Cindy Klassen (CP Photo)

The precipice of perfection. Canadian athletes' countdown to Turin is well under way.
(RANDY STARKMAN Toronto Star)

CALGARY—The oddest sight greets a visitor to the University of Calgary playing fields: Athletes hunched over, hands behind their backs, swaying from side to side on the lush green grass under a hot sun. At one point, they change direction and stealthily take long steps forward, positioned so low to the ground that it appears they're hunting for worms.

What they really doing, though, is taking strides towards the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics.

These are members of Canada's long track speed skating team and they're already well into their preparations for the main event next February. The exercise of the moment is called "imitations" — a simulation of the speed skating motion without the ice. Judging by the sweat pouring off their bodies and their pained expressions, it's no less strenuous than the real thing.

Not far away, in the bowels of the Olympic Oval, that look of exertion is mirrored by the Canadian men's alpine team as they are put through their paces in a series of fitness tests designed to measure explosive strength and anaerobic power.

Members of Canada's defending Olympic champion women's hockey team, meanwhile, are being poked and prodded with pinpricks and fat calipers at the university's Human Performance Laboratory.

While the Turin Games might seem a long way off, the countdown has already begun for most of Canada's Winter Olympians, many of whom attended a series of intensive seminars in Lake Louise just over a week ago, an event organized by the Canadian Olympic Committee, featuring motivational talks from past Olympic champions like Gaetan Boucher and Marnie McBean.

"Hearing Marnie McBean say it's 271 days (until the Turin Olympics), tomorrow it's 270 and the day after it's 269, it kind of really hit home at that point," said Regan Lauscher, who broke through last season with a silver medal in a World Cup luge event in Lake Placid, the country's best result ever.

"I mean April's gone and we're getting close to the end of May — it's less than a year and it's really closing on the big event. During workouts, it makes you think `Okay, I don't want to quit one rep short, I want to do whatever I can,' one weekend of missing sleep is a big deal. All of a sudden things mean more than they did before."

Despite the striding involved, the speed skater's simulation exercises are no walk in the park. World champion Cindy Klassen crouches into position and pushes off with great force, first with her right leg and then with her left, her hamstrings quivering with each effort. Her blue T-shirt is sweat-soaked by the end of the session supervised by coach Neal Marshall. "It's important to get into that position and to get the feel of it, so that when you get on to the ice it's not a surprise," said Klassen, a soft-spoken athlete who has a shot to be one of Canada's stars at the Turin Games based on her double gold performance at the 2005 world single distance championships.

A former Olympian, Marshall said there's little margin of error for those athletes striving for the podium in Turin. "You want to make sure every day is the best it can be," he said. "That doesn't mean pull your guts out every day. Even if it's a rest day, make sure it's the best quality rest day you can have so you're ready for training after the rest day. You have to make everything count if you want to be your best in February."
That competitive drive is always evident such as when young downhill racing hope Erik Guay clutched the paper with his impressive score in the power squats and flashed it in front of his teammates in the Olympic Oval weight room.

"It's an Olympic year so you want to do everything possible to get that peak performance," said Guay, who made a good comeback last year from knee surgery. "Any little advantage, every 1/100th of a second — that's what I'm looking for."

Dana Ellis (CP Photo)

Ellis wins pole vault, Felicien 3rd in hurdles.
(WebPosted CBC Sports)

Canadian Dana Ellis beat her own Canadian record in winning the women's pole vault competition at the Adidas Track Classic in Carson, Calif., on Sunday.

The native of Kitchener, Ont., cleared 4.50 metres, besting her previous record of 4.47 set in Brussels last September.

Jillian Schwartz was second while fellow American Tracey O'Hara finished third.
Also on Sunday, Perdita Felicien of Pickering, Ont., finished third in the 100-metre hurdles in 12.71 seconds.

Olympic champion Joanna Hayes finished first in 12.64 seconds, the fastest time in the world this season. Michelle Perry finished second. "I'm never happy with third," said Felicien, who held the previous world best time this season of 12.67. "Overall, I'm on track for where I need to be so I'm definitely not discouraged at all at this point. Technically there are still things I need to change."

In other events featuring Canadians, Kate Vermeulen of London, Ont., was third in the women's 1,500 metres in 4:07.77 and Kevin Sullivan of Brantford, Ont., was seventh in the 1,500 in 3:38.59.

Tyler Christopher sets Canadian track mark.
(WebPosted CBC Sports)

Tyler Christopher's gold-medal effort in the 400-metre sprint at the Brazilian Grand Prix was more than just another win for the Edmonton native. Sunday's victory, Christopher's second in as many weeks, also set a Canadian record. His winning time of 44.72 seconds bested the old mark of 44.86 established by Shane Niemi of Kamloops, B.C.

