The Sheik wanted to shriek.

"From Salt Lake City to Calgary, somewhere the airline company lost my luggage,'' lamented Muncef Ouardi, just up from the tunnel leading to and from the Olympic Oval infield.

"And my skates were in my bag. Shoes and blades.

"That's . . .'' His voice trailed off. He shook his head at the utter unfairness of it all.

"They still don't know where it is. They never knew where it went. It's lost . . . in the mists.''

Understand, athletes are notoriously fussy - it wouldn't be a stretch to say obsessive - about their equipment. From ball gloves to goalie pads to long blades.

The fit. The feel.

So in a bit of a panic, three days from a debut at the Essent ISU World Sprint Speed Skating Championships he'd prepared half a year for, Ouardi called his mom in Quebec City and she FedExed him his old skates, which he hadn't worn in competition since last season's World Single Distance Championships at Inzell, Germany.

"I got (the parcel) Thursday at noon, so I could skate in the afternoon. First practice, horrible. Yesterday was not so good, either. But this morning I made some changes and it worked out.

"This year, (the skates) are way softer than what I had. I love my skates this year. I've had good races with them.''

He cradled the old skates in his hands.

"But I guess these will do.''

Saturday, among the sprinting swells of the sport, the 24-year-old Quebec City-born Ouardi, son of Moroccan parents and nicknamed The Sheik (Twitter handle: thaSheik) during his junior days by coach Gregor Jelonek, pushed past the dicey equipment issue to reach unknown, unexpected heights.

On a non-Christine Nesbitt world record day, in fact, he'd have been the line story on Day 1 of the World Sprints: A personal best in the 500 metres, a sprightly 34.54, third fastest on the super-highway-fast ice at the Olympic Oval Saturday. Another PB in the 1,000, at 1: 09.06.

A new star. In old skates.

"It was pretty clutch of me. I'm so happy . . . 34.5, I didn't expect that to happen. I had a really hard week. My coach kept me on track. I was wondering if I was going to skate, if I'd be able to do OK. Well, today I got my answer.''

The option of Ouardi, unsure of his old boots and blades, stepping aside, relinquishing his spot to another skater in order to secure a Top 16 spot and give Canada an additional berth at next year's world sprints was a very real possibility.

"It is a big thing,'' said Jelonek of the change in equipment. "He almost didn't skate. As soon as I saw him, though, I thought he had a nice form with the ice. I even thought he looked better.

"I think maybe my role was just to calm him and to make sure what we did before was still there - he was still strong, still in shape. His old boots were still good.

"I think it's a lesson for him, for other Canadians too, that you don't always have to have the perfect fit under you to go fast.''

A final decision on Ouard's participation wasn't arrived upon until as late as Friday.

"My coach told me 'You're skating. You've trained so hard for this, for six months now. Forget everything. Just go skate.'

"So all credit to him. To Gregor.''

"Yes, I'm very, very, very, very happy,'' said Jelonek, beaming. "Very. I thought it was a great race. His best ever. It's a surprise. Especially losing his skates. It was a hard week for him mentally but he managed to adapt. Good for him. A third place.

"He's a calm guy. He's always shown that when it's time to put it on, he's able to do it. So it's not a surprise for me.''

With the ongoing improvement in Jamie Gregg and now hopefully Ouardi's breakthrough into the big time, that Canadian men's 500 slot is starting to look brighter in the buildup to Sochi 2014.

Ouardi got into speedskating because his parents, impressed with his running ability, thought he'd enjoy speedskating more than, say, hockey, and enrolled him at a club when he was eight.

"From the first time I went on the ice, I loved it.''

And that nickname/Twitter handle that could, with a few more performances the calibre of Saturday's, become more and more well known?

"I think he looks like a sheik,'' reasoned Jelonek. "It's a good nickname for him. He likes it. And today he skated like a sheik.''

Like a prince, in fact. Like a king.

Even factoring in the worri some disruption in equipment.

"I always fear when I fly in America they could get confiscated,'' explained Ouardi of his decision to check his boots, "so I just put it in my luggage. I always do it.''

And as of today?

The new star cradled his old skates.

"They're coming on the plane with me now. No matter what.''

George Johnson is the Herald's sports columnist. gjohnson@calgaryherald.com