Straight From The Heart

Put your heart on your sleeve and you never know who'll touch it.
You've got to love the story of Canadian skeleton racer Mellisa Hollingsworth, who couldn't hide her devastation a few nights back when an almost certain medal dissolved into a fifth-place finish with a crushing mistake near the end of her final run.
In an emotional post-race interview, a teary-eyed Hollingsworth told CTV she felt like she "let the entire country down" and all kinds of people who had supported her drive for Vancouver 2010.
Such brutal honesty is both rare and astonishing in an era in which far too many athletes want to point fingers elsewhere when something doesn't go their way instead of taking a hard look in the mirror. But this was a moment that was important to Hollingsworth and she also was very aware of how much Canadians crave success at their home Olympics (the boastful Own the Podium pre-Olympic medal proclamations notwithstanding).
There's a familiar saying that goes something like this: What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Hollingsworth's from-the-heart reaction to her setback has touched a nerve with Canadians from coast to coast, and the Albertan has been overwhelmed by the positive reaction she's received from people who want her to know she did them all proud.
All of this has Hollingsworth, an Olympic bronze medallist four years ago in Turin, now contemplating a run at the Sochi 2014 Winter Games. And if it comes to pass, she'll no doubt thank the many people who lifted her up exactly when she needed it. Further proof that while talent is a wonderful thing, Canadians value those who show heart more than just about anything. Hollingsworth surely has plenty of that.
*****
Sometimes, it's fun to dig back into the archives of your past.
Like earlier tonight, when something about watching Canadians Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir take command in the ice dance event reminded me about a cover story I wrote about them in International Figure Skating Magazine back in the summer of 2008.
This was shortly after Virtue and Moir had earned a silver medal at the '08 world figure skating championships in Gothenburg, Sweden, in only their second crack at the global event. It was a clear statement that it was only a matter of time before they ruled the planet.
Their time appears ready to arrive. Virtue and Moir hold a 2.60-point lead over Americans Meryl Davis and Charlie White, their training partners in Canton, Mich. In ice dance, that's a significant margin, though Virtue and Moir will tell you the battle is far from won yet.
Anyways, take a ride along with Virtue and Moir through this story.