A medal contender at this month’s Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, 29-year-old Mellisa Hollingsworth will try and garner what has elluded any Canadian athlete at an Olympics on home soil: a gold medal.
Speeding down a track of ice at speeds exceeding 140 kilometres an hour, the local, national and international skeleton champion will dive head-first — literally — for a chance to become part of the winter sports legend.
“What athlete doesn’t dream of standing on top of the podium hearing ‘O Canada,’ watching the Maple Leaf rise? That’s the ultimate goal,” she says.
With a proud skeleton pedigree and lineage to draw from (cousin, and fellow Calgarian, Ryan Davenport is a two-time world champion), Hollingsworth’s rise nearly ended before it even had a chance to sprint out of the gate. After a quick start and ascent in the national ranks in the late 1990s, Hollingsworth all but quit the sport after failing to make the Olympic team in 2002. “I had the wrong attitude then,” she says. “I was simply chasing the dream and title of Olympian. You can’t do that, or it’ll backfire.”
Reassessing goals and priorities meant a shift in her camp, and with a new stable of supporters, Hollingsworth slid her way to a bronze medal at the 2006 Torino Games, making her the first Canadian to ever win an Olympic medal in skeleton.
While a top podium finish is just a couple of hard-fought slides away in Whistler, Hollingsworth envisions a not-so-distant future, free of much of her daily velocity and unyielding regimen.
“I grew up on a farm, and I’d like to get back there again,” she says, smiling. “I’m an Alberta country girl, through and through.”
For those of us who have yet to be initiated, explain the sport of skeleton.
Going head-first on your stomach [on a custom sled] down the bobsleigh track, at over 140 kilometres an hour.
How did you get involved in a crazy sport like that?
I was 15 when I was introduced to it by my cousin, world champion Ryan Davenport. I was doing my normal high school sports, and we talked about it, and he thought I would be a good fit for the sport, and he was right. Three months later, after I earned my [skeleton] licence, I won the Canadian championship, that’s what really sparked my love for it.
How much do the skeleton sleds cost?
It all depends on the supply and demand. If you are on the list to buy a Davenport sled [made by my cousin Ryan], it will cost about $3,500. Runners cost about $1,100 a pair, and they can be wrecked in one run down the track. But not everyone is able to get on the Davenport list, so used sleds can go for whatever people are willing to pay, and sometimes the bidding wars are ridiculous! I would assume if I wanted to sell my current sled right now, I could probably get toward $10,000 for it.
Would you call yourself an adrenaline junkie?
Not really. It’s a different type of adrenaline that I experience doing my sport, probably the same as any other athlete doing their sport. I’m not a daredevil by any stretch. I have no interest in jumping out of a plane, or doing crazy things at all. I did when I was younger, but not now.
What made you stick with the sport after not making the 2002 Olympic team?
That summer I went to Florida and trained, and, I thought, “I’ll take it one day at a time.” I came back, made our World Cup team, and still wasn’t really sure if I wanted to do the tour. Went into the first World Cup race, had expectations to medal, and I didn’t. I finished eighth. It made me re-evaluate my support group, coaches and who I wanted on my team going into Torino in 2006. It turned out to be a good decision, and I had the right people around me to help bring back an Olympic bronze medal.
What’s a typical week of training like?
It’s definitely a lifestyle, that’s for sure. You have to be aware of your rest, things like whether you’re standing or sitting throughout the day. It changes throughout the year, the volume and the type of training we do. As we get closer to winter, there is a lot more sliding and working out our equipment, but also making time for our dryland training — which sometimes means more than five hours per day in the gym. For me, we’re doing very specific training to improve my starts. I’m always in the bent-over position, and doing exercises like that. Modified lunges or squats, building the muscles needed to push off the start.
That can’t always be fun. What’s your least-favourite workout?
The worst workouts that we do are the stair workouts. We go down to Prince’s Island Park to the stairs down on Memorial [Drive] — I do not have an endurance bone in my body! I’m all speed and power. So those workouts are extremely tough for me, but a good mental workout, I guess.
