Jeremy Wotherspoon knows that after powering around the world’s speedskating ovals for most of his life, retirement won’t come easy.
But the Canadian long-track skater, who announced Saturday that he was calling it quits on a remarkable career, hopes the excitement of his next challenge will help ease him through the tough transition.
The 33-year-old has been named the head coach of an international training centre in Inzell, Germany, working with skaters from fledgling programs around the world.
“I don’t think it’s going to be a breeze to transition out of the sport, because you always feel like there’s things you could have done better. . . ’Maybe I should do it a bit longer and try and achieve this or that, or make this goal,”’ Wotherspoon said Sunday from Heerenveen, Netherlands.
“But I think that that’s better than just: ’I’ve got to get out.’
“It’s good to retire and still want to be involved in a sport. And I am really looking forward to this.”
Wotherspoon teamed up with Dutch entrepreneur Marnix Wieberdink, who owns Sport Navigator.nl, several years ago to help skaters from developing programs.
Wotherspoon wore the logo of KIA, the company’s main sponsor, on his racing suit. He was the marquee name meant to attract other skaters to the program.
“This was just sort of a dream Marnix had,” Wotherspoon said. “He’s Dutch and he was seeing how these Dutch corporate teams work and how they have so much funding, and there were all these skaters from Eastern Europe and other countries trying to get by.
“He said his dream was to have a program for them, so they could train at a similar environment as the well-off countries like Canada, the Netherlands, the United States, Japan and Korea and Germany. . . I said ‘If you ever get the team, I will be your coach.”’
Marnix bought a hospital in Inzell to convert into housing for athletes and coaches, and a roof is currently being constructed over the oval there to make it an indoor facility.
Wotherspoon’s position will start in the spring of 2011 when the facility is ready. Until then, he wants to finish some work on his house in Calgary, which he said he’ll hang onto. He always planned to do some travelling to study under other international speedskating coaches.
Wotherspoon leaves the sport as perhaps the greatest sprinter of all-time. The Red Deer, Alta., native holds the 500-metre world record of 34.03 seconds and owns more World Cup victories than any other male skater with 67.
He also captured three 500-metre world titles and another in the 1,000, four sprint world championships, and a silver in the 500 at the Nagano Olympics in 1998.
However, he struggled at the next three Games. Wotherspoon was a heavy favourite in the 500 at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake but stumbled at the start. He underperformed in Turin four years later and settled for a ninth-place effort last month at the Vancouver Games.
He had hoped to end his career competing this week in the Netherlands, but was sidelined by a staph infection in his thigh that required surgery and a four-day stay in hospital.
During a break in Sunday’s World Cup action at Thialf, the Heerenveen oval, announcers called the Canadian skater to the infield. They spoke to Wotherspoon in front of the appreciative Dutch crowd about his long and illustrious career.
“That was nice to have that opportunity,” Wotherspoon said. “I thought this would be a great place to have my last competition, because it’s in the Netherlands which is a huge speedskating country and the fans here are always really appreciative. I was looking forward to it.”
Now, he’s excited about his move to Inzell, a picturesque city of just over 4,000 that sits right on the edge of the German Alps, about a 90-minute drive from Munich.
“It’s a nice area, there’s lots to do there for a coach, there’s the mountains, so there’s skiing, hiking, so I can stay healthy. I think it’s a good place to live a healthy lifestyle.
“I’m also looking forward to the challenge of this new job. It’s a totally new concept in speed-skating and I think it’s going to create some changes in the sport and I think it’s going to be really good for the development of the sport.”