I know I've told you in the past but one thing I truly appreciate about covering a sport like short track is having the opportunity to meet people from all over the globe. It’s actually something a lot of athletes enjoy too but while some just surf on the opportunity, others push it further by moving to another part of the world to keep their dream alive and make the most out of it. That’s what Australian-born Deanna Lockett did.
By Carl Savard
Photos by Oscar van den Bosch and Deanna Lockett's personal collection
It’s with a big smile and a laid back attitude that the 24-year-old from Sunnybank, Australia sat with me for a chat last fall when the short track speed skating World cup circus was in Montreal. Lockett, who’s now representing Hungary, was ready to talk about her life as an elite athlete, but first I was curious to know how a kid from Australia ends up choosing a winter sport.
“I started skating when I was eight or nine. Most sports are played outside in the middle of the day in sunny Australia and I have a pretty light color skin and my dad was worried about skin cancer risks so we ended up at the ice rink. At first it was just for general skating sessions. I liked going really fast so I tried speed skating and fell in love with it. I didn’t grow up surrounded by athletes but I’ve always been competitive and from the get go I wanted to become a high level speed skater. I was sixteen when I skated in a World cup event for the first time and I didn’t expect much but I ended up making the B final on 1500m and was really shocked. I started thinking that maybe I could be a really good skater.”
As a fan of short track since the end of the 80's, I’m always interested in knowing which national skater had an impact on an athlete when they were younger. Asking that question to a Dutch or a Canadian skater is easy since they have a lot of role models to pick from, asking it to someone from a country whose short track history is often linked to a historical anecdote at the 2002 Olympics (see Steven Bradbury) is another thing. For Deanna Lockett, one name popped in her head when I asked her the question and it's someone who had made similar career choices. “When I was between 10 and 12 years old, we had Tatiana Borodulina from Russia who skated for Australia. She won World cup medals and I’d say she was a pretty big inspiration for me. But other than that, I didn’t really look up to other skaters or even know about them too much before I showed up on the international scene.”
The traveling Hungaroo knows the life she’s living right now isn’t your regular everyday life and she tries to cherish every moment. “It’s great meeting people from other countries and spending time with them. You make new friends and learn things from other cultures. If you would have told me three years ago that I would become a Hungarian citizen I would have laughed at you. I now have three passports!*”
Deanna Lockett should be in action on the Mokdong Ice Rink in Seoul from March 13 to the 15 to compete one last time this season at the ISU Short track speed skating world championships.
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*Before obtaining her Hungarian citizenship, Deanna Lockett already had an Australian and British passports.
Deanna Lockett should be in action on the Mokdong Ice Rink in Seoul from March 13 to the 15 to compete one last time this season at the ISU Short track speed skating world championships.
Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter, follow our Facebook page, our Instagram account and our Twitter account for daily news and results about speed skating.
*Before obtaining her Hungarian citizenship, Deanna Lockett already had an Australian and British passports.
