bil.png)
Archive Record
Images
Metadata
Object ID |
2013.55.130 B |
Object Name |
Video Recording |
Title |
Jocelyn Lovell Interview |
Scope & Content |
Jocelyn Lovell interview, 20 July 2008. Digitized MP4 from Sony 40 Advanced ME DVCAM. Two videos with a total viewing time of 01:28:08. 1 of 2; 00:15He did both the sprints and the road race, did it because he had a point to prove and prevent someone else from winning the Gold medal; just loved the racing, loved the difficulty of it meaning he wanted to see if he could win everything, not just one event; "That's all I wanted to do anyway. To do the things that couldn't be done." 02:29What drove you to be an all rounder: started at age 13, in 1963 visited the CNE in Toronto and saw Torchy Peden's gold plated bike, "the man was a god"; talks about meeting Torchy years later in Chicago and the 6-day bike race "the race to nowhere" that Torchy had competed in, lucky to meet someone like that; always looked to people who had done better than him and the reasons why and to go one better 06:10First experience on a bike: his brother used to bike, always had bikes when they were kids, had an older brother who faster and stronger and tried to keep up even though his legs were hurting; when he started to race he did well 07:10What drew you to cycling: it have him the ability to give everything he had into it, knew he was free, when he started doing well at 15 or 16 knew he was young, what drew him was the difficulty, if it was easy everybody had to be doing it 08:10On cycling being a little known sport in Canada: when he started a few were doing well but no one he could look up to who was winning medals; remembers watching the 1964 Olympics and the track events, felt he would not make the 1968 games because they were only 4 years away and he was just starting and that he would be not be competing any more by the time of the 1972 Games; then he did ride in 1968 in Mexico City at 17 and came in 6th and competed again in Munich and Montreal; "it you love doing it and if it's something your blessed with and can do it well, then you can count your lucky starts that you found that, a little bit of something you can do well" 10:07On his early days: when he started he was the youngest rider who was racing, there were no junior races then, raced at 13, very difficult, no one made it easy for him, difficult because the other riders were so big and strong compared to him a skinny kid; ended up being fast, at 16-17-18 you couldn't beat me 11:36What kept you focused: what really drew me to the sport was that it was so difficult to do, what held him, when he did well he looked at the next stage, what else could he do that was difficult, what else could he win; the training was difficult, stayed in Canada and rode his bike in the winter, put sand in his water bottle to make it more difficult, to make it harder on his body and his mind because he knew when it got difficult in the race that when it got harder 14:04On coaches: self-taught, no formal coach because they weren't around, a lot of people around him who could help him and give him ideas, logical things that you don't really thing about such as how to relax at the start of the race, watch others for the mistakes they made, ask older rider questions and watch what they were doing right, what was their mannerisms, how did they handle themselves and their bike, gave the licence in just being himself 19:25Cycling suited him so well; he was told he was a perfectionist, it was something inside him, when racing he had the ability to see the imperfections in people and how they raced, also saw the perfections and it bothered his mind, "it's the mind that controls the body", adopted those moves, aimed at being just perfect, hurting but not showing he was hurting; stubbornness or ability not to give up or quit; standing on the podium as a Canadian; "we can be free here in Canada, the freest country in the world", racing against Europeans who were conservative appealed to him 24:00Love of sport and freedom resulted in who he is; "Living in this country, the best country in the world and going to so many countries and racing and coming back here, realizing what we have, maybe even more so, made me more of a Canadian."; learned how to race a bike properly in Holland because it was so difficult due to the winds, "pride does not allow you to show how difficult it is and how you hurt", also learned to speak Dutch 26:27On the disciplines he raced: road race at the Nationals in 1967, that gained him selection to the Pan American Games, he was not a Canadian citizen at that point [was from England ] but got his citizenship; did the 1000m time trial on the track and came in 4th, trained to do it but didn't like it because so tense and nervous and dependent on whether you had everything right because you had to go 100%, did other races like the 4000 and road race, did well at everything because he thought "it's just a bike race. Let's try it out" 29:38Talks about Torchy Peden: asked him about taking anything during the 6-Day bike race and being told they may have taken a shot of brandy and a raw egg yolk, no mention of drugs; when he started racing he didn't know anyone who took drugs although it was talked about in the European context 30:59On Torchy: It was a tremendous experience to meet someone who was so great, who had do many memories, he was a tall, big guy with tree trunks for legs 31:36On his signature events: the event he was good at seemed to be the 1000m time trial and his best was Second at the Worlds, which is still losing; good at the mass start in the road race, had good sprint at the end, no world Championships at this time but the prized were good 33:22One race that stands out: when you race for 20 years from 13 to 33, 1963 to 1983, lots of races you go in, lot of races he proud of because of the effort; the race that made an impact was the 10 mile race at the 1978 Commonwealth Games, he had won it 8 years earlier in Scotland, had also won the 1 km and the tandem in 1978; talks about the race and the strategy, really good victory and looked good doing it, fun to do 37:16On strategy: knew there was a time in the race when you really had to go, usually it was your legs that were cracking and not someone else's; if someone couldn't stay with you it was because they weren't trying as hard; talks about attacking when everyone else is taking a breather, "the time it hurts the most is when you stop the effort, not while you are do it, so if you continue on you go through the hurt"; it is in the mind, pushing hard, pushing past those limits, "your mind controls the body. You learn the mind controls the mind" 39:36On