Long Track Speed Skating

RICHMOND, B.C. -- Canada's long-track speedskaters are expected to lead the host country's medal haul at the Vancouver Olympics but Tamara Oudenaarden may have to watch the entire show from the sidelines.

The 22-year-old from St. Albert, Alta., is an alternate for Canada in the women's 500 metres and will only take the ice if one of her teammates drops out.

"I'm waiting," she said this week at the Olympic Oval. "I'm training as if I'm racing. So I ask my team leaders every day. I'm sure they're getting sick of it. But either way I've prepared myself to race and then not to race. Obviously it would be a bonus."

Just getting to the Games was a roller-coaster ride for Oudenaarden.

She finished fourth in the 500 metres at the Olympic trials in Calgary in December behind Christine Nesbitt, Anastasia Buscis and Shannon Rempel. But an error calculating the times originally put Oudenaarden in third, good enough for the final Olympic berth in the distance. For two hours, Oudenaarden thought she had her spot.

"I was told 'Yes, after my 500 and then I was off celebrating, hanging out with my family and planning things," she recalled. "When I was leaving the oval two hours later they pulled me aside and we're new to this so we thought maybe they just wanted to talk to me and my family."

What they told her was that due to the mistake, she had not won a spot on the team.

"I had a tough couple of days getting over it and just coming to reality," said Oudenaarden. "I had to race two days later so I was upset, tired and drained.

"It was probably the biggest ups and downs I've had in my entire life because going to the Olympics and being named to the team is your dream. I was so excited I was going. And then all those family and friends who were there supporting you _ you have to give them a call and tell them that you're not going so it was really tough."

She found out she was part of the Olympic team as an alternate the day before she flew out to the world sprint championships in Obihiro, Japan last month, where she finished 19th.

"It was an honour that they chose me to go and that they really had faith in me that I can do well and that I can take in the experience as it was given to me."

Although she may not make it to the start line in Vancouver, Oudenaarden knows that the veterans on the squad can teach her a great deal about how to approach both the on- and off-ice aspects of life at the Olympics. What she picks up in Vancouver will be useful down the road in Sochi, Russia. She plans to once again be part team Canada in 2014 - just not as an alternate.

"I'll be able to learn by watching how the older skaters react when they face situations like going into the village or seeing all the media so that in four years I'll be used to it all. The excitement of this will help at the next Olympics for sure."

At least for now, Oudenaarden will prepare as if she's going to race but she'll be relying on some good fortune and perhaps secretly hoping that one or two fellow competitors comes down with a case of the sniffles the day before the race.

"I'm not sick so I can't get anyone sick unfortunately," she chuckled.

The way Oudenaarden sees it, being forced to wait to see if she's even going to get to race may actually prove to be a good thing. Coming into this competition not knowing if she's taking part means she doesn't feel something that all athletes feel prior to any competition: nerves.

"It's not like I have these expectations heading into my race now," she said. "If I find out the night before, I can just be excited for the race and not have to worry about nerves."