Olympian Hayley Wickenheiser’s greatest triumph: Her son

Hayley Wickenheiser has competed in both the summer and winter
Olympics, won the gold medal in hockey and broken through the gender
barrier in that sport. Yet she still counts her greatest accomplishment
as being mother to 12-year-old son Noah. 

Noah
made his debut when the Canadian Women won gold in Salt Lake City in
2002 and Hayley spontaneously pulled him into her arms and skated around
the ice. She may have started a trend! 

Does
Hayley log countless hours rinkside as her mother did? “I’m poolside,”
says Hayley. “Noah’s a competitive swimmer so I’m a pool mom. He trains
five days a week.” Noah prefers his water moving, not frozen. “He tried
hockey but it wasn’t his thing. He really took to swimming.” 

It’s
way too soon to see if Noah has any Olympic aspirations. “If he does,
it will be his idea,” says Hayley, who is prepared to support him if he
takes his backstroke in that direction. 

Hayley
credits her mother with a lot of her success. “She taught me to go
after what I wanted, and to not take no for an answer.” That doesn’t
mean to be stubborn, Hayley is careful to note, but rather, to not give
up easily and to advocate. “She was always advocating for me.” 

Hayley
is juggling motherhood with professional hockey and school (she is
working toward her kinesiology degree). She’s also on the mom panel of
judges for Walmart’s Mom of the Year Award, which will honour one lucky
mom with $10,000 as well as a $100,000 donation to the charity of her
choice. Seven finalists will also receive $10,000 for themselves, and a
$10,000 donation to a charity of their choice. For more information
visit momoftheyear.ca.