Lucasmakowsky.com

Lucas Makowsky looks back on a good start of this pre-Olympic season. Last season he skated most of his World Cup races in the B division, but since the start of this season he not only raced all of his 1500m’s and 5000m’s in the A division, but also managed his first top 10 finish in an individual World Cup distance, and on top of that he was part of the Canadian Team Pursuit team that won a gold medal at the World Cup in Berlin. With the Canadian Single Distances Championships about to begin, Makowsky reflects on his first World Cups of the season and looks forward to what is still to come.

By Jolanda Abbes

Even though we’re only halfway through this season and the most important competitions have yet to take place, Lucas Makowsky can already look back on what may be considered a breakthrough season. Whereas last season he skated most of his World Cup races in the B division, this season Makowsky is consistently racing his 1500m’s and 5000m’s in the A division. Moreover, it seems he has become a regular member of the Canadian Team Pursuit team, that has been quite successful at the first two World Cups of the season. But even though it is obvious that his overall performance has improved considerably compared to a year ago, Makowsky finds it hard to pinpoint one specific aspect of his speed skating that has improved the most over the past year: “I don’t think my greatest improvement so far is attributed to one particular distance, rather all of the small improvements that I’ve made technically in each of my distances.”

One aspect that may have been of some influence on his performances this season is the fact that Makowsky started training with a different coach after he was moved to another group at the end of last season. He is now training with Marcel Lacroix, whose group includes middle distance specialists like Denny Morrison, the current world champion and world record holder in the 1500m. Makowsky reflects: “There were some group changes that were made to reorganize the long track program, so being an all-around skater I was placed with Marcel. To get to this level it takes many years of training, but since I’ve been working with Marcel, he has definitely been able to bring new technical, physical, and mental challenges to my training programs that I believe have helped me. It’s like anything, when you have a new set of eyes analyzing your races and technique, you’ll be sure to have some positive benefit. With someone as experienced and knowledgeable as Marcel is in this sport, I know he will be able to help me reach my potential.”

Last year, Makowsky initially failed to qualify for the World Cup 1500m at the start of the season and skated all his 1500m’s later that season in the B division, but one, but this year he did manage to qualify for this distance in the Fall and consequently skated the 1500m at the World Cups in Berlin, Heerenveen and Moscow. In the A division he raced to some satisfactory results: “It’s been great racing the 1500m’s again at the World Cups this year. I didn’t race the 1500m in Berlin technically the best but after watching some video material and going through the race with Marcel, I knew what I had to change for Heerenveen. Unfortunately, in Heerenveen I ran into a crossover problem where I had to ease up coming out of the first corner on the first lap so I lost quite a bit of speed. Despite that, I raced it a lot better than I did in Berlin and finished the race strong. I had my best 1500m of the first three World Cups in Moscow, finishing 9th. I remember my legs starting to hurt quite early in the race but I was able to maintain my speed and I skated a pretty flat race. I was the most satisfied with the 1500m in Moscow.” In Moscow, Makowsky raced to a 1:47.64. In his first 1500m of the season, in Berlin, he finished 12th in 1:48.37 and a week later in Heerenveen he finished 14th (1:48.33).

Last season, Makowsky did qualify for the 5000m at both the Fall and Winter World Cups but never managed to make it to the A division. However, like his 1500m’s, this season Makowsky is racing his 5000m’s in the A division, so also in terms of the 5000m this season is a big step up compared to a year ago. Makowsky looks back on his 5000m’s at the first two World Cups: “The 5000m in Berlin was a good start for me. I started a little more conservative and gradually progressed throughout the race, which seemed to pay off. When you’re able to build throughout a race like that, it’s a great feeling. In Heerenveen I approached the race a little differently. I started a little harder to really test my potential, but my lower back started to cramp up early on in the race and I wasn’t as relaxed as I should have been. I was working too hard for the speed I was getting and that made for a tough race. In fact, my 5000m in Heerenveen is probably the biggest disappointment of the season so far for me. With my lower back cramping up and me not being relaxed early on in the race, it made for a long race and I didn’t leave the ice that satisfied.” In Berlin, Makowsky finished 14th in the 5000m (6:32.28), and in Heerenveen he raced to a 6:32.51, another 14th place. At the World Cup in Moscow the athletes skated a 10k instead of a 5000m, in which Makowsky finished 4th (13:31.96) in the B division: “The 10k in Moscow went quite well. I wasn’t too sure what to expect for that race, but I started out on a comfortable pace and went with it. The last three to four laps I really started to tie up and lost a little focus, but overall I was happy with the time and how I raced the race.”

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