When a young woman from Kelowna stepped onto the ice of the Thunderbird Sports Centre in Vancouver earlier this month, there were a lot of people from Nakusp watching with bated breath.
Olivia Gran didn’t disappoint them. The youth won the gold medal in the junior women’s competition at the 2018 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships.
“We are all proud beyond words,” says Janis Dahlen, Olivia’s grandmother, who was one of those family members in the stands. “I am totally in awe of all the people not only from Nakusp, but across Canada, that follow Olivia and cheer her on.”
Dahlen and her husband Dan Freeman aren’t the only connections Gran has to Nakusp. Her grandfather Rod Dahlen still lives here, and both her parents, Brad and Julia Gran, were born and raised in the area. Brad played hockey and Julia was part of the Nakusp Figure Skating Club for 13 years. Her paternal grandparents, Arden and Judy Gran, are also from Nakusp.
“I believe [Olivia’s relatives] are about 10 per cent of the population of our small town!,” jokes Dahlen.
That’s not the only connection the up-and-coming skating star has to the village. One of her coaches, Jason Mongrain, had his first figure skating coaching job in Nakusp over 20 years ago.
“In 1995, the Nakusp Figure Skating Club very randomly contacted me about a coaching position,” says Mongrain, who was “at a crossroads” with his education at the time. “I decided to take the job as a short-term option until I made a final decision.
“As it turned out, I discovered that I had a real passion for coaching kids, and being in a small town, had the opportunity to experiment with technique and training methods without being closely watched (in a fishbowl). The experience of coaching there for my first two seasons had a profound effect on my coaching and life.”
Mongrain says Olivia Gran shows real promise to becoming a Canadian figure skating star.
“Olivia has the potential to be very strong at the senior level,” he says. “She has already represented Canada internationally and has a good chance of further opportunities. At present, with great performances, she could challenge for the top five in the country.
“The key will be maintaining good health, and more importantly, persevering through the challenges of difficult training and competitions for years to come.”
Gran has been chosen as a second alternate for the Canadian entry into the 2018 Junior World Figure Skating Championships, to be held in Bulgaria in March. As an alternate, she won’t be travelling to Europe this time, but it’s a sign her star is rising.
And when it’s time to take to the world stage, Dahlen says she’ll be there.
“We have all enjoyed many years of Olivia’s skating and look forward to many more,” she says. “Being in Vancouver to watch Olivia’s gold skate and become the Junior Ladies National Champion is something I will never forget.”
