Michael Gilday, Yellowknife's Olympic speedskater, retires

Yellowknife speedskater Michael Gilday announced his retirement last week.

Over the course of his career, Gilday won 15 gold Ulus at the Arctic Winter Games from 2000 to 2004.

He joined the national speed skating squad in 2005 and set a world's record in the men's 1000-metre in 2007.

Gilday competed in the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, but failed to make it out of the quarter finals.

I competed in the Olympics, which was amazing, but I did want to go there to win a medal, at least, to win a Gold medal. But that didn't happen. So, you kind of want to say why not try again?

"But four years is a long time to commit to something that's as taxing on your body and mind as elite-level sport is. I think over time I will realize more that the accomplishment of competing at the Olympics is huge.

Gilday says he finished the 2013-2014 season in good shape physically, but says he was tired mentally.

Hes not sure hell ever skate again.

One of the biggest things about shorttrack speedskating is that there isn't a huge recreational side to the sport, so, basically when the season ended in March, I was thinking I may have skated possibly for the last time ever.

"If I was a downhill skier, it's easy to say I would go out every weekend and ski, but it's harder to that in short-track,especially because it's such a technical sport.