It's the post-season, but Kaetlyn Osmond can't stop, won't stop - Action News
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It's the post-season, but Kaetlyn Osmond can't stop, won't stop

Kaetlyn Osmond has two Olympic medals and a world figure skating title under her belt already this year. Time to relax?

World, Olympic champ had a mind-blowing season and the off-season keeps her just as busy

Kaetlyn Osmond, originally of Marystown, N.L., has gone right from her figure skating season to touring with a break for some weekend festivities in Newfoundland. (Gary Locke/CBC)

Kaetlyn Osmondis going from her wildly successful figure skating season to an equally crammed touring season no time to rest, but there are differences between the two.

"It's more of a fun busy than a terrifying busy," she told CBC's Here & Now on Friday.

She's back from two weeks in Japan with Stars on Ice fora weekend break in Newfoundland, where she was born, for a celebration of all things Osmond. After that, sheheadsout on theCanadian Stars on Ice tour, starting in Halifax.

Highways renamed

"It's a really busy spring season, but it's with tours and celebrations and it's so much fun," she said.

Marystown, where Osmond was born and lived until moving to Quebec when she was seven, is hosting several events this weekend inher honour.

Liam Hickey and Kaetlyn Osmond display signs for the roads newly renamed in their honour. (Gary Locke/CBC)

The celebrations began on Friday morning, when the provincial government announcedthat the Burin Peninsula Highway from Red Harbour to Marystownwill be renamed OsmondWay.

The government is also changing theHolyroodAccess Roadto Liam Hickey Driveto honour theParalympianfrom Paradise.

Hickey said he was grateful for all the messages and encouragement he received from his home province.

"It's pretty incredible," he said, adding his teammates were jealous of the support focused on him."It means a lot. I never thought I'd have a road named after me, so thank you for doing that."

Osmondsaid sports in the province is growing thanks to that support.

"Competing at a world stage, competing all over the world, getting to see all the different cities, all the different countries, there's nothing quite like being in Newfoundland. There's nowhere that I've noticed that has a strong sense of community and a sense of family."

Owning the podium

And while the off-season tour does mean Osmond has to keep training and eating properly although she admits to treating herself to "one too many burgers" after winning world's that work keeps her in shape, making it easier to get back to chasing medals when the next season begins.

If her next season goes as well as her last one, she'll need a bigger trophy case.Osmond, 22, said it's hard to decide what the highlight of her season has been, because all her successes the world title, the Olympic bronze figure skating medal, the Olympic gold team medal are important to her for different reasons.

"Getting the gold medal as a team was really rewarding. It felt like a really big family up on the podium, and it was really exciting," she said. "Getting my bronze medal, I felt like I did that all on my own, so I felt very strong and confident there."

One of her biggest accomplishments this season, Osmondsaid, is hitting the podium in every event she's competed in the first time she's done that.

"It wasn't just because of the fact that I won worlds, it was because after theOlympics, I was emotionally crazy. Emotions were running high and low and it was a very different training going into the world championships, so I was just so excited that I was able to repeat what I did at the Olympics, to be able to skate as good as I did."

She's been so busy this season that she hasn't thought about what her next goals are.

"I want to keep competing and seeing what else I can accomplish, see if I can win more competitions and also just challenge myself to see what else I can bring to the table."

Next Olympics a long ways away

The next Olympics are a long four years away not Osmond's focus, yet, but still in her mind.

"Four years is a really long time to think about, but the Olympic Games are so much fun," she said.

Olympic medallist and world figure skating champion Kaetlyn Osmond returns to Newfoundland this weekend, where she was born and first put on a pair of skates. (The Associated Press)

"Representing Canada is amazing, the atmosphere is incredible, the friends that I've met along the way have truly inspired me tokeep going. So another four years would be incredible for me to do, but I'm taking this one year by year to see if I'll make it that far."