Why EVERY.SECOND.COUNTS.
for our Canadian Athletes…
In a sport measured in hundredths of a second, every detail matters. I’ve lost a race by just one-hundredth of a second, missed a World Championship title by three, and most recently, edged out my competitors by a mere two-hundredths of a second to claim bronze in the final World Cup of the season—that’s literally faster than a blink of an eye!
A single second might not seem like much in everyday life, but in bobsleigh, it’s everything. Despite racing at speeds over 130 km/h and covering kilometers of track, victories are often decided by very small margins. Excellence is found in the milliseconds!
– Melissa Lotholz, Bobsleigh, CAN Fund Recipient
On the Biathlon World Cup there are so many strong athletes racing which makes the results super tight. If you are able to make up 5 seconds on the last lap of a race, it could mean climbing up 5 places! Biathlon is really a cool sport because if you are not the strongest skier, there is also some opportunity to make up seconds in the shooting range by being quick to hit all of your targets! In relay races, we get the opportunity to use extra bullets in each shooting bout, but you still want to avoid having to use those extra shots, because each spare shot costs about 10 seconds, which is valuable time if you want to be able to stay as close as possible to the pack of teams you are racing against.
– Nadia Moser, Biathalon, CAN Fund Recipient
Every second counts, whether it’s racing up the speed wall or beating the buzzer on a boulder problem. Even in training, it’s the seconds you put in to master your skills, I wouldn’t be the athlete I am today without so many incredibly important seconds.
– Sean McColl, Rock Climbing, CAN Fund Recipient
A second feels like a lifetime really. Milliseconds can look like so much distance between advancing to the next round and being out. And a tenth of a second can mean you don’t get top 16 and don’t qualify to race heats. I feel like in snowboard cross, so many things are possible in a second it’s almost hard to wrap your head around sometimes.
– Meryeta O’Dine, Snowboard Cross, CAN Fund Recipient
Speed skating is a very time-based sport so a tenth of a second can be the difference between winning and 5th place. A tenth of a second is the difference between making the World Cup team and staying home. Every second counts whether it’s at training or at world championships.
– Abigail McCluskey, Speed Skating, CAN Fund Recipient
Every second as an athlete is an opportunity. An opportunity to make decisions on what will help us progress in our sport as well as humans who are driven to inspire and motivate our teammates, colleagues, fellow Canadians and other citizens of the world. Time is the most precious thing to us all. Given enough time, we can build stronger bonds. Reach new heights, and leave great marks on the world. With enough time we can pass every test. Reach beyond our planet and change paradigms. As a Para athlete we are keenly aware that our bodies will go through physical changes over time, and through this we treasure every second that we have good health to make the best decisions on how to keep great things going.
– Austin Smeenk, Para Athletics, CAN Fund Recipient
I would say that in ski cross it’s also about making split second decisions. Reacting to a competitor, making the right move over a feature, or reacting to changing conditions are all real time decisions that could make or break a race or a season.
– Courtney Hoffos, Ski Cross, CAN Fund Recipient
Every second matters campaign – in biathlon we have to qualify for certain races based off a result from a previous race. So in a way, a second can be the difference between qualifying or not, between getting a start in the next race or not!
– Emma Lunder, Biathalon, CAN Fund Recipient
