With over 90 international medals, Morrison is one of Canada’s most decorated long track skaters
Credit: Winston Chow, The Canadian Press/COC
Read Denny’s Personal Reflections
CALGARY, ALBERTA – Following a 16-year career as a member of the Canadian long track speed skating team – one that saw him win four Olympic medals and write one of the most remarkable comeback stories in recent memory – Denny Morrison is ready to formally announce that he is officially hanging up his skates.
The 33-year-old product of Fort St. John, B.C. enters retirement as one of the most decorated and inspiring amateur athletes of his generation. Morrison shares the record for most Olympic medals among Canadian male long track speed skaters with the legendary Gaétan Boucher.
Speed Skating Canada is set to honour Morrison at the Olympic Oval on Saturday, February 8 as part of this weekend’s ISU World Cup in Calgary.
An Olympic Legacy
As a 20-year-old at Turin 2006, he won a silver medal as part of the team pursuit squad that included Arne Dankers, Steven Elm, Jason Parker and Justin Warsylewicz. Four years later, he captured team pursuit gold on home soil at Vancouver 2010 with teammates Mathieu Giroux and Lucas Makowsky.
Morrison also won a pair of individual medals at Sochi 2014 – silver in the 1000m and bronze in the 1500m.
The story of sportsmanship behind his medal in the 1000m made international headlines and propelled teammate Gilmore Junio into the limelight. Junio made the unselfish decision to give his spot in the race to Morrison – who failed to qualify for the distance due to a fall at Olympic trials – because he felt it would be best for the team. It was a decision that paid off for Canada after the veteran skated a near flawless race to secure a medal.
An Unmatched Determination
Morrison’s inspiring return to the Olympic stage at PyeongChang 2018 following two serious setbacks – a motorcycle crash and a stroke – was nothing short of incredible. Despite not reaching the podium in his fourth and final Games, simply qualifying for the event remains one of his greatest achievements.
In May 2015, Morrison was involved in a serious motorcycle crash in which he sustained a moderate brain injury, torn ACL and substantive damage to his knee, punctured lung, ruptured liver and kidneys, and a small fracture in the transverse process of his spine. He returned to competition in March 2016 after nearly a year of rehabilitation, however his comeback was short-lived.
A month after his return, Morrison suffered a stroke after completing a 25-day mountain bike tour in the United States. An internal tear in his carotid artery had been caused by the prior motorcycle crash, which led to this delayed stroke. Two stents were surgically implanted in his neck in June 2016 to correct the arterial problem and after additional careful rehab, he began racing again three months later.
In December of that same year, Morrison stepped onto the World Cup podium after winning a team pursuit silver with Ted-Jan Bloeman and Jordan Belchos. Determined to not only return to competitive speed skating, but to qualify for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, Morrison, Bloeman, and Donnelly set a Canadian team pursuit record en route to winning World Cup gold in December 2017, two months before the Olympics.
With hard work and perseverance, Morrison beat the odds and booked his ticket to South Korea at the Canadian Olympic trials in January 2018. At the Games in PyeongChang, he would finish 13th in the 1500m and 7th as part of the team pursuit with Jordan Belchos and Ted-Jan Bloemen.
An Accomplished Career
Morrison was a model of consistency throughout his career on the international stage. He debuted on the World Cup circuit in 2003 and went on to win an impressive 68 medals, including 21 gold, 29 silver and 18 bronze. Fifteen of those World Cup medals were in the team pursuit.
Morrison also won 11 medals (2 gold, 6 silver, 3 bronze) at the World Single Distance Championships, earning the title of World Champion in the 1500m in both 2008 and 2012. He claimed an additional seven medals (3 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze) at the World Allround Championships, where he finished a career-best 5th overall in 2006 and 2009.
He managed to reach the top-10 overall on four separate occasions at the World Sprint Championships, including a career-high 5th place finish in 2009.
A perennial award winner throughout his career, Morrison was honoured by Speed Skating Canada with the Male Long Track Athlete of the Year award eight times (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2015), one time less than Jeremy Wotherspoon (9), for whom the annual recognition is named.
Morrison is still the Canadian record holder in the 1500m (1:42.01), once a world record, set in 2008 in Calgary, and in the team pursuit (3:36.44), established in Salt Lake City alongside Ted-Jan Bloemen and Ben Donnelly in 2017.
“My family supported me every step of the way, up to and through four
Olympic Games, and everything in-between. Growing up in Fort St. John,
with the supportive crew around me that I had, gave me all of the tools I
needed to become the relentless and resilient
athlete that I’m recognized as today. Thank you to everyone in Canada
who has ever supported me or even heard of me over the duration of my
career! It’s been an absolute privilege.”
Read more of Denny’s reflections on his career
here.
– Denny Morriso
“Working alongside Denny for the past eight years has been an honour. It was a pleasure watching him achieve success on the ice, including reaching the Olympic podium in Sochi, and mature into a great person off the ice. Denny was dealing exceptionally well with challenges to his health following the 2015 World Single Distance Championships and continued his incredible comeback to Olympic form in time for PyeongChang 2018. Throughout that journey he showed tremendous determination and perseverance through adversity, which are skills that will serve him well as he moves onto the next stage of his life.”
– Bart Schouten, long-time Canadian national team coach
MEDIA CONTACT
Alain Brouillette
Speed Skating Canada
communications@speedskating.ca
613-601-2630