London wins 2012 Olympics.
(WebPosted CBC Sports)

Victory mugs of beer were hoisted all across England Wednesday after London was awarded the 2012 Summer Games. International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge made the announcement after London earned a majority over Paris in the fourth and final round of balloting in a meeting among members in Singapore.

The London delegates in the convention hall leaped out of their seats, arms raised in jubilation and cheering wildly after Rogge called out the city's name. As predicted by Rogge earlier in the week, it came down to the wire. London beat Paris by four votes, 54 to 50, in the final round.

"It's just the most fantastic opportunity to do everything we ever dreamed of in British sport. This was the most splendid team performance," bid leader and former twice Olympic champion Sebastian Coe said on Wednesday. "We are taking home the biggest prize in sport."

"This is a truly fantastic day for east and southeast London," said Robin Wales, mayor of the east London borough of Newham, where much of the Olympics will be held. "It is a massive opportunity and also a big responsibility."

Still, it was a surprising announcement. London was considered a serious contender for the 2012 Games, but many Olympic observers didn't expect the city to upset Paris – the longtime front-runner – for the honour. "We are very, very disappointed but it was a very good competition," said Paris bid leader Philippe Baudillon. "We thought we could win but obviously we did not. Ah well, that's life."

The race eventually came down to a choice between Paris or London after Moscow was eliminated in the first round and then New York and Madrid in subsequent ballots. This is the third time London will be hosting the world's biggest sporting event, but the first since 1948.

The 2012 Summer Games follow the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver and Whistler, B.C.
"From one Olympic city to another, we salute London. The years of hard work, dedication and planning on behalf of the London bid team have resulted in a fantastic choice for the 2012 Summer Games," said John Furlong, CEO of the Vancouver organizing committee, in a statement. "London is one of the world's great cities and will be a spectacular host for the Olympic and Paralympic Summer Games."

It was the fourth Olympic bid from Britain after failed attempts by Birmingham for the 1992 Olympics and Manchester in 1996 and 2000.

One of the most attractive components to its bid was the revitalization and redevelopment of London's east end. In the lead-up to the final vote, Prime Minister Tony Blair said the Olympics would leave a lasting legacy on the city and the country.
Unlike Paris, London doesn't have many Olympic-ready facilities.

One of the strongest components of Paris' bid was most of the infrastructure and sporting venues is already in place. Its main venue – the Stade de France – is already built and hosted the 1998 World Cup of Soccer. Aiming for the Olympics for the third time in 20 years, Paris was considered one of the safest and best bets heading into Wednesday's voting.

In its evaluation report, the IOC gave Paris glowing reviews in following a blueprint to deliver the Games at a reduced size and cost. In Paris, the announcement was met by stunned silence. A crowd of thousands gathered in front of City Hall in Paris for an expected celebration but ended up just quietly watching scenes of joy in the British capital.

French officials struggled to comprehend how it could lose after being in a position of strength. "I am not disappointed personally, I am disappointed for the millions of people involved in sports education in France who were the target of our bid," said Henri Serandour, president of the French Olympic Committee.

Dr. Roger Jackson

London's winning bid had Calgary touch: City man worked on pitch to Games committee.
(The Calgary Herald)

It was a bold move that may have sealed the come-from-behind victory for London's 2012 Olympics bid -- and a Calgarian helped make it happen.

When the London delegation made its final presentation to International Olympic Committee members in Singapore on Wednesday, it focused on how the Olympic legacy will inspire a new generation to take up sports and healthy living.

A video showed children morphing into champion athletes after watching the Olympics on TV, and London bid chief Sebastian Coe -- a two-time gold medallist in the 1,500 metres -- told IOC members how watching the 1968 Games inspired him to start running.

It was seen as a risky strategy, but one Roger Jackson -- a Calgarian who served as the London bid's senior adviser -- deemed necessary to distinguish the city from a field that included Paris, New York, Moscow and Madrid.
"We wanted to talk about values instead of just the technical elements of our bid," Jackson told the Herald from Singapore.

