Darby Beeson: Speed Skating

In this episode of Airdrie Inside, Chris Glass sits down with Darby Beeson—Team Canada NextGen speed skater and clubfoot ambassador. Darby’s story is a masterclass in resilience. Born with a clubfoot and told by doctors she might never walk, Darby didn't just learn to run, she learned to fly on ice. From the gritty days of "Roller Darby" to training alongside Olympians, she has spent her life framing a solution to the physical and mental barriers placed in her way. Now, even a 100-metre fall down a mountainside and a broken ankle can't stop her mission for the 2030 Games.

"It's not about what you're doing when you're ten. It's about if you want that sport and if you love it and keep training in it... I don't believe there's any barriers of anyone saying anything that can stop you from being successful." — Darby Beeson

Follow Darby Beeson: https://speedskating.ca/athletes/darby-beeson/ 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

If they're worried, like, oh, my kid isn't progressing this way. And I'm like, hey, I wasn't even good at that age. Like, I probably would have looked at me and not expected me to be on the national team in like six years. So it's not about what you're doing when you're 10. It's about, you know, if you want that sport and if you love it and keep training in it.

SPEAKER_00 0:25

Welcome back to another episode of Airdrie Inside. I am your host, Chris Glass. We are back at Microacres. That's why it smells so good in here. I'm really excited about my guest here, uh, Darby Beeson. Welcome to the show.

SPEAKER_01 0:40

Hi, thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_00 0:42

Now, Darby, uh, you came to me highly recommended. So uh, we get a lot of people telling me uh you have to have this person on the show, that person on the show, and they have various reasons for it. But but not very often I'm sitting with a potential Olympian. So I I think that is extremely exciting. So welcome to the show.

SPEAKER_01 1:01

Yeah, thank you. I'm super excited. It's my first podcast, so really excited.

SPEAKER_00 1:07

We have been the first podcast for a lot of people here in Airdrie. So uh it's been excellent bringing new faces on.

SPEAKER_01 1:13

Yeah, no, I am so excited afterwards to go watch the other podcasts as well. So I'm like, and mine.

SPEAKER_00 1:21

Well, we had somebody who might be joining you, not at the Winter Olympics, but the Summer Olympics. Uh, we had uh Sienna on, Sienna McDonald on.

SPEAKER_01 1:29

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_00 1:29

And uh she just ended up winning a silver medal last week uh in uh a big international event. So uh hoping to bring you the same kind of luck that you're gonna medal at your next next event here.

SPEAKER_01 1:42

So I hope so.

SPEAKER_00 1:43

So tell me a bit about your journey as a speed skater.

SPEAKER_01 1:46

So obviously, when I was born, I was born with a club foot. So, you know, being born with a club foot, sports wasn't really kind of in the picture to begin with. So it was really strange because I had lots of doctors telling me, well, she might not walk, but my mom still kind of insisted sports. It was always sports. So I actually started off in roller skating. Okay. So I've been roller skating since I was about four years old, and that turned into roller derby.

SPEAKER_00 2:17

Okay, excellent. Do you have a like a badass roller derby name?

SPEAKER_01 2:21

Roller Derby. Roller Derby.

SPEAKER_00 2:23

I should have seen that one coming a mile away.

SPEAKER_01 2:25

Yeah, it actually went perfect. Lots of people asked me if my mom named me that, so my name could be that. No, it just so happened to be perfect.

SPEAKER_00 2:35

So roller derby's fun. I uh I was DJing for a long time, and you get thrown a lot of shows, and and you know, I like to say yes to to new ones, and I've actually DJ'ed a bunch of roller derby matches. Oh, wow. And uh yeah, it's awesome. It's exciting. But when somebody breaks an ankle, and we'll get to yours in a sec, wow, is that dramatic in that sport?

SPEAKER_01 2:55

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I'm very thankful. I never really injured myself in roller derby. I was a jammer, so I was kind of like all over the place.

SPEAKER_00 3:03

So Okay, so you go from roller derby. Well, let's back up here though. You you start from doctors telling your parent, your mom that you're not gonna be able to walk or that that's a challenge. Uh what was the process that went into learning how to walk and and navigating that before we even get to sports?

SPEAKER_01 3:21

Yeah, so when I was initially born, I had a brace. Um, the brace kind of had like a metal thing in the middle, so it was kind of locked in place. And I basically just slept in that for a very long time, especially as a newborn, lots of therapy. We tried just having casting to hold the foot in place, and initially that worked out, but when I was about seven or eight, my foot relapsed. Okay, and that's when I had to have my surgery.

