The only NWT athlete at the 2020 Special Olympics Canada Winter Games, Josh Boudreau won two speed skating gold medals – and a place on Team Canada.
Those medal wins? They came in late February 2020. Guess what happened next.
Boudreau’s place on the team for the 2021 Special Olympics World Winter Games became a place at the 2022 World Winter Games, then the 2023 World Winter Games – which came with a venue change to Kazan, Russia, and soon there was no World Winter Games at all.
Through a combination of event organizers’ funding difficulties, the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Boudreau never had the opportunity to skate for his country.
Now, he’s heading back to the Canada Winter Games determined to win again, and book a fresh place on the national team for the next World Winter Games in 2025.
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“You definitely feel as though Josh is coming to the games looking for some redemption, and has a bit more fuel lighting his motivation to make Team Canada this year,” said Lexie Letzing, Team NT’s chef de mission at the Special Olympics Canada Winter Games in Calgary. Events run from Tuesday until Saturday this week.
“My goal this year is to focus on my times, hit new personal bests and have fun with my team,” Boudreau was quoted as saying. He will carry the NWT flag at the games’ opening ceremony on Tuesday in Calgary’s Stampede Park.
“I’ve never met an athlete who eats, sleeps, breathes and dreams his sport” the way Boudreau does, Letzing said.
“When he’s not racing, he’s thinking about racing. When he’s not at work, he’s thinking about skating or training.
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“He’s very, very dedicated. And you see that on and off the ice with how he carries himself.”
This time around, Boudreau is not alone.
“We are a small but mighty team of 14,” said Letzing. Boudreau has a female speed skating coach and male chaperone alongside him, while there are five bowlers heading to Calgary with two coaches, as well as two mission staff, an apprentice coach who’ll shadow Alberta’s figure skating team, and the chef de mission (or team leader).
The Special Olympics Canada Winter Games are the national pinnacle for athletes involved, Letzing said, offering the opportunity to qualify for the World Games if you win a medal. But it’s also about the chance to compete on a big stage in a different atmosphere.
“The airport is buzzing right now,” said Letzing as she awaited the athletes’ arrival in Calgary on Monday.
“They have a couple of hundred volunteers waiting for the athletes and teams to arrive. Once you get to the downtown Calgary area, all the hotels are completely decked out with the signage, the elevators are covered, the street banners are covered,” she said.
“Everyone just seems very helpful and they’re very excited for the games.”
You can follow the team’s progress on Facebook.