To further drive the point home, Jackson had a group of children from the multicultural, working-class East London neighbourhood that will host most of the Olympic facilities sit in the front row while London made its presentation. "Forget about the suits in the audience," joked Jackson, a former president of the Canadian Olympic Committee.

After the presentation -- and even before the IOC announced the winner -- there was "euphoria" among the 300-plus members of the London delegation, Jackson said.

London's presentation may have been a big part of the city's victory over Paris, but Jackson also credited British Prime Minister Tony Blair for joining the bid team to Singapore to lobby IOC delegates leading up to the crucial vote.

What didn't play a role, he added, was French President Jacques Chirac's ill-timed crack about English cooking. "The IOC members are extraordinarily experienced. They know politicians . . . are going to say things they aren't supposed to say," he said.

Jackson has tasted Olympic success before with Calgary's 1988 Games, and said one of the biggest thrills about London's success is seeing the elation of his British colleagues.
"They have contributed something tremendous for their country."

Adam Van Koeverden (CP)

Canada wins 9 gold at Pan Am paddling championships.
(WebPosted CBC Sports)

Led by Olympic champion Adam Van Koeverden of Oakville, Ont., Canadian paddlers concluded their domination the Pan American canoe and kayak championships on Sunday.

In total, the Canadian team won 15 gold medals over two days, including won nine gold medals in the senior 500 and 200-metre finals on Sunday.

Adam Van Koeverden captured gold and bronze medals Sunday at the Pan American paddling championships in Lac-Beauport, Que. (CP File Photo) Van Koeverden captured gold in the men's K-1 500-metre and bronze in the K-1 200 to lead the Canadian team at the regatta in Lac-Beauport, Que.

The women's K-4 crew continued its weekend dominance with victories in the 500 and 200-metre races. The foursome of Mylanie Barre of Lac-Beauport, Jillian D'Alessio of Sackville, N.S., Emilie Fournel of Lachine, Que., and Carrie Lightbound of Mississauga, Ont., also won gold in the 1,000 on Saturday. "We used this competition as a run through for the world championships [in August]," said Lightbound.

"We tried to solidify our race plan and polished some areas of our racing. We've been together since March and it's going really well. We think we have a shot at a top-five at the worlds."

Other gold medallists in senior competition 500 metre races were: Attila and Tamas Buday of Mississauga in the C-2; Jennifer Adamson of Grasswood, Sask., and Victoria Tuttle of Carleton Place in the women's K-2; Richard Dalton of Halifax in the C-1; Richard Dober of Trois-Rivieres, Que., and Andrew Willows of Gananoque, Ont., in the men's K-2.

In the 200 races other winners were Kyle Jeffery of Mississauga in the C-1and the men's K-4 with Dober, Willows, Ryan Cuthbert of Carleton Place and Steve Jorens of Aurora, Ont.

Silver medallists were in the 500 races: the men's K-4 with Mark de Jonge of Halifax and Corey Hamilton, Rhys Hill and Angus Mortimer, all of Ottawa while in the 200 races it was Mortimer and Scott Oldershaw of Burlington, Ont., in the men's C-2. Kristin Gauthier and Tuttle were bronze medallists in the women's K-2.

The news was just as good in junior competition as Canada also won nine gold and 12 for the weekend.

In the women's canoe open competition Canada won four gold, three silver and a bronze. Gillian Fedchko and Mallorie Nicholson of Oakville swept the C-2 200 and 500 golds as did Sarah Lawlor of Lake Echo, N.S., in the C-1 races.

Noah Miller

Canadian men's water polo team continues to build heading into worlds.
(CP Wire)

TORONTO (CP)_ The Canadian men's water polo team was 0-4 at the World League semifinal tournament but the young squad continues to show improvement heading into the world aquatic championships.

Nineteen-year-old Kevin Graham of Regina led Canada with four goals, including three in the first half, in a 10-7 loss to Germany on Sunday. ``It's good to have some momentum built for the worlds coming up,'' said Graham. ``We're just trying to progress every game. The whole summer has been like that, not just this tournament, but the ones in Europe. We're just building, building.''