SPEAKER_00 3:48

Okay. Yeah. And so as an eight-year-old, you had a major operation to rebuild your leg.

SPEAKER_01 3:54

Yeah. I was actually excited about it. My parents were scared, but I was like, ooh, I get to have a surgery, I get to go under. Like I was super excited. So it was a good experience for me.

SPEAKER_00 4:04

And I think eight-year-old, eight years old is the right amount of time to have that kind of operation because it goes quick.

SPEAKER_01 4:11

Yeah, no, absolutely. Like, I just remember waking up because that was my first time going under, and I was like, whoa, that felt like a snap. That was so cool. And then as I'm coming off the medication, just like throwing up awful, and I was like, Yeah, I don't like this.

SPEAKER_00 4:27

So as an AI, so when did you start roller derby? So you're eight years old, you've got this brand new uh wheel, if you will.

SPEAKER_01 4:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:36

And then uh what was the next step?

SPEAKER_01 4:38

Yeah, so roller derby was when I was four, and then I did that up until I was like 14.

SPEAKER_00 4:44

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 4:44

So that's when COVID hit. So I actually made junior team Canada for roller derby.

SPEAKER_00 4:50

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 4:50

But COVID obviously stopped me from being able to go to, I think it was in Saskatchewan was the World Cup to play. So I had to make a decision speed skating or roller derby at that point. And pick speed skating.

SPEAKER_00 5:05

Now, speed skating is a sport that Canadians excel at. Uh what got you interested in speed skating?

SPEAKER_01 5:15

So I did a lot of sports. So while I was also doing roller derby, I did inlining.

SPEAKER_00 5:20

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 5:21

So when this roller ring called Lloyd's was still open.

SPEAKER_00 5:24

Lloyd's, man, I grew up in Lloyd's. I'm sure. There's nobody in their 40s who didn't spend time at Lloyd's rollercade.

SPEAKER_01 5:30

Yeah, so they had an inline team there that I raced for. So I got to go to Washington, Spokane, raced lots of international competitions there. And when Lloyd shut down, I was like, well, there's ice. So I went to my very first World Cup. Uh, that was in Calgary, where I watched speed skating for the first time. And I met speed skater Joey Mantina, who was also an inliner in for the US. And I just remember watching everyone and being like, I want to go so fast like that. Like it just seems so much more fun than wheels. So I was like, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:05

And how did the transition go? So you go from like this is always the journey that that gets me because I I pick up a new sport, it takes a little tail, I don't end up in the Olympics, right? How do you go from just starting something to being such a high performance athlete? That's a crazy journey to me.

SPEAKER_01 6:25

Yeah, I guess I never really thought about it in that way. It was more just like when I was a kid, I feel like, or like even just a young teenager, I just feel like the thought process was never, oh, what sport's gonna make me an Olympian? It was always, I knew I was gonna excel in something and I knew I was gonna be great in something. So I was like, I just wanted to do what I loved. And in that moment, picking between roller derby and speed skating, I was like, I really want speed skating. So that's when I started probably putting in the most effort I had in this sport.

SPEAKER_00 6:55

Okay. And when did you know that this was it? Like this was what was clicking? Like when was your first competition where you started to go, okay, this is something that I could really see success in?

SPEAKER_01 7:05

Well, what's really funny is I wasn't good at all in the beginning. Uh like all my friends were so much better than me. Like I was always in the lower divisions, lower races, by no means getting any of these really good times. I mean, I made like a couple like big competitions, like Alberta Winter Games, Cannes, but I was never by no means like a future star in the eyes of like really anyone in skating. So it was kind of like I was kind of an underdog, and I just kept training. And eventually, it was when I was 16, I decided I was in short track at this point still. So I decided I'm gonna do the junior which is a crazy sport.

SPEAKER_00 7:45

Yeah, like it's it's so violent. I love it, but it's a lot of fun to watch. There's lots of crashes, or yeah, it's crazy.

SPEAKER_01 7:52

Which is funny because I was really scared about that. So I actually think I was like too cautious on short track. I was kind of like, I didn't take as many risks, which it's kind of the point of short track, but anyways, I made it far enough. Like I was in the Oval program and I decided I was gonna do the long track uh junior worlds trials, and I made the team.

SPEAKER_00 8:13

Oh, excellent.

SPEAKER_01 8:14

And that's when I was like, oh, okay. Every everything's working out. I think like this is this is my thing.

SPEAKER_00 8:21

You found your lane.

