Barbara Latkowski
Caledonia Courier
Anticipation was in the air on Nov. 16 at the Fort St. James Forum as members of the local speed skating club were excited to meet with one of their own.
Jamie MacDonald was back and she was so excited to get on the ice, her old training ground in Fort St. James.
MacDonald, 21, recently won a silver medal after competing in the women’s 500m at the ISU Wold Cup Short Track Skating Stage held in Calgary on Nov. 5 – 6.
She earned her best result so far in the World Cup Circuit with a personal best time of 42.9 seconds.
“It feels great to be back in my home town,” MacDonald said. “It feels a little weird but this is going to be so much fun.”
Keith Gordon has been a coach for the Fort St. James Speed Skating Club since 1986. He coached MacDonald from the time she was about 9-years-old until the age of 15.
“It’s great to have her here,” Gordon said, “And to have her skate with members of our team.”
MacDonald won her first career individual medal, a bronze, at the sixth and last stage of last season’s World Cup.
She began her speed skating career with the Fort St. James Falcons when she was just 6-years-old. She is still a registered member of the club.
MacDonald is now training in Montreal at the National Training Centre.
And her speed skating mates back home can’t wait to see where she will finish next.