Canada, the world's 14th-ranked team in the world, now set its sights on the July 16-31 world championships in Montreal.

With three teenagers in the lineup, coach Dragan Jovanovic is pleased with how his team has progressed. ``No one likes to lose but we knew before we got into the World League that this was going to be really tough,'' Jovanovic said. ``To have this result against Germany, it's huge. We're making really big steps forward.''

The victory assured Germany will join Greece and Sebia Montenegro in the finals of the World League, to be played in August 11-14 in Belgrade. Earlier Sunday, Serbia and Montenegro edged Spain 9-8 before a partisan crowd at the University of Toronto pool.

But after a tough week that saw games against four of the world's top six teams, things won't get much easier for the Canadians in Montreal. They open up against Hungary, the defending Olympic champions, followed by 10th-ranked Croatia and Romania, a perennial European contender.

``It doesn't matter,'' Jovanovic said. ``We're not chasing results now, we're chasing performance. We want to see how our performance can improve. We're looking ahead three years. Our goal is to qualify for the Olympics in 2008.''

Since taking over as head coach last year, Jovanovic has stressed a defence-first philosophy. `We can't expect that we're going to score more than seven or eight goals a game,'' he said. ``Our game is 7-6, 6-5, 8-7. That's the max. That's why our defence has to be really good.''

Knowing an Olympic berth is at stake, Jovanovic's young squad has bought into the plan. ``It gives us a lot of hope and a reason to wake up in the morning and go to the pool,'' said goalie Nic Youngblud. ``We know we can play against Germany, we can play against Spain. We can play against anybody in the world if we just play our game and be patient.''

The 24-year-old Youngblud, a Hamilton native, said it was ``awesome'' to play in front of a home crowd, adding that the experience will help when he hits the pool next week in Montreal ``I was overwhelmed at the start,'' he said. ``In (Wednesday's) Spain game I was riled. I was too worried about the crowd. I'm still learning to block out everything and just worry about my own game.''

Canada finished 0-10 in World League play, but none of the 13 players were discouraged. ``There's going to be some painful periods. That's the way it is,'' said Regina's Noah Miller. ``We're playing catch-up. It's not going to happen overnight.''

Youngblud echoed his teammate's sentiments. ``We're still in the development stage in our journey,'' he said. ``We're going to have to go through this no matter what. We're 14th in the world and that's a fact that we're going to have to deal with. It's hard sometimes, playing the top 13 teams. We're going to come across Olympians who were born and bred to play water polo.''

But as his young players mature and improve, Jovanovic sees plenty of positives on the horizon. ``I think the future is really bright with this team,'' he said. ``I'm looking forward to working with these guys over the next three years.''

Sherraine Mackay (CP Photo)

Triple bronze at Vancouver fencing Peter Bakonyi International World Cup.
(Canada Fencing Release)

VANCOUVER – Vancouver has been overrun with swordplay as over 200 fencers from 22 countries have gathered to compete in the last world cup of the season before the October World Championships. Saturday’s action saw 3 Canadians picked up bronze medals.

Sherraine MacKay of Brooks, Alta., and Catherine Dunnette of Calgary shared the bronze medal podium in the women’s epee while Vancouver’s Laurie Shong came out of retirement to win the bronze in the men’s epee event.

#1 seed MacKay’s road to the medal round was smooth sailing with victories over Jess Beer from New Zealand, Alexie Rubin from the USA and Bianca DelCarretto of Italy. In the semis she faced Sophie Lamon from Switzerland and despite a late rally MacKay fell 15-13.

Dunnette defeated two Canadians, Emiko Ihara and Julie Leprohon followed by her biggest victory of the day over #3 seed Sonja Tol of the Netherlands. Catherine put up a good fight against #2 seed Cristiana Cascioli of Italy but lost 15-12 in her semifinal match.

Cristiana Cascioli beat Sophie Lamon 15-12 to capture gold in the final.

