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Concussion could
sideline Hinchcliffe
from Indy 500
Without
a paddle
Marni Oldershaw reacts after qualifying for this year’s Commonwealth Games at
the Canadian Swimming Trials last month in Victoria. | photo courtesy Swimming
Canada / Scott Grant
Swimmer broke away from family tradition
by Herb Garbutt
Oakville Beaver Staff
M
arni Oldershaw wrung the last
ounces of energy out of her body
as she took the final strokes and
her effort was rewarded when she touched
the wall first. She immediately turned toward the stands in the Etobicoke Olympium, searching for her parents and when she
finally spotted them, the exhausted 12-yearold pointed a finger into her mouth.
“I think she’s going to be sick,” a nearby
parent said with some concern.
Dean Oldershaw just smiled, knowing
exactly what the gesture meant. It was recognition of the mantra of a family that has
produced five Olympians: Paddle ‘til you
puke. She was telling her parents she had
given everything she had.
“She’s an Oldershaw,” he thought to himself.
•
•
•
•
If she was really an Oldershaw, what was
she doing in the water?
The Oldershaw name was built on top of
the water, through three generations of paddlers, through nine Olympic Games, becom-
ing synonymous with canoe and kayak, not
just in Canada, but around the world.
Marni followed the family tradition started by her grandfather Bert, who competed at
three Olympics. It would have been nearly
impossible to avoid paddling altogether.
By the age of two, she was sitting in a motorboat on Sixteen Mile Creek as her dad,
who competed at the Munich and Montreal
Games, coached future Olympic gold medallist Adam van Koeverden.
Success came when Marni started paddling herself. She helped Burloak Canoe
Club crew boats win provincial titles and
made the podium in her individual events.
But a promising paddling career was derailed by her ability in the pool. Before Oldershaw even reached high school, she was
already breaking national age group records.
Her 13-14-year-old 400-metre individual
medley record still stands, as do three relay
marks set with her Oakville Aquatic Club
teammates.
When Oldershaw was named to the junior national team for the North American
Challenge at age 13, it became apparent
she would have to make a choice between
swimming and paddling. She sat down with
her parents and made a list of pros and cons
for each sport.
“I think when it came time to stay with
swimming and not do canoe, she thought
she had to sell me on it,” Dean said. “She
was telling me paddlers peak into their 30s,
swimmers peak at 20-24, so she could compete and then get on with the rest of her life.
I think she was all worried that I would be
pushing canoe, but the reality was she was
already on a Canadian team representing
her country (in swimming).”
“I couldn’t really tell you what was going through my mind as a 13-year-old, but
I knew I couldn’t do both because of the
(conflicting) schedules,” Marni said. “It
would have been great to continue the family legacy, but maybe it was time to start a
new one.”
•
•
•
•
Marni Oldershaw’s swimming career didn’t
hinge on the final women’s race of the Canadian Swimming Trials last month in Victoria, but it did represent a chance to achieve
a significant milestone. She had competed at
the world junior championships but she had
never made a senior national team.
That still seemed very far off in the future
until last year’s World University Games in
see Marni on p.18
Oakville’s James Hinchcliffe could miss the
IndyCar season’s biggest race after suffering a
concussion Saturday.
Hinchcliffe was running in eighth at the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis when he
was struck by a piece of debris that flew off
Justin Wilson’s car. The Oakville driver pulled
his car off the track and was later loaded into
an ambulance on a stretcher. He was taken
to an Indianapolis hospital and was released
Saturday evening. He
was to be re-evaluated
by IndyCar doctors yesterday (Tuesday).
Hinchcliffe did return
to the track Sunday, but
the initial estimate was
that he would be out of
the car for at least a week
— which could hurt his
James Hinchcliffe
chances of qualifying for
this month’s Indy 500.
“I want to thank all the fans for their messages of concern and support,” Hinchcliffe
said. “I’m a little stiff and sore and I’d love to
be back in the car tomorrow, but I suppose I
should probably let the doctors make that decision. Such a bummer for the (United Fiber
& Data) car when things were really starting
to come together.”
It has been a trying season for Hinchcliffe,
who is 21st in the overall point standings. He
has started on the front row in two of the four
races but has just one top-10 finish (seventh
at the Grand Prix of Alabama) to show for it.
At the Grand Prix of Long Beach, he was in
third place before getting caught up in a crash
involving the first and second-place cars. He
finished 20th in Saturday’s race after being
forced to pull off the track on Lap 57.
E.J. Viso is driving Hinchcliffe’s No. 27
car in this week’s practice sessions for the
Indy 500, which will be run Sunday May 25.
Qualifications for the race will be held May
17-18.
“He is a great friend of mine, he was my
teammate last year,” Viso said. “Right now
I’m helping him out, putting miles on his car
and hoping he comes back soon and jumps
back in.”
Hinchcliffe finished sixth in the 2012 Indy
500. He narrowly missed earning the pole
that year after Ryan Briscoe edged him with
an average speed of 226.484 miles per hour,
compared to Hinchcliffe’s 226.481.
Hinchcliffe has not missed a race since his
IndyCar debut in 2011, making 55 consecutive starts.
— Herb Garbutt
17 | Wednesday, May 14, 2014 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com
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