Home for the holidays... and some speed skating (7 photos)

A nationally-ranked speed skater with his eyes on the 2018 Winter Olympics is home in the Sault for the holidays — but not for long.

Gary Trembinski took up long track speed skating about four years ago, after sustaining multiple shoulder injuries playing junior hockey in Ottawa.

“We decided hockey wasn’t in the cards anymore. Speed skating sort of fell in my lap and I ran with it,” said Trembinski.

With a break in the Soo Greyhounds’ home schedule, Trembinski took advantage of the open ice at the Essar Centre with a practice this morning.

Last week he took in a practice at the George Leach Centre.

These practices also give friends and family an opportunity to watch him whiz by at break-neck speeds.

He prefers long track speed skating, but with the Art Jennings Speed Skating Oval out of commission due to unseasonably warm weather, Trembinski was forced to use the much smaller indoor rink or risk losing his ‘ice feel’.

“It’s best to stay on the ice, even if it’s short track,” said Trembinski.

The University of Calgary student spends most of the year out west to train on the Alberta city’s indoor long track speed skating oval — one of only two such facilities in Canada.

He returned to the Sault in July to carry the Pan-Am torch and surprised his parents in September when he returned for their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary.

With a national competition coming up in early January, Trembinski will be back on a plane to Calgary on Boxing Day.

And he will need to skip second helpings at Christmas dinner.

“You gotta watch what you eat for sure. There’s no breaks, no time off.”

Trembinski’s ultimate goal is to compete for Canada in the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang, South Korea.

“2018 is definitely the goal. Winter Olympic trials are in December of 2017, so I have time to improve on my technique and get my times down and we will see how it goes,” said the speed skater, who is currently ranked twenty-sixth in Canada.

Trembinski said he has come a long way from his first practice about four years ago.

“The first time on speed skates was a humbling experience. From playing such a high level of hockey to having to hold on to my speed skating coach’s arm just to be able to stand up in these things — it was very humbling,” he said.

Some said he was crazy to make the jump to speed skating, which he said drives him to prove them wrong, while proving to himself he can be a top athlete.

“It’s the drive to be the best,” said Trembinski.

(PHOTO: Speed skater Gary Trembinski seen today immediately after practicing at the Essar Centre. Kenneth Armstrong/SooToday)