On the men’s side, Laurie Shong had a wonderful surprise working his way to the bronze after not picking up a sword for a little over a year. Shong’s only blemish came against Seth Kelsey from the USA falling 15-13.

Seth Kelsey went on to win the gold defeating Bas Verwijlin of the Netherlands 15-13 while Benjamin Solomon from the USA shared bronze with Shong.

Other notable Canadian results came from Magda Krol reaching the quarterfinals in women’s epee while Charles St-Hilaire and Igor Tikhomirov also reached the quarterfinals of the men’s epee event.

The women’s sabre and men’s foil events will be held today.

Alison Braden's game-winning goal leads Canada over Australia 7-6.
(CP Wire)

EAST MEADOW, N.Y.(CP) _ Alison Braden of Calgary scored the winning goal with just over two minutes remaining as Canada defeated Australia 7-6 on Sunday to complete the round robin portion of the $225,000 US women's World League water polo tournament.

Johanne Begin of Ste-Foy, Que., led the Canadian attack with two goals with singles to Krystina Alogbo and Dominique Perreault, both of Montreal, Cora Campbell of Calgary, Melissa Collins of Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Que., and Braden. Whynter Lamarre of Dollard-des-Ormeaux and Rachel Riddell of Vancouver shared the goaltending duties.

``We just got stronger and more consistent at the tournament progressed,'' said Campbell, one of 12 players from the 2004 Olympic team. ``We hadn't played together since the Olympics and the players had been scattered throughout North America and Europe since then in other leagues. That's why our play was so much better this week than last.''

Canada (8-2) led 3-2 at the half and the score was 5-5 after three quarters against the fourth place Olympic finishers.

In other games Sunday, Greece beat Germany 8-4 and the U.S., clubbed Brazil 9-1. The U.S., tops the final round robin standings in the A group with 25 points, Canada, which lost both its games to the Americans, followed at 24, Australia and Greece tied at 22 while Brazil and Germany earned 12 points each.

The top-four including Canada qualified for the Super Final next month in Russia. Canada had clinched its spot on Friday.

The B group also concluded its round robin Sunday. Qualifying for the Super Final were Hungary, Russia, Italy and the Netherlands.

CP Photo

Baseball, softball called out at IOC gathering: Play not even close as Olympics pared down to 26 events.
(National Post)

For the first time in 69 years, the International Olympic Committee voted to chop sports from the Summer Games yesterday, leaving the country's baseball and softball players -- and the Canadian Olympic Committee -- in a state of shock and anger.

IOC members voted yesterday in Singapore to delete the sports from the program for London's 2012 Summer Olympics. The sports will end their participation at the 2008 Games in Beijing.

"It's not just the fact that Canada has been very competitive in baseball," said COC president Michael Chambers, noting that the Canadian baseball team came within one win of a medal at the 2004 Athens Games. "I played baseball as a kid. Baseball is very much a part of growing up and participating in sport culture in Canada. How many baseball diamonds are there in how many towns?

"And softball as well, softball is such a highly participated in sport."

Baseball Canada director general Jim Baba echoed Chambers' thoughts. "Well, I guess it's a discouraging today to find out we're not in the 2012 Olympics, but I guess we'll carry forward with our programming for the 2008 cycle," Baba said.

At the 12th Canada Cup softball tournament in Surrey, B.C., there was shock at the announcement. "I'm speechless," Ron Gallinger, national programs director for Softball Canada, said. "It's devastating for our program. It will be a black cloud over the rest of this tournament."

While the IOC voted to drop the two sports, it failed to promote replacements. Squash, karate, golf, rollersports and rugby had been put forward. Squash and karate made it to a second vote, but failed to receive the two-thirds majority required to become official Olympic members.

"We are now an Olympics of 26 sports," said IOC President Jacques Rogge, who had urged the delegates to add two sports so the 2012 Games would remain at the maximum 28 events with participation of more than 10,000 athletes.

Almost immediately after the announcement, finger pointing began over who to blame for baseball's disappearance from the Olympics.

USA Baseball executive director and chief executive Paul Seiler said the vote showcased an anti-American sentiment that he felt also hurt New York's bid to host the 2012 Games recently awarded to London.

