Mom has gold, daughter has silver. Both share smiles that shine brighter than their medals.
When 13-year-old Larkyn Austman of Coquitlam glided to second spot in the female Novice category during last month's Canadian figure skating championships at New Brunswick's Moncton Coliseum, she came very close to repeating her mom Heather's first-place feat of 1974 in the same division at the same national competition and at the very same venue.
Go figure, is right.
"I started skating at [age] 5 and competing at 8," Heather Austman (then Heather Anderson) recalled. "I just remember my mom taking me and my sister to the rink. It's like any other sport - once your into it you're hooked.
"As it turns out, Larkyn's passionate about it, too."
Larkyn's quest to grab gold in the Jan. 16-22 spectacle and equal her mom's marvelous Moncton showing nearly four decades ago fell short when Central Ontario's Madelyn Dunley aced the short program with 38.39 points to her 36.02 mark. Representing B.C./Yukon, Larkyn recovered nicely in the long program to place a solid second right behind the winner Dunley, who finished with 110.10 total points to her 105.01 aggregate.
None of the other 16 competitors in the division managed more than 100 points overall.
"I knew after the short program I wouldn't have enough points," said Larkyn, who jumps up to Junior from Novice next season and has no big individual goals set. "It'll be a big step up. I'll just see where I place."
Larkyn's activity passion for skating is shared equally with dance, in which she excels in three disciplines, including ballet and jazz.
On Thursday, however, she was being shuttled by Heather back to the ice rink, where she was set to train in two separate one-hour sessions with her Coquitlam Skating Club.
"The dancing's helped me a lot [with figure skating]... how I hold myself and move," says Larkyn, a Hillcrest middle school student who turns 14 Wednesday.
Between skating, dance and school, Larkyn rarely has time for much else.
"I eat on my breaks," she said with a laugh.
