Kalyna Roberge

Kalyna Roberge is a short track speed skater originally from Ste-Etienne-de-Lauzon, Quebec. She was born December 1, 1986. She started speed skating because her two brothers were in the sport, so she decided to try it and POOF... history was made!

Before Kalyna made the national team, she would always put on a great performance. She would stand out because of her great technique and racing skills. Then in 2004 at eighteen years old, she made the Junior National Team. At the end of the season, she ranked an amazing eighth place in the Junior World Cup Circuit.

Kalyna Skating in the 2006 World Championships (kalynaroberge.com)

In 2005 Kalyna made the Senior National Team and won a gold medal in the 3000 metre relay at a World Cup competition in Netherlands and ranked third overall at the 2005 World Championships. Kalyna also skated in the World Junior Circuit and won a gold medal in the 500 metre!

women's silver relay Torino (www.kalynaroberge.com)

The next year, 2006, Kalyna competed at the Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy in the women's 3000 metre relay. Here, she had an outstanding and memorable performance. In the final A relay, there were four teams and two of them were fighting for second place. In the attempt, they collided and were in a line across the straight-away where Kalyna who was coming up from behind would have to skate. Kalyna thought very fast and preformed an amazing task with agility and determination. She literally jumped and cleared the skaters, landed solidly and continued racing as if it had never happened! In result, the Canadian women's relay team ended up with a very well earned Olympic silver medal! In this season of unbelievable skating, Kalyna set new personal best times for practically all of her distances. These are her best times: 500 metre: 44.116 (set in 2006)

Kalyna is my hero because she has accomplished almost everything I want to, and not only that, I also really enjoy watching her skate more than any other skater. I think she has amazing technique and just overall is a great skater. I think that I have some of the same skating techniques as Kalyna because I watch her skate and try to copy techniques that I think would benefit me when I skate. I do this with many great skaters, but mainly Kalyna because her body is shaped a lot like mine and it's easy to adapt something to my technique. Because Kalyna is so young, it makes it look like everything is possible, that anyone who really wants to do something can do it! To do what she's done takes hard work and determination and it makes me want to train even harder than I do, because I really want to be where she is in her standings. As a speed skater, I would like to be looked up to and to accomplish as much as she will in her speed skating career! GOOD LUCK KALYNA!!!