Alberta’s Keith Sulzer trains in the indoor comfort of Calgary’s Olympic Oval and competes only occasionally on an outdoor track.

Part of his challenge in the long distance races at the Whitehorse long track is to time perfectly his added exertions when skating into the wind. He must also calculate how much he can afford to relax and conserve energy with the wind at his back.

Sulzer’s timing must be just right since he’s racking up medals. In a single day, he claimed gold in the 1500 meter race and silver in the 3000 meter event. The next day he raced the grueling 5000 meter distance and added another silver to his collection.

“I came to Whitehorse with the goal of winning a medal in each distance above 500 meters,” Sulzer beams.

The gold medals he missed by mere seconds were won by Quebec’s Clovis Auger, someone he’s known and skated against since they were both 12 years old.