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Archive Record
Images
Metadata
Object ID |
2013.55.126 B |
Object Name |
Video Recording |
Title |
Nathalie Lambert Interview |
Scope & Content |
Nathalie Lambert interview, 11 December 2008. Digitized MP4 from Sony 40 Advanced ME DVCAM. Two videos with a total viewing time of 01:06:56 1 of 2; 00:25Childhood: born and raised in Montreal 00:45Impact of the 1976 Olympics: grew up in poor neighbourhood, school nearby hosted volunteers, got to meet people from other countries, met Nadia Comaneci, inspired her to want to do something, started speed skating a few months later, she inspired a lot of people and she was the highlight of the games 02:20Took a lot away from '76, sports was a totally new discovery, without the Games might not have had a career in speed skating, there was an ice rink across the street that was a legacy of the Games 03:04How did you find speed skating: living across the street from an ice rink, the first Montreal club opened in the fall of '76, found the sport there, fell in love with it right away, not particularly talented, got to travel around the province, Ontario and the northern States to compete and loved it, was to got new culture, others mastered the corners and technique before she did but she kept on going, had a coach who believed if you put in the effort you would get somewhere, no door shut for her, just a longer process 05:03Coach: Yves Nadeau, he knew nothing about speed skating but he did know cycling and how to coach, they taught him how to skate, he grew with them starting as a club coach and then became the national coach, with her until she retired, he valued performance, effort, perseverance, appreciated all his skaters if they worked hard even if they didn't get a medal; she would not have persevered without a coach like that because she did not win medals 06:19Has seen a lot of coaches and it takes that kind of coach to bring athletes to that level because you get some athletes who are gifted and some who are late bloomers like herself; takes more time to master coordination and technique, once she had that everything else fell in place because she had the strength and endurance; had the raw quality and the fine tuning came later 07:02On her mother: her mother found the coach, had impact and involvement and was a true volunteer for the sport, she started the Montreal club and the national training centre, organized the coach, organized funding, died in 1997, lived her life to the fullest 08:42Other sports: grew up doing a little bit of everything but nothing too seriously, nothing competitive, what attracted her to speed skating was the friendships and travelling, didn't aspire to the Olympics at that time, into fun and play 10:17Turning point into being competitive: not a particular instance of being aware she 'had something', started at the provincial level, competed at the Quebec Games in her age group and finished last, came back with the thought "I can only improve", hated to lose, wanted to improve and do better in next competition, a slow and constant moving forward process, loved to train as much as the competition, trained all summer which made her improve, when she got to the national level she got to travel across Canada, did both long and short track at that time, short track was at the beginning of the season, did long track in December on the outdoor rink and finished with short track at the end of the season, got better in long track first and made the national team before she made it in short track, 1984 wanted to go to the Olympics but didn't make the Olympic standard for Canada, saw Gaetan Boucher win his medals and thought "I really want to live that once in my life", that was the turning point 13:45Are you always tough on yourself: had a lot of help, her Mom was her #1 fan, coach Yves Nadeau who made her feel special; she and a true passion for everyday life in the sport and not just the performances, the social aspect was very important to her, it was a slow process but going somewhere, not necessarily to go to the Olympics but just to get further, mentally it takes a lot of hard work to get somewhere in life, downside perception it is always going to be hard and nothing come easy, upside is that you never give up 15:48On the genesis of how speed skating changed: short track got accepted as a demonstration sport in 1988 and at the same time a covered ice rink was built for the first time; both sports stated to develop in the 1980's because of that; short track now an Olympic sport, more prestigious, better quality of competition; long track with the covered rink had a longer season and both sports started to overlap so athletes had to specialize in one after 1988; the technique for both is the same, qualities needed for both are the same - strong, powerful, endurance; the equipment is different, the clap skate in long track and the short track blade is offset with a slight bend for better grip in the corner so the boots don't touch the ice; now harder for someone to do both, talks about how Canada has maintained top place over the past 20 years when other countries have not, how Canada developed athletes, coaches, programme and a federation 18:56Breakthrough performance: making the national team in 1983, talks about how the short track boot was developed in Quebec and how she decided to invest in this expensive boot, she reached the finals in the World Championships that season finishing 8th, next year she was 3rd; had to choose between the two sports in 1988, chose short track because of her top placements at the Worlds and being 15th in long track, that was the beginning 21:121988: won a bronze medal in the relay event, was a rough year for her, was being beaten by others who she had beat the year before, found out she was anemic which is why she was not doing well, took care of her condition, in 1989 she choked at the World Championships and also in 1990, became World Champion in 1991, finally believing in having the possibility to do that, she was better physically than mentally for the longest time in her career, took 15 years to put into her head that she had the confidence to win 23:13Why did you choke in '89 and '90: had hard time controlling nervousness, not in control of her races, could do it in training and races that didn't count as much, when it really did matter had hard time being overwhelmed that it did really matter, throughout her career the biggest challenge to overcome was being prepared mentally 24:11'91 was the turning point: she changed her attitude, with her coach went over what she was doing right, what she could do better; was always crushed after losing at the Worlds and didn't want to feel that way anymore; remind yourself you really love doing this and put extra effort in everyday; at the end of the season no matter the result you will be happy because you have done everything to the best you do; the goal at that Worlds was not necessarily to win but to come back happy, approached with a different mind frame and confidence in her season and was happy; (28:28) "I was my toughest judge", she was coaching herself and she applied this attitude far better to her kids but not to herself 27:19On the Gold medal in the relay in Albertville: no external pressure, as a team they knew they could win, had the world record, had won the Worlds & had never lost a relay before those games, only 2 events for women at those