At the Canada Games, 2 Isabelles showed Canada's Olympic spirit

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They say never to meet your idols. In the case of Isabelle Champagne, that couldn't be further from the truth.

Champagne is a 15-year-old speed skater from Calgary who was competing for the first time in the Canada Winter Games, all the way across the country in Halifax.

She also happens to share a first name with Isabelle Weidemann, the Ottawa native who returned home with a gold, silver and bronze medal from the 2022 Beijing Olympics. For her efforts, Weidemann was also chosen as Canada's flag-bearer at the closing ceremony.

Champagne unsurprisingly looks up to Weidemann, who she often sees during training at Calgary's Olympic Oval on Saturday mornings. "She's just a really good person," Champagne said in an interview with CBC Sports. One day, Champagne hopes to double the amount of Isabelles on the Canadian speed skating team.

Before the Canada Games began, Champagne said she was "definitely a little bit nervous," but also ready to race. It was set to be "a big step up" in competition from age-class nationals.

Things didn't quite go as planned to start. Champagne was dealing with a pulled calf, which required her to pull out of practices and spend copious time in physio. The schedule she'd put in place to prepare was already being thrown out of whack.

It all crescendoed the night before her first race, the 1,500 metres.

"I just kind of talked it through with my coach, but I was feeling pretty overwhelmed with nerves," Champagne said. "There were some tears. I just felt a bit frozen and overwhelmed."

In the background, Champagne's coach reached out to Weidemann, who