SPEAKER_01 8:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:23

Excellent. Okay, and then so uh long track speed skating. Uh talk to me a little bit about the strategy behind it. Talk to me about the gamesmanship that goes on. It's not just about skating fast, right? So tell me a little bit about the strategy side for those who might not know much about the sport.

SPEAKER_01 8:41

Yeah, so I really enjoy long track a lot more, especially because I train very hard and I'm very, very hard on myself in like technique, programming. So short track's a lot of tactical thinking. You have to be smart in the race, you have to kind of play the race as it goes, where long track, you're just giving it your all, everything off of that line. And you're skating by yourself. So there's two lanes. Yeah. I it's hard for someone who hasn't really watched it. If you want, look at the Olympics, it's that they just happened.

SPEAKER_00 9:14

I watch it all the time when the Olympics are on. I I I I know nothing about it, but I'm all in, especially because Canada does so well, because you always want to see your country medal, right?

SPEAKER_01 9:24

So no, Canada did especially very well this year, so that was super exciting to watch. But there's the two lanes, so you get the whole lane to yourself, even if you're racing the other person. And I liked that because I didn't have to worry about what the other person was doing. It was me, myself, and I on that line. It was everything I had. I didn't have to really, you know, worry.

SPEAKER_00 9:46

Yeah. Very cool. Okay. So what does the future look like now? Like uh I think our next games is in 2030, correct?

SPEAKER_01 9:56

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 9:56

Okay, so walked walk me through the process of qualifying and and what's the next step?

SPEAKER_01 10:01

Yeah, so we call them quads. So we just finished our last quad. Usually every quad is when we like replace a couple things: staff, athletes. We're kind of like, you know, we're forming what we think we need to succeed for the next four years. So this year I was placed on the national team again because they believe in four years I'm gonna be on that team.

SPEAKER_00 10:23

Excellent.

SPEAKER_01 10:23

So that's why we have the program called Next Gen. So that's what I'm on. So next generation.

SPEAKER_00 10:29

Happily named.

unknown 10:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:32

So basically, these next four years are basically they want to grow all these athletes. So by 2030, we have a new set of Olympic team. Cause I mean, this quad, we had a lot of our really high-level Olympians retire, or they only have like one or two more years. So they're really working on building the next team. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:55

Well, and you think about that, like some of the iconic uh speed skaters in Canadian histories, like Katrina Limited and all of the big names. Uh, how does it feel to be stepping in those shoes?

SPEAKER_01 11:08

I mean, it's even weird. Like when I first started training with like someone who I really looked up to, even E Blondin. Yeah, she like I had looked up to her so much. Like I had went to World Cups in Calgary and gotten photos with her, and now I train beside her. It's really surreal to like look over and just have a conversation with like this like Olympian that you looked up to like your whole entire childhood.

SPEAKER_00 11:31

So that's really cool. I I I couldn't imagine that. That that that's so neat. What advice do you have to athletes that are are looking at sports like speed skating? What what what's the most important things they can do?

SPEAKER_01 11:45

I think something I've also noticed, like, especially I coach speed skating. So I coach between ages nine to ten, is just because you're not amazing and doing these insane things at a young age doesn't mean you're not gonna be good. I mean, I've like I tell parents this all the time. I'm like, if they're worried, like, oh, my kid isn't progressing this way, and I'm like, hey, I wasn't even good at that age. Like, I probably would have looked at me and not expected me to be on the national team in like six years. So it's not about what you're doing when you're 10. It's about, you know, if you want that sport and if you love it and keep training in it.

SPEAKER_00 12:23

Yeah, it's about committing to the craft at that point.

SPEAKER_01 12:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:26

It's funny. I watch a lot I coach high school football, and uh over at George McDougal, I can't help but shout out the Mustangs on every podcast I'm on. Uh, but you know, you see a player come in in grade 10 and you know, they they're not getting it. Yeah. But they end up committing to learning the game and learning the craft, and by grade 12, they're captains of the team or somebody you'd consider an invaluable member that you couldn't live without. That story has played itself over and over again. So that's excellent advice.

SPEAKER_01 12:54

Yeah, I think a big part of it was especially during COVID, because I know some athletes like COVID hit really hard, and it was, oh, I just I can't train, I can't do this. But that's actually when I started training the hardest, and when I realized I wanted skating the most, is I was like, I really want this. I'm gonna train super hard, I'm gonna do the biking that I do every day. I bought a stationary bike, and that's probably when I saw the most improvement in my skating.

