3 Manitoba speed skaters aim to follow in steps of legendary local Olympians, inspire next generation

Manitoba has a long and decorated Olympic history in long track speed skating that dates back 90 years.

Winnipeg's Heather McLean and Tyson Langelaar, along with Alexa Scott of Clandeboye, Man., will compete at next month's Winter Games in Beijing.

All three Manitobans were in Calgary when they were named to the 16-person Canadian Olympic long track speed skating team last Monday.

Langelaar, Scott and McLean will look to join a special list of Manitobans who have earned a spot on an Olympic podium while donning the Red and White.

Winnipegger Frank Stack earned one of five long track medals for Canada when he captured bronze in the men's 10,000-metre race at the 1932 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, N.Y.

Cathy Priestner of Winnipeg became the first Canadian woman to nab an Olympic long track medal when she collected silver in the women's 500m race at the 1976 Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria.

Cindy Klassen dominated the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. The Winnipegger, who also earned a bronze in Salt Lake City, Utah four years earlier, collected a Games-high five medals — gold in the 1,500m, silver in both the 1,000m and team pursuit, and bronze in the 3,000m and 5,000m races. 

That mark remains the most medals won by a Canadian athlete at any Olympics.

The success of Manitobans is a major reason why long track speed skating is Canada's most successful sport at the Olympics with 37 medals.

McLean is the veteran among the contingent of Manitoba long track speed skaters.

The 29-year-old competed in the women's 500m and 1,000m races at the 2018 Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea, placing 14th and 25th, respectively.

"I didn't know how to prepare for the whole Games environment, and even the competition itself was a