Perdita Felicien: In Wilbour She Trusts
 |
| THE CANADIAN PRESS FILE PHOTO |
| Coming to Toronto this summer. |
Perdita Felicien relies on chiropractor Wilbour Kelsick for more than just his skilled hands.
Kelsick, who is based in Vancouver and has worked with such Olympic greats as wrestling champion Daniel Igali, has become a good friend of Felicien over the years, a trusted confidante and at times a motivational guru.
She recently went to visit and Kelsick and told him how she was worried about competing in the early part of this season because she is not at all in form after missing last year with injury. He set her straight.
“He was like ‘You just got to get out there and take your licks. Who cares who beats you? Who cares if you don’t get the win. This is part of of the process.’ Which is true. It’s just part of the steps to getting back and being back,” said Felicien in a recent phone interview.
“And is it hard? Yeah. Before I had the talk with him, my ego, my pride – one of the things I really dislike is being mediocre. I really don’t like being just average, right? That’s part of the pride of being a world class athlete.
“But Wilbour said ‘These girls who are in shape and did well last year are going to help you in the bigger picture. They’re going to help you get faster, help you get stronger. You need to get in there and take your knocks because at this point of the season it’s not that critical.’”
That pep talk had an impact on Felicien’s outlook.
“It’s not hard when I put things in perspective,” she said. “It’s what needs to be done.”
Felicien does hope to be in prime form on June 11 at the Festival of Excellence meet being put on by the University of Toronto at Varsity Stadium. While Jamaican phenom Usain Bolt is the headliner, the featured event on the undercard will be the “Durham Duel,” pitting Felicien, of Pickering, against Olympic bronze medallist Priscilla Lopes-Schliep of Whitby in the women’s 100-metre hurdles.
“I am really pinching myself that it’s going forward,” said Felicien. “I’ve never raced as a professional in Toronto. I’ve raced plenty of times in Canada at the nationals, but they’ve never been held in Toronto and the nationals are there, too (June 25-28, also at Varsity). … I’m more hoping this will be a sustained event. It sounds like they’re going all out.”
Comments