Olympic Dream Close for Lawrence/Swiegers

  The Virden-based figure skating duo of Paige Lawrence and Rudi Swiegers could official be Canadian Olympians by Saturday evening.
 
  The senior pairs competition is one of the first things on the schedule at the Canadian Tire National Skating Championship in Ottawa, with the short program taking place Friday night and the free skate on Saturday night.
 
  Lawrence and Swiegers need a top-three finish to earn a spot on the Olympic team.
 
  "2010 was only our second year as seniors, so we were going into the competition just thinking it was really cool just to be amongst the people aiming for the Olympics," said Lawrence in a recent interview with CKLQ’s Bruce Luebke, "We came back from there and I remember us sitting down and talking and deciding that 2014 was totally viable for us so ever since then, that’s been the goal."
 
  "For the most part, it’s just very, very exciting knowing that his a goal that, even before we were skating together, we had from a young age that we’re doing this so we can go to the Olympics," said Swiegers, "And now, it’s a realization every day."
 
  Lawrence and Swiegers have earned third-place at Nationals in each of the last three years but the duo also knows it’s important to keep their focus.
 
  "It’s important to not get caught up in the scariness of the situation," added Lawrence, "It’s just a huge motivating and positive thing hanging around in your life."
 
  The pair placed fourth at Skate Canada and sixth at the NHK Trophy this fall, as well as fifth at the U.S. International Classic.
 
  The Canadian Tire National Skating Championships, including Lawrence and Swiegers, will be shown on TSN beginning at 6:30 p.m. (CST) Friday and 6:00 p.m. (CST) on Saturday.