"If you look at New York and the non-support for that bid from the voters, then look at baseball's and softball's situation, there's a total lack of support for the United States in two key votes over the last three days in Singapore," he said. "The IOC is a very Euro-centric body, and when you look at where our sport is strongest, it's in the Americas and Asia."

Baseball, introduced to the Olympics at the 1904 St. Louis Games, was an exhibition or demonstration sport seven times before regaining full-medal status for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. No European country has won a baseball or softball medal, while the U.S. won baseball gold in 2000 and softball gold in 1996, 2000 and 2004.

Cuba, baseball champions in 1992, 1996 and 2004, blamed Major League Baseball owners for the sport's Olympic demise because of their refusal to release top players to take part in the tournament. While Major League Baseball is part of the best-on-best World Baseball Classic scheduled for next March, the professionals who played at the 2004 Games were all minor leaguers.

Baba said the only good news coming out of the announcement was that with no sports added to the Olympic program, baseball and softball will potentially have an easier time gaining re-admission to the Games for 2016 when another vote is taken in 2009.

Much of Baseball Canada's funding is dependent on its status as an Olympic sport, and Baba conceded that after 2008, there will be a great deal fewer of the resources necessary to develop the game. "It could be quite drastic," he said. "Hopefully, our performance in the World Cup in 2005 and 2007 will help us. Hopefully, we can minimize the drop in dollars that we will receive."

However, Baba did not think slashed funding or a lesser profile would hurt the game too deeply at the grassroots level. "The World Baseball Classic will also promote a reachable place for [young Canadian players]," he said. "We still have hundreds of thousands of players playing the game."

Canada participated in Olympic baseball for the first time in 2004, finishing fourth. Canada's softball team placed fifth in Athens, tied for its best finish with the 1996 team.

Curt Harnett

Curt Harnett: Still On The Fast Track.
(Athletes Can)

It’s been nine years since Curt Harnett rode his last race at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, but the image of the golden haired sprint cyclist with the bulging leg muscles and cool sunglasses propped up on his forehead is one that endures. "I constantly get comments to this day from people, saying, ’man, you’re just like the guy on TV,’" says Harnett, recalling his days as a poster boy for Pert Plus shampoo in the early 90s.

Harnett, who just turned 40, is no stranger to the challenges Canadian athletes face trying to market themselves in a country that, well, just doesn’t get all that enthused about amateur sport except during the Olympics. "I can remember saying to a reporter many years ago that as an Olympic cyclist I was only given at most, four minutes every four years to make an impression, and I had to make the most of it."

Harnett, who won three Olympic medals-two bronze and a silver-in his 14-year national-team career, is a strong advocate of athletes building their own "brand" and aggressively marketing themselves to help make ends meet. "It’s a lot of work," says Harnett. "I pursued my career as a business with four-year plans geared to the Olympic cycle. At the end of the four years my revenues had to exceed my expenses for me to continue."

His prowess on the track was matched by his marketing success, giving him the kind of financial security few Canadian athletes enjoy during their careers.

As much the onus is on athletes to make the most of their opportunities, Harnett acknowledges he was fortunate to have competed in a sport with a strong sponsorship base like cycling. "I learned how to speak to the media, how to be marketable but I never tried to be anything I wasn’t. I was a guy from Thunder Bay. I happened to be in the right place at the right time."

Harnett says it’s hard to choose a single event as the highlight in his career, although his conversation shifts easily to his final race at the Atlanta Games against longtime rival and close friend Gary Niewand of Australia.

Both went into the Olympics expecting to be racing against each other for the gold medal in the match sprint. Instead they found themselves dueling for bronze after both were upset in an earlier round. "As much as I was disappointed that I wasn’t going for gold, I was really enjoying myself and living in the moment," he says. "It was the final race of my career and it was the best race I ever had in my life."

Harnett nipped Niewand for the bronze medal to cap a remarkable career that ranks him among the top sprint cyclists of all time. After retiring, Curt worked briefly for IMG, a leading international sports management agency, and until recently was director of business development for the Sport Alliance of Ontario.

