Brianne Tutt hopes her string of recent success on the speed skating oval will continue into the new year.
The local long track speed skater began her third and final Junior World Cup season last month with first place finishes, and personal best times, in the 500-metre, 1,000-metre and 3,000-metre races during the Calgary event, Nov. 18-21. She also placed second in the 1,500-metre.
During the Canada Cup #1 race in Quebec City, Dec. 3-5, she finished second in the 5,000-metre, third in the 3,000-metre and fifth in the 1,500-metre. But her most thrilling accomplishment so far this year was when she placed high enough to qualify as an alternate for the Canadian women’s World Cup team.
Tutt, 18, currently ranked third in the Junior World Cup’s 3,000-metre rankings, qualified for the Senior World Cup team because of her top-eight spot in the junior ranks. During the Senior World Cup trials, held in October, she placed fifth in the 5,000-metre and sixth in the 3,000-metre.
“This year, I worked hard enough to qualify for the Senior World Cup trials, where I qualified to be the first alternate in the 5,000-metre and second alternate in the 3,000-metre,” Tutt said.
“It is one of my favourite competitions throughout the season, because I get the chance to compete against Olympians such as Cindy Klassen and Christine Nessbit. Making the team is one of the best things that has happened to me in speed skating. It shows that the many hours a day I spend working on technique and endurance is starting to pay off.”
Last season, Tutt travelled to competitions in Germany and Russia and hopes to go to events in Italy, Finland and the Netherlands early in 2011.
“This year, we have not travelled much, as our season has just started, but travelling and meeting new people is my favourite part about playing sports,” she said. “Usually, we will take time to tour around the city in the first two days we are there, and then we have to prepare to race.”
Tutt also began her first year in SAIT’s paramedic program in September and faces the daily challenge of balancing her training and athletic career with her school work.
“The only downfall to travelling so much is trying to keep up with my university work,” she said. “But my teacher is very nice and helps work around my competition schedule.”
