Meet the parents of an Olympic hopeful

There's a popular feminist quote, which states, "Behind every successful man is a woman."

So who's behind every successful woman you might ask? Well in February, in Vancouver, behind one very successful woman will be a country, a province, a city, a neighbourhood and most importantly, a family.

Judith and Wayne Nesbitt, proud parents of Londoner and world class long-track speed skater Christine Nesbitt, are making their final preparations to travel to Vancouver and witness the culmination of their daughter's childhood dream, winning Olympic Gold. "Yes, skating in the Olympics was always in the back of her mind", dad Wayne says. "Always."

Christine, already an Olympian having won a silver medal at the 2006 Turin Olympics in the team pursuit, along with fellow skaters and Olympians Kristina Groves and Cindy Klassen, will be looking for the ultimate prize this time around.

Christine currently holds the world record time in the 1,000-metre distance and has qualified to skate the 500-metre 1,000-metre and 1,500-metre distances in Vancouver along with the team pursuit.

Judith recalls the first time she herself became aware of the sport of speed skating.

"I was supply teaching at Kensal Park School and it was a young student named Shauna Van Lierop's turn at show and tell." Shauna brought along a pair of speed skates and proceeded to explain the sport. Judith wrote a note to Shauna's dad John, who was and remains highly involved in the London Speed Skating Club, and asked he give her a call. The rest as they say is history.

Christine played competitive hockey with the London Devilettes organization. The short-track speed skaters practiced out of Argyle Arena as did the Devilettes and Christine would watch the speed skaters after hockey practice.

The speed at which the skaters raced intrigued Christine and she was soon donning the long blades.

"She would race in sweat pants and hoodies at first," Judith says. "It took her a while to come to terms with wearing the skin suit."

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The switch to long-track from short-track came about in Grade 12.

The year was 2003 and double cohorts of students were about to graduate from Ontario high schools. The competition for entrance into university was fierce.

"In any given year Christine's high school average would have been highly acceptable to enter McGill University, in Montreal," Wayne says. Christine had hoped to continue her short track training there. Christine instead found herself at the University of Calgary as an engineering student and training at the Calgary oval. The coach there recognized almost immediately that Christine was a long track skater and thus began her transition and ascent in the sport.

Initially while making the transition from short track to long track Christine had only the support of her parents.

"These were the hard times; the challenging times. Christine was an 18-year-old; the weakest skater on the team," Wayne says. "There were many obstacles in the young skaters path; two train rides to get to the Calgary oval to train; a change in residence seven times in three years; no funding."

Judith recalls another significant problem for someone hoping to continue in the sport. "We couldn't even find out where to get skates for her."

Any one of these factors might have been enough to discourage an individual from continuing in the sport. Unless of course you are that unique individual – like Christine – with the overwhelming desire, dream, vision and will to succeed. This, as they say, is what separates the good from the great.

The Nesbitt's have always encouraged sport and academics. In fact, the family has a rather impressive history of accomplishments in both.

As a young hockey player, older brother Doug, a PhD student in Canadian history at Queen's University, in Kingston, was instrumental in instilling that competitiveness in his younger sister, sibling rivalry at its best.

"Personally, I hated to see the school year end because it meant the end of sports for a while," says Wayne who recalls his family being unable to afford the high cost of playing hockey. Wayne instead excelled at school soccer, basketball, football and track. "My dad ran the half-mile and I ran the quarter mile distances. Same types of distances that Christine races on skates."

Wayne also played varsity football at Carleton University. Today he is a professor of Earth sciences at the University of Western Ontario. Judith can be seen walking the family dog, Howie, daily as well as riding her bicycle all over the north end of the city in the summer months. She is on the teaching staff at Lord Roberts French Immersion Public School in downtown London.

Stephen Covey writes about the seven habits of highly successful people, one being the ability of a person to begin with the end in mind. Whether by nature or nurture, Christine's parents say she has this ability and has had the end in mind from day one.

Christine has said the support of her family has always been a huge comfort and that will only continue as Judith and Wayne will be front-and-centre in Vancouver to witness the fruition of their daughter's dream. Only this time they'll have an entire nation of company cheering right along with them.