Never far from the national sport scene, he also served on numerous boards in an athlete advocacy position, including the COC Athlete Council, the Canadian Cycling Association and as a lead advisor on Toronto’s bid for the 2008 Summer Olympics.
For the last two summer Olympics in Sydney and Athens, he’s also been the CBC colour commentator for cycling.

In his new job as director of corporate accounts with Exposoft, a hi-tech event management company, Curt says he’s found a way tom combine his background as an athlete and varied work in an exciting new career path.

Harnett figures to play an important role in helping Exposoft expand its worldwide business in a niche market specializing in what is known as sponsorship asset management, providing event organizers and sponsors with an array of software solutions.

He’s not as close these days to the inner workings of the sport system, but remains as outspoken as ever. "I think the sport system as a whole needs a bit of an upheaval," he says. "I think the real shiny piece of metal that’s missing is a centralized agency, council or whatever you want to call, to lead the system. We seem to come close but never quite get there.”

Harnett says there are too many organizations in sport protecting their own turf and making it next to impossible to buy into a national vision.

These days Harnett spends far too much time driving from his home in downtown Toronto to his new office west of the city in Mississauga. But he’s not complaining. The job suits him to a T, and life is good with his sons Skylar, 15, Carter 6, and partner Victoria Winter, a longtime member of the Canadian equestrian team.

Whenever he gets the chance there’s nothing he likes more than to jump on his bike and go for a ride, weather permitting. "I’m a fair weather rider," he admits. "If I’m going for a serious bike ride, it’s got to be nice outside."

First published in Fast Forward, the newsletter of Athletes CAN

RBC Seeks Olympic and Paralympic Athletes for Community Ambassador Program.

TORONTO - RBC Financial Group today announced the national launch of its RBC Olympians Program, which provides Canadian athletes with funding and work experience to help them succeed both in competition and life after sport.

"This unique program helps alleviate the real pressures of juggling finances and training by providing athletes with an income and the flexibility to structure their work around their training and competition schedules," said Ann Louise Vehovec, senior vice-president, Brand and Marketing Communications, RBC Financial Group. "It also gives athletes the opportunity to gather skills and experiences to help them find a career after sport."

The athletes will act as community ambassadors, sharing their past experiences and current Olympic dreams with schools, community groups and RBC clients and employees. They will also work to create awareness and support for amateur sport in Canada and inspire the next generation to be physically fit and participate in sports at any level.

"The RBC Olympians Program was an excellent opportunity for me to gain valuable work, project management and leadership experience, as well as discover where my interests lie for life after swimming," said Mark Johnston, two-time Olympian and 14-time National Champion. "I look forward to continuing my career with RBC Financial Group this summer and putting the skills I learned as an RBC Olympian to use."

In addition to their community outreach role, the athletes will work in various departments within RBC gaining valuable work experience to help prepare for their lives after competition. Past participants include Perdita Felicien, Athletics, 2003 World Champion - 100-metre hurdles; Mark Johnston, Swimming two-time Olympian; Élaine Allard, Wheelchair Basketball, Gold medallist - 2003 Para Pan- American Games; and Mike Scarola, Sprint Canoe 2004 Olympian. Furthermore, upon retiring from their respective sports, Johnston and Scarola went onto full-time careers within RBC and all are currently employed in various positions within the organization.

"The RBC Olympians Program is another fine example of RBC's exceptional contribution to supporting amateur sport in Canada," said Chris Rudge, chief executive officer, Canadian Olympic Committee. "It is important for sports sponsorships to be more holistic and go beyond merely supporting athletes as they compete. We need programs in place to ensure athletes can be successful in their lives after sport - the RBC Olympians Program helps make this happen."

RBC is seeking a number of carded national team athletes or former Olympians and Paralympians for a variety of positions in main urban centres across Canada for a contract term of 12 months beginning in late August 2005. More information on the RBC Olympians Program can be found at www.rbc.com/sponsorship/rbcolympians.