Pat Turner talks to students about the games
Olympic rower Pat Turner (back row, with medal) visited NVSS to share his experiences with the cross country team. Turner was invited by coach Brian Nemethy (front left).
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A former Olympian visited NVSS cross country runners on October 23.
Pat Turner, who now resides in Prince George, won an Olympic gold medal as part of the Canadian men’s eights rowing team at the summer Olympics in Los Angeles in 1984. He and NVSS cross-country coach Brian Nemethy have ran against each other in the past.
Turner said Nemethy was the most passionate person about running that he had ever met.
“His passion is infectious,” Turner said. He said he loves the story about the small team having to compete against the bigger teams.
“The underdog situation makes you work harder,” he said.
When it gets right down to it, your competition is with yourself, he said.
“Think about all the hard work you’ve put into it because it’s probably more than the other teams have,” he said. “Carry that confidence with you into the race.”
He encouraged the runners to gradually inch by their competition and bury them.
“You can knock em’ off,” he said.
The runners watched a short video of his Olympic win.
“You really do reap what you sow,” he said.
You have lots of room to push yourself to another level, Turner said.
“That’s really what sport is all about.”
The provincial race is coming up on November 7 in White Rock, and NVSS has a number of runners who have qualified to participate.
“Do some major damage in the Lower Mainland,” Turner said. He said the team has the element of surprise and has tougher conditions to train on than many other teams.
Turner says he keeps his medal in a shoebox in his basement. He passed it around for the team to see.
He said he got where he was due to hard work, tough decisions and sacrifices.
He trained twice a day for six hours a day prior to the Olympics.
“Run your hearts out,” he said. The encouragement was great for the team. They had many impressive finishes at the zones race last month and will be on their way to provincials in a few days. Good luck to all our runners.
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