SPEAKER_00 13:19

Right, and just doubling down and yeah. Now, one activity that I I must say that I don't think you're very good at uh is climbing mountains. So and going on hikes. So we had talked a little bit. For those if the camera can't see it, uh, we're in a cast here. So I want to talk a little bit about your left foot here.

SPEAKER_01 13:38

Yeah, so if the right foot wasn't already struggling enough, um, I was hiking with my team, uh, just the girls, and I brought my dog along, and he's well behaved, but you know, is it big dog or a little dog?

SPEAKER_00 13:52

It's an Irish shutter. Okay, so decent size.

SPEAKER_01 13:55

Pretty, he's like 90 pounds. Yeah, okay. Pretty big. And I wore the running harness so that he could have a little bit of like, you know, leaning with the leash. And uh we're going down the hill, and he saw a squirrel, and he just you could hear the band just like like break. Like it like literally snapped, and I was like, oh my gosh. And then I just went right down the hill just with him, and I tried to turn to the side to stop, and I just, yeah, crack.

SPEAKER_00 14:21

Oh no. Yeah. And you said you fell about a hundred meters, uh, you rolled about a hundred meters down.

SPEAKER_01 14:26

Yeah, I felt so bad because my friend Izzy, who was with me, she uh we learned that everyone in my group has different reactions. Flight, flight, or like just like stop. Sorry, I forget the saying, but uh Izzy was like go. She like sprinted down the hill to try and grab the leash. And yeah, as soon as she grabbed it, like I was already on the ground.

SPEAKER_00 14:47

So no.

SPEAKER_01 14:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:50

And so we're dealing with a broken ankle.

SPEAKER_01 14:52

Yeah, unfortunately. I was hoping it wasn't broken. Like me and my mom were in the ER, and I was like, oh, it's just dislocated. They're gonna sedate me.

SPEAKER_00 15:00

Like a dislocation's much better.

SPEAKER_01 15:02

It would have been less recovery time.

SPEAKER_00 15:06

Now, uh, you're on the side of the mountain with a broken ankle, and you also told me another incredible story. How the heck did you get down the mountain?

SPEAKER_01 15:13

Yeah, so my coach tried to piggyback me. She's uh Olympian speed skater, and but she retired in like 2018. So legs aren't as strong as they used to be. So she's like carrying me like I think like a couple hundred meters, and she's like, Okay, I don't think I can do this. So my teammate tries, she's like, Yeah, no, I can't do this. So she asked uh her mom, who was also on the hike, to call the rangers. Guy with an ATV comes up and he's like, Okay, I'm gonna uh strap you in. I'm gonna teach you, like, you know, like how to like hold on and everything. And I was like, Yeah, but like I'm a little bit scared of like getting in the helicopter. He's like, Oh, you're not getting in. And I was like, Oh, yeah. And then I just see the helicopter come with this guy just like attached with like a string to the helicopter, and I was like, Oh, that's where I'm gonna be. That's nice.

SPEAKER_00 16:05

So now you were planning a leisurely hike with your teammates and your dog, and now you're being dangled uh from a helicopter. Uh, what's going through your mind when this is going on?

SPEAKER_01 16:14

I'm pretty like, I'm not okay, I'm not terribly scared of heights, but like, you know, there's that little bit of human in you that's like 100%, I don't want to be flying whatever hundred meters above. So I when they strapped me in, it kind of gave me some comfort because the guy was also strapped in with me and he put his knees kind of like-I'm sorry, there's two of you dangling from the bottom of a helicopter. So there's a guy initially like strapped in, and he'll strap you into kind of like this like weird cast thing, like it's all around your body, so you're kind of like a turtle almost. Yeah. And he'll like place you kind of like on his knees. So you're kind of like you feel kind of cradled. So it was kind of like comforting in a way. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 16:54

Yeah, he's holding you when you're about to fall 500 feet to your demise. That's that's lovely.

SPEAKER_01 16:58

Yeah. And the initial takeoff, the thing kind of swung a little bit to the side, so I was a little bit like, ooh. But then uh looking down, I was like, wow, that's actually really beautiful.

SPEAKER_00 17:08

Would you do it again?

SPEAKER_01 17:10

I think if I my ankle wasn't broken, yes.

SPEAKER_00 17:12

Okay, perfect. The the the helicopter ride was a success.

SPEAKER_01 17:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:16

Um, okay, so coming up to 2030, what are some milestones that we're looking to reach? Uh where are you in the rankings right now? Is and uh where are you looking to be come 2030?

SPEAKER_01 17:29

So there's different age groups. Um, this was my first year aging out of the junior age group. Uh so this year was kind of more focused on Olympics, world cups maybe, but this year uh Canada's really took an initiative to progressing the neo-seniors, which is my age group.