games, knew she didn't have a chance in the 500m so it was about the relay, shared with the rest of the team, confident, no external pressure outside of "we want to win this"; first time short track was a medal sport in the Olympics, winning was the best thing ever, made her sport more special to her and her life experience getting a medal as a team was special, had been together a long time and had brought the sport to the Olympics 30:34On the race: easy race, China was not there, talks about the race and how they got a big gap over the second place team, the bigger challenge had been in the semi-final 31:50On her physical size: talks about muscle mass that skaters need and strength in the upper body, how you develop strength in the lower body 33:28On Lillehammer: much harder than Albertville, first time that as a team they had very high expectations, lot of media attention, the coaches, athletes and the federation were all a little bit overwhelmed by that, not prepared for that; won 2 Silver medals and happy about that, talks about skater falling in the relay and getting Silver, mixed feeling about that; in 1994 she was a contender for the Gold in the 500m, knocked down by an American, feels that skater should have been disqualified, it was the end of her dream of Olympic fairness, feels the referees were overwhelmed and they changed the outcome in the women's races; the 1000m was her last chance, raced that race for an individual medal before retiring, proud that under the circumstances she won the Silver, it is the most precious medal because it was the hardest one to get in her whole career; those games were a struggle for the entire team 38:12Proudest memory: the performance she is most proud of the Silver medal from 1994 and the 3 World Championships, her whole career was an investment as a whole and what she is most proud of; remembers walking into the stadium in Calgary in 1988 and the response from the crowd, one of her favourite sport memories 39:20Do you do a lot of public speaking: did some schools, now does corporate 2 of 2; 00:01As Chef de Mission for 2010: amazing honour, opportunity, chance to relive the rush of adrenaline and emotions, she can emphasize with the athletes, describes the position 01:44On the adrenaline rush: talks about missing her friends and the connections she made, live your best and worst moments with them; misses the adrenaline rush of having to perform on one single day 03:54On the speed factor: win by crossing the finish line first, the notion of speed is there every day in training; easily rewarding if you see you have done a good time, always trying to go faster, it is controlled speed, the security aspect of being too close to the other skaters is more important; decided in 1997 to retire was she was getting a little chicken about being on the edge and needing to control that speed 05:50On being in the zone: you always think you can go faster than you are going; a lot of moments when you are having a real good time, talks about break world record times in training, so much fun to see improvement, "you'll never be better than what you can see you can do in your head", once your believe it in your head your body can more easily do it 07:38On her injury: retired in 1994, was ill prepared for the humility it takes for life after sport, you leave something comfortable and that you have mastered, you were well supported and now have to move into an area where things are not so concrete and the passion is less; she missed skating, her friends, the competition, wanted to live a better Olympics, she came back but didn't listen to her body, broke her ankle 09:37On being inducted in the CSHoF: feels good to know that somewhere it will be written that you have done something at one particular moment in your life, proud, in a way buying immortality for yourself 12:11Introduction to the Hall in English and French 13:49How much time did you devote to practice: started 1-2 times a week, at the end of her career was 20-15 hours a week, it was her whole passion, life commitment, my work at the end 14:09Goals: set goals for everything, way of challenging and improving herself, lot of good skaters in Canada who train and compete together every day, that is why Canada is still so competitive internationally 14:53Greatest memory: the 22 years of her career; the first time she walked into an Olympic stadium in Calgary in 1988, so overwhelming to get a standing ovation as the host team, all about fun, pride and being happy to be there 15:28Role model: her coach Yves Nadeau had the biggest influence on her career, played a huge role in her toughing it out as a speed skater, he believed in perseverance, time and effort 16:07Should a young person play sports: great in your life to pursue something and invest and spend time and effort just to see where it can bring you, doesn't have to be sport, important not just to try to do thinks quick and easy, gives personal value and reward into spending time where it can happen 16:44What did sports teach you about yourself: taught her she is a fighter, have guts, pigheaded in a good way, willing to invest and put in effort and made her realize she was a lot tougher than she thought she was, can deal with anything 17:15In what way did your participation in sport affect your life: 22 years of speed skating made her who she is, travelled the world, lived huge experiences like the Olympic Games and the stress that comes with it and the preparation you need, life would be different without speed skating and she would not be the same Nathalie 18:06What makes a winner: someone that is a good loser, in the sense that someone takes the failure and turns it into the drive to get better, the drive to come back and will pick yourself up and try again harder or in a different way and not give up, have to be able to handle the loss 18:48Define success: try to be the best that you can and do that with integrity and respect, for others, for sport, referees, for things happening in a tough situation 19:17Best leaders: talks about Dan Jansen, an American speed skater who was an inspiration because it took him 4 Olympic Games to win Gold, an overwhelming story 20:27Advice to young children: you make your life easier and more fun if you give yourself the tools to have a passion for something, to be dedicated and have the will to do something 22:00On having the genes for a particular sport and coaching kids that don't have it: some sports need the physical aspect, vast majority of sport it is the mix that will make you a champion, some are more gifted or less gifted, can get somewhere with the less gifted if they are more perseverant and willing to invest and not give up; not the same for everyone 24:32On those who gave up: lots of kids who do win easily don't last, not ready to give the effort and quit before reaching their potential, the one who is used to the effort does the best 25:29What sports do you have an eye on: all the winter sports because want to be #1 in Vancouver, depth in winter sports in Canada 26:22"Ordinary people can achieve extraordinary things. It's just a question of not giving up and believing in yourself." |
Date |
2008/12/11 |
People |
Lambert, Nathalie Nadeau, Yves |
Search Terms |
women in sport interview Nathalie Lambert Interview speed skating short track 1992 Olympic Winter Games Albertville 1994 Olympic Winter Games Lillehammer World Championships 1988 Olympic Winter Games Calgary |