in Innisbruck since she was racing the very next day, but spoke fondly of the great reception that the Canadians received in 1980 when they entered the stadium.
She's excited for both her children being able to experience the Opening Ceremonies at home, which should be an amazing experience!
Kathy also enjoyed Athlete's Village, at Innsbruck her event was
finished on the second day and she recalled hanging around the Village
for the next 14 days. This year Jamie's event will finish early on as
well, on the third day of competition. Jessica however has a list of
events she'll be participating in that will keep her busy for a while!
MORE SUPPORTING THAN RIVALS
With such an athletic troupe you would expect the Gregg siblings to constantly be pushing themselves however as it turns out both Jamie and Jessica have always been very supportive of each other.
"If there's any sibling rivalry it's between Jessica and Sarah,
since they're both girls", says Kathy. However since Sarah grew up
racing in a younger circuit the intensity level was not as high as it could have been.
When asked if Sarah might feel any pressure watching her big sister compete for Team Canada Kathy playing said, "Probably a little, the baby always tries to keep up." Kathy said that Sarah is working against a tough group of peers in the Canadian Women's speed skating team, so the fact that her siblings have made it will most likely put some added pressure on her to live up to. But so far Sarah has been successful in her own rite.
PRE-EVENT RITUALS?
In regards to ritual Kathy never really had any superstitions to note when she was competing;"I may have worn the same shirt under my but I don't really remember." She did do the same warm up each time but never really considered that any sort of superstition. When asked if Jamie or Jessica have any superstitions Kathy said that they do not, no pre-event rituals or anything like that.
Kathy spoke of the amazing experiences her children have had leading into the Olympics, meeting school children around the Province of Alberta and how great that experience has been.
ON HOME SOIL
Home ice advantage does make a difference, knowing the ice and the track itself. On top of that the outside factors, such as the culture and food of the area, helps as well. And she spoke highly of Canada's chances in speed skating at Vancouver 2010, although she did say that it should be no surprise if no new records are set in these Winter Olympic Games due to the facilities being located at sea level.
Kathy also said that she has been very grateful to have the Petro-Canada
Family program in place to help take care of some of the tickets and
accommodation concerns heading into the Vancouver Winter Olympics. It
has really taken some pressure off of organizing her trip and the other
family members coming in to catch the 2010 Winter Olympics.
The Gregg's are a family with a rich sporting background and a great
Olympic legacy, it was an absolute honour for both Dan and I to be able to speak with a great
former Olympian in Kathy Gregg and wish her children the best of luck at the Vancouver
Winter Olympics. The entire nation will be cheering loud and hard for
both Jamie and Jessica as they go forward and represent Canada.
hello, my name is marisa and i am from Abbotsford. My son, Austin has chosen Randy Gregg for his Project at school. he is in Grade 5 and they are doing a presentatiomn as a first person narrative. we are working very hard and i must say that the more research we do on the Gregg family and randy himself, we are amazed. we watched Jessica at the olympics and we are very proud that the Gregg family are Canadians, way to go, if by chance you do get this message, a reply would be amazing. i would love to bbe able to share our project and Randy, you would be very proud of how austin is going to represent you! oh and he won't be retiring any time soon!!!!
Posted by: Marisa Meola | February 20, 2010 at 11:16 PM