Canadian Olympic star Courtney Sarault explains her beast-mode alter ego named 'Bruce'
Off the ice, Courtney Sarault is as pleasant as can be.
Charming with the media, the 25-year-old Canadian often smiling and cracking jokes when she speaks with reporters.
But on the ice, it’s all business — winning three medals already at the Milano Cortina Olympics.
“Beast from the east, yeah that’s what they call me,” the Moncton, N.B. short-track star said with a smile when asked about her game-face during competition.
“I guess I am like two different characters.Ā There’s Courtney outside of the rink that’s more nice and gentle, and laughing a lot. I love to laugh. And then there’s Courtney inside the rink.”
Courtney Sarault has stood on the podium three times in Milan (Leah Hennel/COC)
Inside the rink has been very successful for Sarault, who has two silver medals and one bronze already in these Olympics, with a chance to add to her haul on Wednesday and Friday.
And apparently she owes it all to “Bruce.”
“It’s Bruce,” she said, explaining that she has a name for her alter ego. “Like the Hulk, or Batman, that energy.
“With Bruce, you can kind of get the vibe already, I don’t have to explain much. It’s my alter ego, and when I’m in that mode, there’s no other feeling. And I only get in that mode when I’m competing and when I’m racing, and it’s honestly just the most fun thing ever. It takes my body to new heights and new levels. Just the adrenaline and everything with that. I just love being in my ‘Bruce mode’ — I guess you can call it that.”
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Sarault is just the seventh Canadian ever to win three medals at a single Winter Olympics. She still has a shot at the Canadian record of five medals, which Cindy Klassen achieved in long-track speed skating at the Torino 2006 Olympics.
If she steps onto the podium one more time, Sarault would join elite company, as Klassen, Penny Oleksiak (2016) and Summer McIntosh (2024) are the only Canadians to ever win four or more medals at a single Olympics, summer or winter.