"When I saw the time I was shocked," Christopher told The Canadian Press from Brazil. "It was so hot and humid here that it felt like I was running in sand. "I surprised to hear how fast my splits where, and even more surprised to hear that I ran 44.7."

Christopher nearly made history last weekend when he won the Rio Grand Prix in 44.88. Davian Clarke of Jamaica (44.92) was second Sunday, while Leonard Byrd of the United States (45.09) finished third.

Rob Bossinger (CP Photo)

Canadian ex-skier Rob Bosinger dies.
(WebPosted CBC Sports)

Canadian skiing suffered a big loss on Friday when Rob Bosinger, a former World Cup downhill racer and coach with Alpine Canada, died suddenly due to a coronary arhythmic disturbance. Bosinger was 39 and is survived by his wife Janet and his seven-month-old son Mats.

The native of Montreal was a member of Alpine Canada's ski team for seven seasons and was a coach from 1996 to 2000. His best result during his racing career was a seventh-place finish at a downhill race in 1988.

"What could you not like about Rob?" said former teammate Rob Boyd, now a coach with the Canadian women's downhill team. "He was fun-loving and had a quirky sense of humour."

"Rob was not only knowledgeable but he was also extremely passionate," said Ken Read, Alpine Canada's president. "While his contribution to the sport will always remain, his superior people skills will be missed."

Those sentiments were echoed by Max Gartner, Alpine Canada's chief athletic officer, who said Bosinger "will be greatly missed."

with files from Canadian Press

Chantal Petitclerc (CP Photo)

Canada's Petitclerc wins Laureus Sports Award.
(WebPosted CBC Sports)

Canadian wheelchair racer Chantal Petitclerc won a prestigious Laureus world sports award Monday as top sportsperson with a disability.

It's the latest honour for the Montreal native, who won five events and broke three world records at the Athens Paralympic Games in 2004. In March, she was named female athlete of the year at the Canadian Sport Awards.

It marks the second straight year a disabled Canadian athlete has won a Laureus award, which is chosen by more than 500 sports journalists from 82 countries annually. Calgary sprinter Earle Connor was honoured in 2004. Connor was slapped with a two-year competition ban later in the year after testing positive for banned substances in a pre-Paralympic track and field meet in August.

Tennis star Roger Federer, who won Wimbledon, the Australian and U.S. Opens in 2004, was named the sportsman of the year. Federer beat out six-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong, six-time Olympic gold medallist swimmer Michael Phelps from the U.S., Moroccan runner Hicham El Guerrouj, Formula One champion Michael Schumacher and motorcycle driver Valentino Rossi.

British track star Kelly Holmes won the women's award. Holmes captured Olympic gold in the 800 and 1,500 metres at Athens. Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova, Swedish heptathlete Carolina Kluft, Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva and Swedish golfer Annika Sorenstam were also nominated for the honour.

The Greek soccer side that won the European Championship took home the Laureus award for year's top team.

The Boston Red Sox, who exorcised the Curse of the Bambino by winning their first World Series in 86 years, won the inaugural spirit of sport award.

with files from Canadian Press

The Olympic Truce session will take place at the International Olympic Academy, at the sacred site of Ancient Olympia, Greece, between 24 and 27 May 2005. More than 22 National Olympic Committees from countries in conflict, or post-conflict, will participate. They will debate the relevance of sport to peace, conflict prevention and resolution, post-conflict reconstruction and national dialogue.

The United Nations, World Bank and regional political and sports organisations have also been invited to this unique session. Representatives from TOROC, BOCOG, VANOC and ATHOC will also give information on their Olympic Truce programmes and activities.

Opening Ceremony
Mr Isidoros Kouvelos, Vice-President of the International Olympic Academy and the Hellenic National Olympic Committee, will welcome the participants of the International Olympic Academy, while H.E. Ms Fanny Palli Petralia, Alternate Minister of Culture and Vice-President of the International Olympic Truce Foundation, will officially open the session.

Five main topics
The session will be divided up into different parts and will concentrate on five main topics:

- The role of institutions in the concept of the Olympic Truce
- The contribution of sports to conflict prevention and peace-building
- Olympic Games and Olympic Truce: leveraging the brand
- The contribution of international organisations to the Olympic Truce
- Sport, conflict prevention and peace-building

Several case studies
During the session, several case studies will illustrate the effort which is already being made in the field of peace and sport. One example will highlight sport as a tool for fostering dialogue and peace in East Timor. Other case studies will illustrate the role of sport in the national healing process in Afghanistan and the building of bridges across divided communities in Colombia.

Truce resolution to be voted by UN General Assembly
The session will also handle the preparation of the next Truce resolution in view of the XX Olympic Winter Games in Turin. The resolution will be voted by the 60th Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations this autumn in New York.

Final recommendations
The Olympic Truce session will end with a plenary meeting on Friday 26 May, which will adopt the final recommendations.