Konopski finds speed skating as good as gold

Lexi Konopski has enjoyed a golden start to Manitoba’s speed-skating this season.

The 10-year-old member of the Westman Speed Skating Club has already won four golds this season, and finds her success awfully motivational.

“The more times I race, it makes me feel more confident in my speed skating,” Konopski said. “It just makes me feel good that I’m winning.”

Konopski, 10, joined speed skating four years ago after a friend’s mother said it might help her in hockey. The centre plays with the under-11 A Wheat Kings and her house league team, the Mega Minions.

“She said it was probably good for a hockey player,” Konopski said. “So I joined and I’ve been doing good so far.”

One of her coaches, former Brandon Wheat Kings and National Hockey League player Micheal Ferland, once told her speed skating had made her even better at hockey.

Konopski started the sport wearing her hockey skates, but two of Westman Speed Skating Club’s instructors, Jen and Scott Forbes, suggested she try speed skates, which have a much different shape.

“At first it was kind of hard because the blades are really long,” Konopski said. “After you get used to them, it’s easy to cross over.”

This winter’s provincial speed-skating circuit began on Oct. 24 with the Prairie Challenge in Portage la Prairie, which is an age-class meet where athletes skate against other competitors their age.

Konopski won gold in the Learn to Train (L2T) 200m, 400m and 1500m races.

“It’s pretty cool,” Konopski said. “It was nice because a few years ago there was this kid and he just won and won. I’m his competition.”

Club instructor Jen Forbes said the youngster has brought a great attitude, a willingness to work hard and a deep-seated desire to win to every race.

“Lexi is a pleasure to coach,” Forbes said. “She listens really well on the ice and is fiercely determined to be fast. Watching her race on the weekend, it always brings a smile to my face because there was another competitor and he would catch up to her on a turn and she would sort of look and see him coming and she would just give her the gears and speed up.

“They raced in the 1,500, and I don’t know how many times she accelerated to keep that kid behind her. It was awesome watching her.”

That same weekend, at the Prairie Opener in Saskatoon, Zoe Forbes won bronze in the overall Junior 2 and Sophia Forbes earned silver in the overall Youth 1.

The Eastman Cup in Niverville, which places kids in divisions based on ability regardless of their age, was held on Nov. 1 and Konopski was one of five Westman skaters to bring home a medal when she captured gold in overall (blue).

“It’s really great if you’re a bit late entering into a sport,” Jen Forbes said of the unique way the divisions are created. “You can be a little bit older and race against kids your same speed, or you can be younger and quite fast and race up against the older kids. You see a little of both happen at an abilities meet.”

The other Westman winners were Sloan Wentzell (silver overall, green), Sophia Forbes (gold overall, yellow), Zoe Forbes (bronze overall, neo junior female), Hayden Deitrich-Pulleyblank (bronze overall, neo junior male).

Scott Forbes was eighth overall in junior senior masters. He, like Wentzell, was participating in his first competition.

Next up is the Manitoba Short Track Provincials and Open Championships at the Selkirk Recreation Complex on Nov. 14.

It’s an abbreviated season because of the Canada Games from Feb. 27 to March 14, 2027 in Quebec City, so after provincials, the club will travel in early December to an event in Melville, Sask. On the long track side of things, there are a couple of events in January, with provincials in Winnipeg at the Cindy Klassen Recreation Complex on Jan. 16-17.

Konopski is setting her sights high as she looks ahead.

“In four years, I want to get to the Manitoba Games,” Konopski said. Konopski’s mother, Michele Augustyn, laughs that her daughter’s major longer-term concern is that if she made it to the Olympics, speed skating and hockey might be scheduled on the same day and she would be forced to choose between events.

GLIDING ALONG

The Brandon-based speed skating club has been around since 1988 and produced one Olympian, Kyle Parrott of Minnedosa, who competed at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver in the men’s 500 metre, 1000 metre and 1500 metre events.

He was guided by another former Olympian, Pat Leech, who is still the club’s head coach. The other instructors include Forbes, former Westman Speed Skating Club member and Rivers-area farmer Jan Verbruggen and local firefighter Ethan Vandenberg, who was formerly a member of the Interlake Speed Skating Club.

The club started up this season on Oct. 1 and skates on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at the Sportsplex until about the third week in March.

Augustyn said they do a terrific job.

“She dedicates so much time with the kids on and off the ice, encouraging them and believing in them, which I think fosters athletes in continuing on in the sport,” Augustyn said. “She won’t tell you herself, but the amount of time she gives and gives and gives to these kids, her and Pat, giving them pointers about how to enter onto the track and how to cross over and how to be brave and lean and how to use your muscles and extend your legs to get a good stride.

“Those are all things she’s constantly telling the kids and cheering them on from the side of the rink.”

The success of that message is reflected in Konopski’s growing collection of medals, which she keeps on a hockey-stick shaped stand her dad made for her.

Konopski thinks she is continuing to get faster, saying it’s nice to have successful older skaters in the club such as 14-year-old Zoe Forbes, who has competed at national events.

“Seeing an older person who gets medals just like me and is really good at speed skating encourages me to get better,” said Konopski, who runs track, golfs and plays soccer too.

The club would love to host a provincial event, but it would involve blocking off six hours of ice, which is closing in on $2,000. With additional hosting costs as well, it quickly adds up.

“It just starts to get really expensive,” Forbes said. “The registration fees would be so high nobody would want to come.”

As a result, Portage la Prairie has become a hub because ice costs are lower and it’s more central, but Forbes said it might be possible to take an event to Shilo or the Olympic-sized ice in Souris in the future.

» pbergson@brandonsun.com