Langley-born speed skater Jessica Hewitt helped the Canadian women’s 3,000-metre relay team speed to a silver medal Tuesday at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi Russia.
Hewitt, who now lives in Kamloops, and her teammates Marie-Eve Drolet of Chicoutimi, Que., Valerie Maltais of Le Baie, Que., Marianne St-Gelais of St. Felicien, Que., and Jessica Gregg of Edmonton finishing second behind South Korea.
The Canadians originally ended up in third place but were bumped up to second after the Chinese team was disqualified for obstructing.
Profiled in the Jan. 16 Langley Advance [Help dad to Sochi], the 27-year-old Hewitt was born in Langley. She lived in Fort Langley until the age of six, when she moved to Kamloops with her family.
She lived in Kamloops until she was 18, and moved to Calgary to chase her Olympic dream.
Like many Olympians, Hewitt’s story is one of perseverance.
Four years ago, she fell short of qualifying for Canada’s short track speedskating squad that competed at the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver/Whistler.
This disappointment left her asking herself, “do I really want to continue?â€
She decided to forge on, and improved to the point where she will be skating for her country in Sochi.
“A big reason why I made the team was that I never gave up, I guess,†Hewitt told the Langley Advance, prior to leaving for the Games. "Training been going really great. Everything is going perfectly. I’m on the right track.