Canadian Long-Track Speedskater Jeremy Wotherspoon Announces His Retirement

Long-track speedskater Jeremy Wotherspoon announced his retirement Saturday, ending a remarkable career that is considered one of the best in the sport’s history.

Wotherspoon, 33, leaves as perhaps the greatest sprinter of all-time. The Red Deer, Alta., native holds the 500-metre world record of 34.03 seconds and owns more World Cup victories than any other male skater with 67.

His retirement was confirmed in a news release that also announced he’ll become the head sprint coach at a new speedskating academy in Germany.

“He just helped prove that Canada can be at the top of the world stage,” Canadian teammate Kristina Groves said on a conference call from Heerenveen, Netherlands. “He really put speedskating on the map in Canada for sure, in terms of sprinting and the men’s team.

“We’re sad to see him go. I know he probably didn’t finish on the note that he was hoping to but it doesn’t erase in any way the wonderful and amazing career that he’s had.”

Wotherspoon had planned to close out his career by competing in the speedskating hotbed of the Netherlands.

Instead, he had to undergo surgery this week to have an anomaly removed after a mysterious groin infection appeared on his upper leg. Wotherspoon is feeling fine and will need about a week to fully heal.

His last race was an 11th-place finish at last week’s 500-metre race in Erfurt, Germany.

“He seems very at ease with this being the outcome,” said high performance director Brian Rahill. “I did see him briefly yesterday and he had his usual good humour at work amongst all of us.

“He certainly was not feeling down about this being the way the curtain fell.”

Wotherspoon said last December that this season would be his last. His coach Michael Crowe confirmed Wotherspoon’s retirement intentions on Friday.

Wotherspoon did not participate in a conference call with other Canadian skaters on Saturday. A Speed Skating Canada spokesperson said he’ll likely hold a news conference next week when he returns to Canada.

Wotherspoon’s resume also includes three 500-metre world titles and another in the 1,000, four sprint world championships, and a silver in the 500 at the Nagano Olympics in 1998.

However, he struggled at the next three Games. Wotherspoon was a heavy favourite in the 500 at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake but he stumbled at the start. He underperformed in Turin four years later and settled for a ninth-place effort last month at the Vancouver Games.

Wotherspoon’s technique is one that coaches around the world have been trying to match. His graceful technical ability and commanding stride created a powerful combination that was tough to beat.

Canadian teammate Brittany Schussler said Wotherspoon has had a huge influence on the speedskating community.

“His technique is flawless and he’s been so consistent,” she said. “He’s got a great personality, everyone likes him off the ice. He’s just drawn so many more fans to the sport and brought so many new elements to the way people skate.

“It’s been amazing to have him around. This sport is going to miss him, that’s for sure.”