prepare the house to come down when she appear
Rochette prepares to skate through heartbreak
The Globe and Mail
By Sean Gordon and Beverley Smith, The Globe and Mail Posted Monday, February 22, 2010 10:57 PM ET
Former Olympian Sylvie Fréchette was expecting the summons and immediately sought out its sender, Canadian figure skating champion Joannie Rochette.
Earlier in the day, Rochette had learned her mother, Thérèse, had died of a sudden heart attack shortly after arriving in Vancouver to watch her skate.
"Mostly, I listened, I wanted her to be able to express herself, if she wanted to cry or scream or swear or whatever ... I wanted her to feel on safe ground," Fréchette said.
That's because she, more than most, could identify with what the 24-year-old from Ile Dupas, Que., was feeling.
Less than a week before Fréchette was to leave for the 1992 Olympics, she lived through something so tragic that 17 years later, she has no memory of the 24 hours that followed.
Fréchette's boyfriend had taken his life in their apartment, and almost before it could register, she had a decision to make: fly to Spain or stay home.
"I was talking to my psychologist, and he quietly brought up Barcelona, and it was like a glimpse of light ... I had this crazy need to feel alive," the former synchronized swimmer said. "We're trained to perform, and the most efficient way to get rid of that lump [of emotion] is to train.
"I needed to be back in my environment, where I didn't have to think."
A handful of Canadian athletes, like Fréchette, who went on to win gold in Barcelona, former women's hockey star Danielle Goyette - who lost her father during the 1998 Nagano Games but still led her team to silver - and Own the Podium head Roger Jackson, a former medal-winning rower, have all gone through similar experiences.
Like Rochette, each felt a burning need to continue competing despite the pain.
"It will demand a huge emotional effort, but it might be two-fold, where with such a situation and a competition happening so quick you kind of just go on autopilot and you'll get through the competition," said Canadian team leader Michael Slipchuk, a former Olympic figure skater. "Maybe after the competition, when it's all finished, might be a time where it will be a little tougher and the realization will come in of what's actually happened."
Rochette took to the ice of the Pacific Coliseum shortly after 2 p.m. on Monday, dressed in black from head to toe, her father and other family members and friends watching from the stands.
She nailed her first practice jump in the corner of the ice nearest her family, who applauded her every landing; Rochette practised her short routine confidently and coolly, much as she did on Sunday only hours after learning of her mother's passing.
Rochette had been rooming in the athletes village with ice dancer Tessa Virtue, but has now been moved to a room where she could be alone.
"It's devastating, our hearts go out to Joannie and her family, it's so tough. Luckily she has a great support team around her, what can you say, it's just so sad," Virtue said on Sunday night.
According to Canadian team officials, she has been consulting with her sports psychologist, Wayne Halliwell, and coach Manon Perron, who is also a close friend of Rochette's family.
While Rochette and her relatives have asked for privacy, others in her circle went public with their devastation. Former boyfriend François-Louis Tremblay - the two split last fall but remain friends - couldn't contain his tears in addressing Rochette's loss.
"It isn't really my place ... [but] I hope Joannie will be strong," the short-track speed skating star said in a choked voice. "What I really want to say is that I hope she'll be able to spend time with her family and the people who are close to her, that's the most important thing, not a competition."
High-performance athletes often pride themselves on their mental toughness and their ability to block out externalities, an ethic summed up by former Canadian Olympic silver medalist Brian Orser.
"I would have skated, of course ... I've never been there. And I can't imagine what it would be like. But she's got good people around her," said Orser, who coaches South Korean superstar Kim Yu-Na, the gold-medal favourite in the women's individual event.
Different people experience bereavement in different ways, but it's no surprise to the people who know Rochette best that she has decided the show must go on.
"She's a tough skater, a tough lady, this is how she's achieved what she has in skating, it's how you handle these situations and move forward that make you stronger ... all along I felt she would continue and compete," Slipchuk said. "Where she probably feels the best in this situation is on the ice."
The sympathy for Rochette's situation is keenly felt in the close-knit figure skating community, the Canadian delegation has received messages of condolence from all the countries represented in the Olympic competition and from organizations like Hockey Canada.
"I just cannot imagine how she'll get herself in the frame of mind other than maybe the shock of it all is ... subconsciously, she may just get through this not realizing truly what has happened," said American coach Robin Wagner, who works with Georgian skater Elene Gedevanishvili. "How she's come to that decision and what she's feeling, I don't know. Somewhere in her heart she'll reach down."
Fréchette, who is working as an athletic services officer for Canadian athletes at the Olympic Village, said she has been "joined at the hip" with Rochette over the past couple of days and senses she is ready to compete.
"I guess that because I've been through something similar, but not the same, I can help her establish some parameters on how she's feeling," she said. "She wants to do this ... I'll be watching her [today]. I think everyone will."