They say never to meet your idols. In the case of Isabelle Champagne, that couldn't be further from the truth.

Champagne is a 15-year-old speed skater from Calgary who was competing for the first time in the Canada Winter Games, all the way across the country in Halifax.

She also happens to share a first name with Isabelle Weidemann, the Ottawa native who returned home with a gold, silver and bronze medal from the 2022 Beijing Olympics. For her efforts, Weidemann was also chosen as Canada's flag-bearer at the closing ceremony.

Champagne unsurprisingly looks up to Weidemann, who she often sees during training at Calgary's Olympic Oval on Saturday mornings. "She's just a really good person," Champagne said in an interview with CBC Sports. One day, Champagne hopes to double the amount of Isabelles on the Canadian speed skating team.

Before the Canada Games began, Champagne said she was "definitely a little bit nervous," but also ready to race. It was set to be "a big step up" in competition from age-class nationals.

Things didn't quite go as planned to start. Champagne was dealing with a pulled calf, which required her to pull out of practices and spend copious time in physio. The schedule she'd put in place to prepare was already being thrown out of whack.

It all crescendoed the night before her first race, the 1,500 metres.

"I just kind of talked it through with my coach, but I was feeling pretty overwhelmed with nerves," Champagne said. "There were some tears. I just felt a bit frozen and overwhelmed."

In the background, Champagne's coach reached out to Weidemann, who was competing at a World Cup in Poland. He asked her to send the younger Isabelle a note to cheer her up.

By the next morning, Champagne said she felt calm. She repeated a mantra to herself: "You know what you're doing. You've done this before."

And then Champagne went out and won gold.

When she returned to her hotel room after the victory, Champagne opened her phone to a text message from Weidemann.

"Being able to bring things back together, no matter the adversity you are trudging through, is a skill you will use for the rest of your skating career," the text read in part.

Champagne read it over a few times, just to make sure it was real. She said it succeeded in brightening her mood, "although the gold medal already cheered me up a lot."

"I was like, 'Oh my God,' like I was starstruck. And it just meant a lot to know that she took the time out of her day while she's preparing for world championships to send some 15-year-old a long message."

Champagne went on to reach three more podiums at the Games, totalling two gold and two bronze.

The Canada Winter Games continue through Sunday with live streaming available on CBCSports.ca, the CBC Sports app and CBC Gem. Watch it all here.

Weidemann will be back on the ice beginning Thursday at the speed skating world championships, which will also be live streamed through Sunday across those platforms.

You can bet Champagne will be watching.