Ewen Barclay now knows exactly how she stacks up against international competition. The Fonthill resident had admitted prior to heading to Italy that she was a little unsure of just how her time on the short track speed skating oval at the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Turin would work out.
However, that unease was misplaced as Barclay finished her events on the ice at the Pala Tazzoli with three medals after winning a pair of bronzes Friday. The medals came in the F1 500- and 1,000-metre races.
Barclay finished third in the 500 behind Haeun Park and Yeonwoo Kim, both from South Korea, with a time of 1:13.38. As for the 1,000, Barclay again placed third in a time of 1:59.27 behind South Korea’s Park and Seungmi Kim respectively.
The two bronze medals go with a gold Barclay won in the F1 1,500 on Thursday. In an interview aired on Hamilton’s CHCH after that race, Barclay admitted there were some nerves.
“Going into the race for the 15, I did feel the pressure a little bit,” she said. “My coaches said to me, just skate.”
She was, however, thrilled with the result.
“I worked so hard this past year and to know that I’m a gold medalist is just unbelievable.”
Barclay finished the 1,500 in three minutes, 1.82 seconds, just ahead South Korea’s Seungmi Kim in a tight race. Kim finished in 3:02.97 to pick up the silver while Norwegian skater Maiken Gunderson was well back, finishing in 3:27.45 to claim the bronze.
Barclay was born with a condition known as tuberous sclerosis, a rare genetic disease that causes non-cancerous tumours to grow in the brain and other parts of the body, including the spinal cord. Epilepsy caused by cortical tubers in the brain often accompanies the disease. Barclay takes medication to control seizures but, as is the case in 57 per cent of tuberous sclerosis cases, the disease resulted in Barclay having an intellectual disability.
She took up speed skating just six years ago after playing hockey for more than a decade when her mother, Diane, who had read an article about the sport encouraged her.
She earned the right to represent Canada at the Games after winning four gold medals at the Special Olympics Canada Winter Games in Calgary last year.