SPEAKER_00 17:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:47

And so they're gonna send us to neo senior world cups this year, which two will be in Quebec and one will be in Italy.

SPEAKER_00 17:53

Oh, excellent. And you get to go to Italy.

SPEAKER_01 17:55

That's hopefully. They kind of determine it after the first two uh oh my gosh, neo senior world cups in Quebec.

SPEAKER_00 18:05

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 18:05

And if I'm doing well enough, they'll be like, yeah, we'll send you to Italy.

SPEAKER_00 18:09

Excellent. And then um as you get closer to the Olympics, what are the big races that you're looking for? Like, do you have to be ranked a certain amount in Canada or so I'm uh sorry, I should say my distance is the Mass Start.

SPEAKER_01 18:24

So that's what I've been winning lots of at the Canada Cups. So throughout the year, there's like two or three Canada Cups, and there'll be Canadian championships, which will be the qualifiers for the senior World Cups during the year. I know it's a lot of mumble jumble. It's quite confusing, honestly. But uh yeah, so they'll send a group of team. We don't have full quota all the time, so per distance they'll send about one or two athletes.

SPEAKER_00 18:51

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 18:52

Yeah. So those teams are looking like, yeah, like Isbel Wideman, Evany Blonden, Valerie, all those big names.

SPEAKER_00 18:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:59

It's quite unfortunate that Valerie and Evany are our top mass start skaters, and I'm the best mass start skater behind them in Canada. So I don't get to go to the senior World Cups yet. So that's why going to the OC World Cups is gonna be a huge opportunity for me.

SPEAKER_00 19:15

Right. Okay. And and in your in your discipline, I guess is the best way to say it, or distance or race, uh, worldwide, who are who are your biggest competitors? Who are you looking to catch?

SPEAKER_01 19:27

Like Valerie, even they the Canadians. Yeah, they that's amazing. Oh, they excel so much in the Mass Start. Like this is what I'm saying. Like, when I go up against them at Canada Cups, it's not like I'm just going up against some mediocre Mass Start girls. Like they are like going to World Cups and winning.

SPEAKER_00 19:44

Right. So it's like So your practices are harder than world-class Mass Start skaters, yeah. That's really cool. Uh, one thing I wanted to touch on before uh before we say goodbye is uh the financial aspect of this. Uh, how hard is it financially to compete at this level? And and what do you look for when it comes to support?

SPEAKER_01 20:05

So I'm really thankful uh Canada covers all my training fees. That's a huge win on being on the national team. I don't really have to pay uh anything but travel. So when we go to Quebec, uh I do have to pay for those Canada Cups. But if I go international to so World Cups, uh it's all funded by uh Speed Skating Canada, which is really fortunate. And I do live at home, so I don't have to pay rent. But yeah, insurance, gas, food, things I all pay for, but I also we do get AAP funding from the government, so a lot of that's covered, which is nice. That's excellent. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:43

And uh speed skating has had such a strong tradition in Canada of excellence that uh it makes sense to be funded that level.

SPEAKER_01 20:51

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, if I was not living at home, I don't know what money would look like. But uh So shout out mom. Yeah, shout out mom and dad, because they're the reason I can keep skating the way I do and yeah, not have to spend loads of money.

SPEAKER_00 21:05

All right, before we go, uh what do you want people to know about you? If you had to if you had to give uh one piece of Darcy, what would that be? Probably sorry, Darby.

SPEAKER_01 21:17

That's okay.

SPEAKER_00 21:17

I was like Darcy's somebody else. No, that's okay.

SPEAKER_01 21:22

Probably. I mean, a huge thing is I'm a Clubfoot ambassador for children. So any children with disabilities, whether that's mental or physical, you can do sports. You can pretty much even if the isn't sports, you can excel in anything that you put your mind to. And I don't believe there's any barriers of anyone saying anything that can stop you from being successful.

SPEAKER_00 21:46

Absolutely. And you are living, breathing proof of that.

SPEAKER_01 21:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:52

Darby, thank you so much for coming on the podcast. This has been excellent, it's been inspirational. Uh, I am really looking forward to pointing on my TV in uh four years and going, I had her on my podcast, and now she's waving the flag. So I really appreciate the time you spent with us.

SPEAKER_01 22:08

Yeah, thank you guys so much for having me. This was so much fun.

SPEAKER_00 22:11

Excellent. And heal up soon. Yes. And thank you for being with us here on Airdry Inside. We're gonna be back with more great guests coming up shortly.