Growing Up With the Greggs a Ticket to Athletic Excellence

The Gregg family takes athletic achievement to a new high:
Jamie, from left, Sarah, Kathy, Randy, Jessica and Ryan.

By Chris Welner

The race to an Olympic silver medal for short-track speed skater Jessica Gregg was nurtured growing up in one of Canada’s most decorated athletic families. Parents Randy speaks of Jamie’s decision to give up his race spot to allow veteran world record holder Jeremy Wotherspoon, who was battling back from injury,  an opportunity to qualify for the Canadian Olympic team in the 500.

“It was good for the team to get Jeremy racing World Cups and back with the team. It wasn’t even much of a decision. It’s because of him I got so good,“ says Jamie, who placed eighth in the 500 metres at Vancouver 2010, one place ahead of Wotherspoon. Like his father, Jamie hopes to be a doctor one day.

The siblings are all enrolled at the University of Calgary, the girls live together and study kinesiology.

The boys also live together, Ryan studying economics with Jamie in pre-med sciences. On the rare occasions they get back home to Edmonton, there’s usually time to go skating together, or get out for a run with their dog, Kolya.

The race to see who gets to ride shotgun in mom’s car is not so important anymore.

“A lot of who the kids are comes from our own parents as role models,” says Kathy, a Grade 1 teacher at Malmo School in Edmonton. “I knew growing up as a kid my value as a human being was not how good I was at sports.”

They all chime in about the pure joy and enjoyment of sport that fuels their passion, that drives training programs designed to make them world champions. Whether they hit the top step seems immaterial. As long as there’s another rung on the ladder, the Greggs will keep climbing.

“Sport doesn’t make you a million dollars. If it does, that’s called a job,” says Randy. “They know they should be happy with good performances, but show me how to get better. Looking past simply winning, we realize why the great players are so great.”

Photo Brian Buchsdruecker

January/February 2011 Issue