EDMONTON – Sherwood Park’s Kaetlyn Osmond received a send-off of Olympic proportions Thursday, as she gets set to head to Sochi.
“I’m getting more and more excited and I’m feeling stronger and stronger each day. So, I feel ready and I’m just excited to get there,” Kaetlyn said.
The 18-year-old leaves for Russia on Sunday. She clinched her spot on the Olympic team after winning her second consecutive Canadian women’s figure skating title in January.
Thursday evening, Kaetlyn’s family, friends, supporters and complete strangers came together at the West Edmonton Mall Ice Palace to send her off in style.
“She’s prepared. She’s skating really well and I think it’s going to be a really amazing experience for her,” said Kaetlyn’s coach Ravi Walia.
Ravi has been working with the athlete since she was 10 years old. He says even at that young age, he could see something special in the skater.
“Kaetlyn has a lot of charisma. She’s very exciting to watch, she’s a great competitor, she’s strong in all areas of skating and she works really hard.”
Watch below: Kevin Karius speaks to Kaetlyn’s coach Ravi Walia
Kaetlyn’s mother, Jackie Osmond, says her daughter was born a star.
“Kaetlyn showed at a very young age, like a year old, that she was very theatrical. She would dance in our living room. If company came over she was not shy to put on a little play or a little show. So to do what she does, she has confidence because she’s had it, I think, since birth.”
READ MORE: Canada’s athletes in Sochi: Meet figure skater Kaetlyn Osmond
Jackie, who will be heading to Sochi in a couple of weeks to watch her daughter compete in the singles event, says as a mother, watching her step out onto the ice never gets any easier.
“Parents of younger skaters keep asking us ‘does it get easier?’ And I’m like, ‘no.’ I’m just as nervous now as when she was a juvenile skater. It’s very tough, but it’s fun.”
And while Kaetlyn and her coach both feel she’s heading into the Olympic Games stronger than ever, her road to Sochi wasn’t easy. The 18-year-old battled a couple of injuries this season – first a stress fracture in her ankle in August, then a hamstring tear that forced her to withdraw from the long program at Skate Canada in October.
“It was so nerve-wracking knowing that I had to withdraw from competitions, I couldn’t practice. But, it was also such a great learning experience and probably one that I needed going into the Olympics; knowing that I know how to focus and I know how to deal with anything that gets thrown at me,” Kaetlyn explained.
Watch below: Kevin Karius speaks with Kaetlyn Osmond at Olympic sendoff
So what are Kaetlyn’s expectations heading into Sochi? She’s trying not to focus too much on the podium, instead hoping to skate to a personal best. And, most importantly, have fun doing it.
“That’s my main goal, is to be able to show – not just the skating world – but the entire world that skating is a fun sport and I love it.”
And knowing she has the support of an entire country behind her is making it that much easier.
“I know I have so much support from my family and my friends. But to see the whole club like this, and to see so many people show up for it, it really feels like I’m a part of something so big.”
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