Unlike other sports, cardio conditioning isn’t really required for your sport, is it?
It’s not. But, at the same time, it’s a long season, and that’s something that I’ve learned this year, that it’s important for us to go through that conditioning phase. I was questioning my coach, saying, “Why are we doing this? We’re not endurance athletes!” — being a little sassy — but I understand it all now. I feel like I can withstand a greater volume of sliding — even though it’s just a minute on the track, it taxes your body, and your nervous system. That’s what takes the hardest hit and can really fatigue you.
What was it like being on the podium in Torino?
It was amazing, a dream come true, for sure. My family was front and centre. It was a dramatic race — potentially, I was going to finish fourth. Because it’s reverse order, I had to get a number 1 on the score board when I came off the run, and I saw a number 2. I made a big mistake on corner 14, so I dropped a spot, and was going to finish fourth place. My dad was running through the stands as close as he could get to me, and yelled out, “You’re my hero!” and that was big. I was fighting back tears, thinking my family is probably disappointed, coming all the way to Italy, and 11 years in the sport only to finish off the podium. But, luckily, my run was good enough to bump me back up to third spot and win the medal. It was emotional.
Is the podium the goal, or is the gold the goal in Vancouver?
Definitely gold is the goal. That’s what we work hard for, and it’s been 15 years of sweat, blood and tears at this point.
What are your plans after Vancouver?
It will depend on opportunities. If I have a good result there, what may come after will have a lot to do with making sure that it is still fun, I’m still enjoying it, am healthy, competitive and financially able to do it.
What’s the biggest misconception about female athletes?
That we can’t beat the boys!
Who do you think are the most fashion-conscious athletes these days?
Tennis players. They wear cute, feminine little skirts when they compete and can really make a fashion statement while simultaneously working super hard on the court.
Off the track, how would you describe your sense of style?
Fairly casual. I like my jeans. I can’t really do high heels. I think they’re really pretty, but my knees and my back are probably 20 years older than I am from all the training. I love my cowboy boots though, and wear those all the time.
Do you like to shop?
I don’t. [Laughing]
Really?
No, isn’t that funny? I’m the kind of shopper who will go into a store, and whatever is on the mannequin, I’ll say, ooh, that looks good. I think the best times that I’ve ever had shopping are when somebody helps me. Someone who knows what they’re doing.
Besides jeans, what’s the one fashion staple you couldn’t live without?
Hmm, I don’t think it’s a fashion staple, but my rubber boots! Can’t do chores in the mud in my Uggs or Christian Louboutins.
When you shop for clothes, besides comfort, what’s the most important thing you consider before buying something?
It has to look good on me, not just the rack, and work with the rest of my wardrobe.
Are there any trends that you like right now?
I really like the sweater dress — it’s so comfortable and cozy, and you can dress it up, or down.
What would you never be caught wearing?
I wouldn’t be able to pull off super-high heels — I don’t know how to walk in them! If I could put them on and sit down all night, then yes.
You travel so much throughout the year. Any worldly lessons to share?
I think the most important thing I’ve learned from travelling is that I know where home is. I’ll definitely want to set up my roots here in Alberta. My family is really important to me, and they’re all here in Alberta. I love the area, and that the mountains are so close, the prairie ranges, and all the rodeos, which is something my family does.
Did you help work the family farm in Eckville?
I did. I always had the choice after school of staying in and helping with dinner, or going outside and doing chores. So I was always outside, driving the Bobcat, or feeding the horses, and quickly found out, especially when I got my own place in Calgary, that maybe I should have spent more time cooking, because I don’t know how to do that.
Where do you want to be in 10 years?
I’d like to have a couple kids on the ground by then, on a ranch, rodeoing, having that type of lifestyle, and a career that has something to do with horses. But I am definitely open-minded to whatever comes my way. A career that I’m passionate about, not just something that pays the bills.
Would you encourage your kids to get into skeleton?
Sure, if they wanted to. I want my kids to be tough. They’re not going to be coddled. I don’t want them to be afraid of anything.