By Lara Fominoff @LaraFominoff on Twitter

No one is perfect and it’s OK to fail: Olympic gold medallist Catriona Le May Doan

Mar 23, 2018 | 3:42 PM

LETHBRIDGE –  As a three-time Olympic champion speed skater with two gold medals and a bronze medal to her name, Calgary’s Catriona Le May Doan says it’s ok to fail. It’s ok to struggle.

Speaking at Lethbridge’s “Greatness in Leadership” conference Thursday (Mar.22), Doan, who has also worked as a broadcaster and motivational speaker, believes that struggles are all part of the journey.

“Perfection is something you can chase forever, but you’ll never get to.”

Asked if she had “discovered greatness,” she said it was like asking if she ever had a perfect race.

“A perfect race doesn’t exist. I have witnessed greatness. Have I seen it, or lived it or witnessed it? Moments. But again, I think that would be perfection. And nobody’s perfect.”

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Even when times were tough – when she fell or didn’t finish the way she had hoped – what she fell back on was her team and support networks to get her through.

“You battle yourself and as a team, we had times of great team dynamics and times of poor team dynamics. But we always had a network of not just athletes, but coaches, and sports psychologists and physios who become your team and become your network…the biggest thing was to normalize an abnormal situation, because we all want to be perfect, and yet we’re not.”

In addition to her Olympic achievements, Doan has won 11 World Championship medals, including five gold medals. She has received three honorary degrees, has been inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame, and has been appointed as an officer of the Order of Canada.

Now, Doan says she’s embracing the future, even though she’s not quite sure what it holds.

“I’ve always been a planner and I’ve always been kind of knowing what’s next. And I’m really – the last few months, going – wow! This is exciting and scary at the same time.”