Charles Hamelin’s golden goodbye

Charles Hamelin knows how to conduct an Olympic Career. Medal at your first games. Keep medaling and staying strong for sixteen more years. Somewhere in the middle of all that, give Canadians a warm fuzzy moment by celebrating a win with a rinkside kiss. Save the best win for the last appearance.

In his final skate, the short track G.O.A.T. bagged one last Olympic gold medal. There are only three other Canadians with four gold medals. There is only one other Canadian Winter Olympian, long track legend Cindy Klassen, tied with Hamelin at six medals. If anybody’s counting, at 37 years old, Hamelin is also the oldest man to medal in short track.

On that matter, career longevity, Hamelin credits his dad Yves, with building the base of the pyramid on which a sturdy long career rested. Charles and his brother Francois benefitted from a multi sport childhood. He tells Anastasia that the two brothers always had the choice: train hard, or relax with buddies. Hamelin admits he is still working on that ‘relax with buddies’ thing, but that’s his choice.

Hamelin has now delivered sport’s most elusive commodity, the story book finish. But there may be a capper coming. Hamelin is heading back to Montreal for his final world cup competition in March.

He has 142 world cup medals in the trophy room already. But the last race in front of a hometown crowd? With the Olympic champion team alongside him? Better save some space on the last page of that story book.