Denny Morrison, 24, is from Fort St. John but has made Richmond a part-time home when he's not traveling around the world or training in Calgary. His first event is the men's 5,000 metres at the Richmond Olympic Oval on Saturday.
24: What do you think of the team’s dominance and pressure on the team to deliver medals?
Denny Morrison: "That’s great. Because we get a lot of medals, we get a lot of support and there’s a lot of attention on us. So, we’re used to that pressure and we see it as more of a support thing. I think Canada is slated for 12 medals in speed skating or something and I just think, wow, that’s pretty good. I can’t really focus on the team as a whole, I have to focus on my races and my results and what I’m doing to prepare to achieve those results. Three medals is hopefully my contribution to the team."
24: What do you think of the Richmond Oval and its facilities?
Morrison: "The Oval’s great, it’s a beautiful building. It doesn’t have the fastest ice, but that’s fine, it’s the same for everyone. I’m just really excited to be training there and training at the Olympic venue and getting such a great opportunity to do so much training there that I think it’s going to be a pretty sweet home field advantage for the whole Canadian team for 2010."
24: How does living close by help?
Morrison: "I own a condo now in Richmond, just three or four blocks from the Oval, so I can really get that home field advantage because if I’m training out of Calgary half the year and living out of a hotel in Richmond half the year, how is that going to feel like home for me? I want to feel that home advantage and have all my eggs in one basket to make sure I get it."
