Multi-medallist Cindy Klassen expected to announce retirement from speedskating

WINNIPEG – Decorated speedskater Cindy Klassen is expected to announce her retirement Saturday at a news conference in Winnipeg.

Klassen is the only Canadian athlete to win five medals at a single Olympic Games with a gold, two silver and two bronze at the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy.

Jacques Rogge, the president of the International Olympic Committee at the time, dubbed Klassen “the woman of the Games.”

Another bronze in 2002 ties Klassen with former teammate Clara Hughes as the most Olympic medals won by a Canadian athlete.

Klassen still holds world records in the 1,500 and 3,000 metres which she set during the 2005-06 season.

The 35-year-old from Winnipeg wasn’t able to recover that speed after undergoing double knee surgery in 2008, although she continued to race up until 2013.

Klassen hasn’t raced the last two years. She suffered a concussion while inline skating in the summer of 2013.

Speedskating Canada scheduled Saturday’s news conference for Klassen to make an announcement about her career.

2010 Olympic champion Christine Nesbitt of London, Ont., who won gold in the 1,000 metres, announced her retirement earlier this month in Calgary.