Biography

Cindy was first introduced to the world of sport at the tender age of two, when her father made a little wooden hockey stick for her. Every day after that, when he came home from work, she insisted that they play hockey on the driveway before she would allow him to come in for supper. Often, some of the neighbourhood boys joined in.

Cindy began playing hockey and soccer at the local community club at age five and never looked back. From that time on, and until she finished high school, Cindy played every sport she could squeeze into her schedule, including volleyball, basketball, rugby, badminton, lacrosse, in-line skating, biking and more. She also loved water-skiing and dirt-biking at the family cabin.

Cindy(top right) plays street hockey with her dad.

In spite of her varied interests, Cindy’s main focus was always on hockey, with her eye on the inclusion of women’s hockey at the 1998 Olympics. Cindy played boys' hockey most of her life, reaching the AA and AAA level in her home province of Manitoba. She thrived on the intense training required by the excellent coaches she had at that level of play. In 1995 Cindy played on Team Manitoba (female) at the Canada Winter Games. At age sixteen, Cindy switched to Senior Women’s Hockey and was chosen to play on the Junior National Team at Lake Placid in 1996. Everything seemed to be moving in the right direction for Cindy until 1997, when she was not selected for the 1998 Olympic Women’s Team.

Cindy was devastated. This had been her single dream and there was no "Plan B". She decided to continue playing hockey while attending the University of Manitoba, but felt she needed another sport to supplement her training. Her parents suggested speed-skating and her response was immediate "NO WAY!" As a youngster, she and her hockey friends had made fun of the long blades and tight skinsuits, and she certainly couldn’t picture herself donning them now. A few days later she made a quiet announcement to her family, "I guess I’ll give it a try."

Cindy had always been a strong skater and she thought she would just tie up her laces and whip around the speedskating oval. It was a very subdued Cindy that came home after the first few practices. Fortunately, the wonderful coaches at the Susan Auch Oval saw some hope in her and with their encouragement, she began to improve very rapidly. Within a year she had cracked the line-up for the Manitoba long-track team that would compete at the Canada Winter Games in 1999. Unfortunately, the weather was so warm in Cornerbrook, Newfoundland that the ice melted and the long-track events never took place. However, Cindy continued to compete at various Canada Cup events and earned a spot on the Junior National Team in February, 1999. Incredibly, she won the 1000m race and took third in the 500m in Geithus, Norway at the Junior World Championships.

The following year Cindy made the National Team and in 2001 she earned three top-10 finishes at the World Single Distance Championships, including bronze in the 1500m. In 2002, Cindy surprised even herself, collecting a bronze medal in the 3000 m race at the Olympics in Salt Lake City, as well as fourth place finishes in the 1500m and the 5000m.

Once again everything seemed to be on track for Cindy as she continued to excel at competions, becoming, in 2003, the first Canadian woman in 27 years to win the World Championship Cup.

However, in October of 2003, she was side-lined by a horrific skating accident during a routine training session. Cindy fell while rounding a corner and crashed into a group of skaters. The blade of one of the skaters cut her right arm from wrist to elbow, slicing through 12 tendons, a nerve and a major artery. It seemed unlikely that she would skate again that season, but she began training again only two months later. Amazingly, she managed to compete at the World Single Distance Championship in March of 2004, albeit with a splint on her arm, and snagged a silver in the 1500m and a bronze in the 1000m.

2004/2005 was a successful season for Cindy, culminating with the World Cup title in the 1500m, as well as first place in the 1500m and 3000m at the World Single Distance Championships. The following season brought more success for Cindy,as she headed into the Torino Olympics as the World Record holder in both the 1500m and 3000m distances.

As the 2006 Winter Olympics neared, Cindy felt the normal excitement and apprehension of any athlete attending the games, however, with the added weight of the expectations of a country that saw her as a potential multi-medallist. She opened with a bronze medal in the 3000m, and seemed to gain strength with each event. Cindy followed that with a silver in the 1000m as well as a team silver in the Pursuit. She struck Olympic gold in the 1500m, her specialty, and then bronze again in the 5000m, her most dreaded race.

With this, Cindy became the first Canadian Olympian to win five medals in one Olympic Games and the only Canadian with six Olympic medals.