SheSA国际影视传媒檚 happy to be back in her own bed now, but Wren Acorn said she wouldnSA国际影视传媒檛 have traded the experience for anything.

The 19-year-old Yellowknife speedskater is back home following one of the busiest stretches of her young career. The highlight of that was competing with Team Canada at the 2023 Winter World University Games, better known as Universiade, in Lake Placid, New York, last week. She earned her spot through the Canadian Short Track Invitational in Montreal, finishing second overall among athletes who were eligible for Universiade.

Short-track speedskating was contested between Jan. 19 and 21 with Acorn seeing action in the womenSA国际影视传媒檚 1,000-metre and 1,500-metre events, along with the womenSA国际影视传媒檚 3,000-metre relay.

SA国际影视传媒淚 recognized a lot of the names from the other teams,SA国际影视传媒� said Acorn. SA国际影视传媒淭he Koreans sent a really strong team. France and China each had a World Cup skater and I realized weSA国际影视传媒檇 be competitive with the team we had simply because we have the depth that a lot of other countries donSA国际影视传媒檛.SA国际影视传媒�

Acorn began with the 1,500-metre race on Jan. 19, her bread and butter distance. Her quarter-final saw her finish fourth; only the top three from each quarter-final were guaranteed to move on to the semifinal under what is known as the 3+2 system. The +2 means that the two fastest non-qualified times would advance to the semifinal and thatSA国际影视传媒檚 how Acorn moved on.

SA国际影视传媒淚 had a look at the start list and only saw two names I knew,SA国际影视传媒� said Acorn. SA国际影视传媒淚 knew one of them was better than I was, but I definitely felt more comfortable as the races went on.SA国际影视传媒�

The Yellowknife athlete finished fourth in her semifinal SA国际影视传媒� only the top two moved on to the A final and the medals SA国际影视传媒� meaning she was skating for placing, and ended up finishing third in the B final, good for 10th place overall.

Next up was the relay and Acorn skated in the semifinal, helping Canada to a second-place finish, a spot in the A final and a shot at a medal. It wasnSA国际影视传媒檛 meant to be, though, as the ladies ended up fourth in the final and on the outside looking in.

Acorn, who was the alternate for the final, said an early fall hampered things.

SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 better to have that happen early to allow the team to catch up, but we just werenSA国际影视传媒檛 able to,SA国际影视传媒� she said.

Her final event was the 1,000-metre and it was a short one as she was penalized in her heat and wound up disqualified. It was an arm block that spelled doom, something Acorn attributed to mental fatigue.

SA国际影视传媒淚SA国际影视传媒檓 a clean skater; I donSA国际影视传媒檛 habitually do stuff like that,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淢y awareness was starting to slip and thatSA国际影视传媒檚 where it all went downhill. I just have to remember to leave myself space and have that awareness of whatSA国际影视传媒檚 going on around me. I could have gone through, but itSA国际影视传媒檚 a tough lesson to learn.SA国际影视传媒�

Canada Cup aspirations

It was the conclusion of a busy stretch of skating for Acorn, who was on the ice before Universiade at the Canada Cup event in Laval, Que., Jan. 13 to 15. She finished 10th overall there with a total of 4,533 points from her six events. Each of the six events had a point total attached to it with the four best events counting toward a skaterSA国际影视传媒檚 final score.

Acorn said that result was her best national-ranked finish ever, and itSA国际影视传媒檚 pushing her closer to the Canada Cup national team.

SA国际影视传媒淚t wasnSA国际影视传媒檛 like back in October (Canadian Short Track Championships) where I had a sixth-place finish to help bump up my total SA国际影视传媒� I fought for all my results,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淚 was consistent the whole way through and no one distance saved me. ItSA国际影视传媒檚 reassuring to see where I find myself right now and it means ISA国际影视传媒檓 getting close.SA国际影视传媒�

But itSA国际影视传媒檚 time to relax now for Acorn. After all, sheSA国际影视传媒檚 had more than two dozen world-class races in the span of a couple of weeks.

SA国际影视传媒淟ake Placid ran an awesome event and they set us up super well,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淲e got to watch a hockey game, played some pond hockey and watched some long-track speedskating. My dad, cousin, aunt and uncle were there to cheer me on all week and the support from our families was all there.SA国际影视传媒