Canadian figure skater and McMaster University student Madeline Schizas tried to squeeze in some online coursework while competing at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. After missing a deadline while competing on Friday, her professor afforded her an extension.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
On Saturday morning, Canadian figure skater Madeline Schizas sat down at her laptop in the Olympic village to do some homework. The night before, the McMaster University student had performed her short program in the Team Event, earning Canada five points.
With the team final not scheduled until Sunday, she figured she would take some time to tackle one of her online assignments – except when she clicked the link, she realized the deadline had already passed.
The 22-year-old knew what she had to do.
The Winter Olympics medal count and current country standings
“Hi Prof. [redacted],” her e-mail began. “I am a student in your Sociology 2FF3 course and am wondering if I could get a short extension on this week’s reflection. I was competing in the Olympic Games yesterday and thought the reflection was due on Sunday, not Friday.”
Schizas – a four-time national champion – provided a link to an Olympic press release to prove her participation. Then she took a screenshot of the exchange and posted it on her social media with the caption: “LOLLLL I [heart] being a student athlete.”
Instagram story from Madeline Schizas.Supplied
The story went viral and the world waited with bated breath for a reply. On Sunday, she got the good news.
“The prof responded and said, ‘no problem,’” she told reporters Sunday night after competing in the figure skating Team final. (Canada placed fifth in an event in which the United States edged out Japan for gold. Italy was bronze.)
“He was really nice. He said, ‘Send it to me whenever you want. I played in a peewee hockey game once and that was enough for me, so good luck at the Olympics. Have so much fun.’”
Schizas is in her final year of a Bachelor of Arts and Environmental Societies program. She said balancing high-performance sport and school has been challenging, but ultimately good for her mental health.
“Having a university experience that’s been really important to me … I live with a bunch of girls and we just, you know, have a good time together. And it’s kind of a reprieve from skating,” she said.
Schizas says pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree at McMaster was challenging, but also grounding and good for her mental health.Natacha Pisarenko/The Associated Press
But the balancing act comes with challenges. Schizas said that some days she would spend an entire day at the rink training and then have to work on data science assignments. For the most part, her professors have been supportive. She’s had to play the figure skating card more than once to get accommodations.
“Every once in a while there’s one who doesn’t get the magnitude of it. They think it’s, like, a hobby,” she said.
Schizas will compete in the women’s short program on Feb. 17. But first, she has to write a midterm on Feb. 12 for the same class. She suspects she could probably get out of it if she wanted: “but I don’t think I’m going to want to write it when I go home either,” she said.