By Colin Budd
Milaine Theriault knows the routine the Canadian cross-country team is going through right now.
That’s because for the last three Winter Olypmics, Theriault has been right beside them. Through the highs and lows, Theriault has been there, from Nagano to Salt Lake City to Turin, she was side by side with her teammates. This time around, the 37-year-old will be watching with the rest of us.
Theriault is no longer involved in competitive racing at the international level. It’s a decision she says she doesn’t regret – for the most part.
“For sure there is a little bit of (the itch to compete). But it’s a lot of hard work, what I did. I’ve been to three Olympics, so I don’t need to do a fourth one,” she laughed. “For sure, I always wanted to compete in my country. I thought about it twice since I retired, that it’s in Canada and that would be nice but I’m over that. Now I’m going to school and doing this work for RBC, so I’m pretty busy.”
Theriault was in Lloydminster speaking to students at Holy Rosary High School and the Lloyd Comp as part of a tour put on by RBC. The events were put together by the local Olympic torch relay committee.
“The kids are really happy to meet an Olympian. Obviously with the Olympics going to Vancouver, they have a lot of questions,” she said Thursday before a presentation at Holy Rosary.
Theriault had some success at the Olympic level, with a handful of top 10 finishes in some of the team events. She was also right in the middle of the action watching Becky Scott and Chandra Crawford win medals.
“You’re so happy,” she said. “I think you’re as happy as they are because you’ve seen them train hard and train with them. My best memory of the Olympics was when Becky Scott won her first medal, we had never won a medal at the Olympics for cross country skiing. We always saw it as a far away goal, but when you see your teammate do it, you know it’s possible and I think it just brings up the level as well.”
She said having the Olympics in this country should be a huge bonus for the athletes that are competing.
“They know the trails really well, they’ve trained there and the national team trained there in the summer as well. And you have your friends and family there,” she said. “I think this is going to be the strongest cross-country team they have had in many years. In the past, we’ve had girls that have won medals, like Becky Scott and Chandra Crawford, but now the guys are very strong. It’s going to be very interesting, I’m going to be watching for sure and cheering for them.”
Photo Caption: Three-time Olympian Milaine Theriault speaks to a class at Holy Rosary on Thursday. – Colin Budd Photo