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Buisson trying to beat the odds

by Murray McCormick
Leader-Post

January 30, 2006 - Meaghan Buisson couldn't have been happier with the unseasonably warm temperatures on the week.

Buisson, who hails from Saskatoon, was in Regina for the Western Regional Sask Cup II long track speed skating meet at the Mount Pleasant Oval. The event is traditionally conducted in the dead of Saskatchewan's winter with the accompanying bone-chilling temperatures and wind chill.

It was quite pleasant at Mount Pleasant this weekend. That was fine for Buisson, who suffers from Raynaud's Disorder. Raynaud's is a disorder that affects the blood vessels in the extremities, like ears, feet, toes, and fingers.

"I'm probably the only speed skater in Canada with an allergy to cold," Buisson said during a break in Sunday's action at the Oval. "It sounds ridiculous but I have severe intolerance to cold. That's why I'm here this weekend. I wanted to see what it takes to skate outdoors. It wasn't easy. I go to the start line wearing everything and then I take it all off right before racing. I still get numb."

Buisson, 26, isn't one to back down from a challenge. She is already Canada's top inline skater. She switched her inline skates for blades in the fall.

She has since been identified as a candidate for Own The Podium, a national funded program aimed at capturing as many medals as possible at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. An offshoot of OTP is finding athletes to cross over from other sports to Winter Olympics sports.

Buisson has enjoyed such great success that she was named to the program earlier this month. That means she'll receive funding and the assistance she needs to make the next step. The goal is to have cross-over athletes in position to make their respective national teams by 2008.

"I looked at speed skating and it's a chance to go to the Olympics," Buisson said. "There's a support system in place, while in inline, there's none."

Buisson won every event at the 2005 Canadian inline championships. She is the only Canadian to skate on the World Cup inline circuit and is ranked 10th in the world in the marathon (42.2 km).

"I had a rough (2005) season in Europe," Buisson said. "A lot of things happened that challenged my definition of sport. I love inline skating, but I couldn't stand what was going on."

Buisson was encouraged to try speed skating by John Monroe, the Regina-based head coach of Saskatchewan's speed skating team. She placed 14th at a national event in Calgary in March, just a few days after slipping into the blades.

She attended a camp with some of Saskatchewan's high-level speed skaters last summer and decided it was a sport for her. Buisson posted such remarkable times that she caught the attention of officials with OTP.

"There is no way I would be here without (OTP)," Buison said. "I'm already skating on borrowed (long track blades). It's incredible to have this opportunity. For the first time, I can see what I can do on skates."

Buisson is also dealing with off-ice challenges. Now in recovery, she was hospitalized last year to help deal with anorexia and bulimia.

"You never fully get over an eating disorder," said Buisson, who spends time visiting schools in the Saskatoon area talking with students about eating disorders. "The things that make me who I am are the same things that helped fuel my eating disorder. I'm a perfectionist and I have Type A personality.

"(That being said), I don't regret having an eating disorder. All of the struggles I've had allow me to look at how far I've come. After all I've gone through, nothing will ever be as hard."

Buisson plans to stay involved in inline skating despite suffering four concussions. She doesn't plan a return to the World Cup inline circuit this coming season, but wants to try for world records in the marathon and solo 60-minute time trial events.

"(Through OTP), I have 18 months to make the national (speed skating) team," says Buisson, who finished first in the 500 metres and 1,000 m on the weekend and has qualified for the Canadian age-class Championships. "At any given moment, if I don't make time standards, I'm off.

"I finished my races and I started to tell John all of the things I did wrong. He told me to relax, I've only been on skates for three months."

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