innovation: always kept his eyes open, always listened, always asked question when he was younger; went to the National Research Council in Ottawa to use the wind tunnel to test a bike with different spokes, was the first cyclist to do that, learned about aerodynamics and what works and what doesn't work, learned to keep his elbows in and the lower the better 2 of 2; 00:01Talks about his bike, taking care of it himself, paying attention to detail 01:56When did you start building bikes: 1980, looking for something to do after he left cycling, learned how to build frames, called the Lovell, did well, novelty wore off and he sold the business 03:32Were they innovative bikes: can't really change a bike; bike he made for himself was a little different in the frame and handle bars all one piece and surprisingly light, very aerodynamic 05:14On the 1980 Olympics: boycott, ready to try another Games and win a medal; doesn't agree with the invasion of any free country, agreed with the boycott, "I didn't get to go to Moscow that ain't the big thing. The big thing is your freedom and to respect the freedoms of others that we here in Canada take for granted. And maybe we shouldn't. We've got to fight for that kind of stuff and I don't mean invading other countries. I mean support other countries that are free." 08:29Most proud of: "I was ready to give it up in a second if it meant I had to be someone else rather than Jocelyn Lovell; the only thing I could do really well, the only thing that was really me, I was ready to give that up. I would not be anyone else but myself." 09:23On his induction: "to think that now I was here. It was an honour, a surprise, to be in the same class as George Chuvalo, Tom Longboat and Wayne Gretzky was the greatest honour." 11:14On his legacy:"If you find something that you really love to do, don't let anybody say that you can't do it. Don't let anybody say that you aren't good enough. If you really love doing it then do it to the absolute best of your ability. And make sure you have fun doing it because you miss the point if you don't have fun doing it. And if you don't get your self-respect out of it. If it isn't your cup of tea, move on, do something else. Do something that you really love to do. And if you love doing it, count yourself lucky." 12:43Did you have a lot of crashes: accidents are crashes that you can see coming, didn't happen often, the further back in the peloton you get the lesser riders, talks about mistakes they can made, so accidents can happen there; you don't want to crash and wreck your bike 15:34Life of change: refers to the accident, "like they say, shit happens", just got to deal with it or not deal with it, just go to do the best you can, same as in bike racing; winning a Gold medal now would be finding a cure for spinal cord injury, would like to get back on his bike, would be fun, would be one more thing he was not supposed to do 16:43Are we close to finding a cure: getting closer, idea has sunk in it can be done, seeing people in wheelchairs in the Olympic Games doesn't help, the more we work at spinal cord injury and doing away with wheelchairs eventually we can do it 17:32Do you visualize getting back on bike: he doesn't visualize this, has a bike from the 1940's and the bike he was riding the day of the accident, it is flat because it went under the tires of the truck, he is better looking than the bike 18:18On being the Canadian co-ordinator for the Spinal Cord Society: a volunteer position, it is a research organization looking for the cure for spinal cord injury, solve the issue and you solve all the other issues such as jobs for the handicapped and wheelchair ramps, also solve the neurological problem which effects stroke, etc., it will get done, just takes time, it's pressure that will get it done, not the lack of money 20:42Is there one year that stands out: 1978 when he won 3 medals at the Commonwealth Games and the silver at the Worlds or 1983 the last year he rode before he was injured, won many races, was good. 1978 was a magical year that you know about; talks about other races that were good 23:04Introduction to the Hall 23:18How much practise time: 24 hours a day, it never left my mind, always working hard, always thinking of a better way 24:56Goals for practise: everything you do must be aimed at bike racing, going fast and making it easier 25:11Greatest memory: the 10 miles at the Commonwealth Games, winning that one, simply because he was one of those riders who should not have won it, someone should have beaten me, a sweet victory 26:13Role model: did not have one, would always change because it would be the person who was better than him, role model was the good in everyone that he saw, there is good stuff to take from everyone 27:10Why play sport: didn't get involved in anything else out there, wanted to be an individual, not one of the sheep 27:55What sport taught you: there is always another person out there who is better than you, that the most important person is yourself, not what other people think about you, do you respect yourself 29:81In what way did participation in sports affect your overall life: showed him the world, took him every place, taught him a couple of languages, taught him discipline, humility, so much more than could learn in school 30;10What makes a winner: there are many reason why there is a winner; for me there was one reason to win, a point to prove 30:56A winner is a guy that never gives up, never ever quit, always finish the race, keep on doing that and you win eventually 31:34Define success: on that day if you were able to give it 100% of yourself in trying to win 32:26Best leader: Mohammed Ali, because when he started they didn't like him being himself, the more he said "I'm the greatest" the more he did it 34:04Life lesson: if you have fun doing it and it's what you want to do and it's difficult for you, then do it 100% of your ability, never quit, never give up 34:36Final words on retirement: "it's been fun" 34:50On one of the stories about him: lots of stories told about him, wish he had done them 35:58Final thoughts: "it's been fun. It was a real gas doing those bike races all those years. Winning and the losing, because losing is the only way you learn because you don't learn from winning." 36:33Shows wall of framed certificates, medals and clippings |
Date |
2008/07/20 |
People |
Lovell, Jocelyn Peden, Torchy |
Search Terms |
Cycling Jocelyn Lovell cycling track Interview 1978 Commonwealth Games Edmonton 1971 Pan American Games 1975 Pan American Games World Championships 1968 Olympic Games Mexico City 1972 Olympic Games Munich 1976 Olympic Games Montreal 1970 Commonwealth Games |