Duff Gibson (CP)

Canadians grab gold, silver in men's skeleton.
CBC Sports

Canada cemented its position as the top skeleton country by capturing gold and silver in the men's competition Friday.

Duff Gibson had the best aggregate time of one minute, 55.88 seconds. Jeff Pain (1:56.14) was just behind. Another Canadian, Paul Boehm (1:57.06), placed fourth.Swiss slider Gregor Staehli (1:56.80) won bronze.

Pain won three gold medals and one silver in 2005-06 World Cup competition and finished first overall in the World Cup standings. He's also the reigning world champion.

Gibson had two top-five finishes in World Cup competition this season and finished 14th in overall in the World Cup standings.

Pain placed sixth at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, four spots ahead of Gibson.

Mellisa Hollingsworth-Richards (CP)

Skeleton racer Mellisa Hollingsworth-Richards fleshes out dream of Olympic medal.
RANDY STARKMAN (TORONTO STAR)

CESANA PARIOL, Italy—Canada’s Mellisa Hollingsworth-Richards stepped onto the podium last night with a tear trickling down her left cheek and breathed for what seemed like the first time in two days.

She had just survived the scare of her sporting life. After entering the women’s skeleton race at the Winter Olympics as one of the favourites — she’d won medals in all seven World Cups in a breakout season — Hollingsworth-Richards was facing the reality of being left off the podium in the most important event.

In second place with two of the top racers on the circuit still to compete, the Eckville, Alta., native, figured she was out of the medals. “I honestly thought it was over,” Hollingsworth-Richards said. “I was just standing there going, `Oh my goodness, I can’t believe this has happened. I can’t believe this. I can’t believe this.’ ... I thought, `This is every athlete’s worst nightmare, finishing fourth.’ I’d rather finish last than fourth.”

Then she took a peek at the scoreboard and saw that Germany’s Diana Sartor, competing while nine weeks pregnant after getting medical clearance, was struggling. As Sartor’s interval times got slower, Hollingsworth-Richards’ spirits soared. And before she knew it, she was on the podium for the eighth consecutive time, this one to collect Olympic bronze. “All in two minutes, it went from heartbreak to, `Oh my goodness, I’m going to have to wait four more years to maybe accept a medal,’ to, `Oh, thank God, I get to do it (tonight).’”

A cool customer from the time she won the first World Cup of the season in Calgary in November, the 25-year-old began to struggle with her nerves on the final day of training and it appeared to carry over to race day. “The last couple of days, it’s been hard to breathe,” she said. “That’s always been one of my things to take deep breaths and just stay relaxed. It feels like it’s stuck right at the diaphragm. I just have not been able to get a deep breath at all until I stood on top of that podium (for the flower presentation). I’m relieved that I can actually breathe again.”

She had a contingent of 14 family members cheering her on, including husband Billy Richards, a professional rodeo cowboy decked out in his black cowboy hat. They are all expected to be in fine form tonight when she gets her medal at a ceremony in downtown Turin. “I’m not going to be able to get the smile off my face,” said Hollingsworth-Richards, the overall World Cup women’s champion. “It’s already starting. It’s going to be perma-grin. I’m going to be so proud.”

She was wearing her Canadian team podium jacket for the first time after the race. “I refused to wear this at all the last six days we were in the village ... because I thought, `I’m not going to wear it until I win a medal. That’s the only time I’m going to wear it.’” Two-time world champion Maya Pedersen of Switzerland, reaching a top speed of 123 kilometres an hour, set a track record en route to victory with a two-run total time of 1:59.83. Shelley Rudman of Great Britain was second in 2:01.06, followed by Hollingsworth-Richards in 2:01.41 and Sartor in 2:01.69.

Hollingsworth-Richards attended the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, but as a spectator after getting bumped out of the last spot by good friend Lindsay Alcock, who finished a disappointing 10th yesterday after a rough first run. She found it painful watching from the sidelines, but a valuable experience to see the Olympic hype. “I think I’ve grown a lot, as an athlete for sure, in the last four years, but moreso as a person,” she said. “It was a big lesson to learn to hit rock bottom like that.”

Jeff Buttle (CP)

Buttle wins figure skating bronze.
CBC Sports
Canadian Jeff Buttle won the bronze medal in men’s figure skating with a solid free skate Thursday. Russian Evgeny Plushenko won the gold medal while Stephane Lambiel of Switzerland won the silver. Buttle had his best free skate of the season. He nailed his first two jumps and executed a good three-jump combination, including a triple Lutz. He also nailed his final jump, a triple Lutz.

But the skater downgraded a triple loop to a double, leaving some points on the table. Most significantly, he fell on his quadruple jump, one he has struggled with all season. “Tonight I didn’t land it, but strategically if I go for the quad, I’m actually able to get more points than if I go for an easier jump, so we just decided to risk it and put it all on the line,” he told CBC.
Buttle skated third from last and waited anxiously as the final two skaters performed. “Oh, my God, it’s nuts,” Buttle said as soon as he realized he’d made the podium. “It hasn’t sunk in. It’s nuts. This is huge for me.”

He added that he made the mistake of skating for a medal during his short program but decided to skate for himself in the free skate. “I was tired but I didn’t let my levels drop,” he said. “I just didn’t let go. This means my hard work has paid off.”

Compatriot Emanuel Sandhu all but imploded in his free skate, falling on his first two jumps.
Though he showed great creativity and excellent positioning in his spins, he skated tentatively and seemed defeated. “This is turning into a disaster,” CBC figure skating analyst Paul Martini said midway through the routine.

Sandhu’s technical score, 52.27, was his lowest of the season. He finished 13th overall, one spot behind compatriot Shawn Sawyer. “It’s been a very tough week for me,” Sandhu said. “Not practice-wise, I just think the actual performances were not what I wanted and I expected from myself. “I came into this competition the most prepared this entire season out of all my competitions.”

Sawyer nailed his two opening jumps but touched the ice coming out of his third. He later downgraded a triple Lutz to a double and stumbled slightly coming out of a corner.

Plushenko was heavily favoured to win gold. He has dominated men’s figure skating in recent years. Plushenko, the three-time world champion, took few chances but managed a personal best and won the fifth straight gold medal for Russian/Soviet men. “It was my dream when I was 4,” he said. “I saw a competition and said to my mom, ‘I have to be there.’ I said that I wanted to be an Olympic champion. Now I have all the titles and I am really very happy.”

U.S. national champion Johnny Weir was second after the short program but ended up in fifth after missing some of his jumps in the free skate. “There are years between Plushenko and everybody else,” said the always blunt Weir. Weir said he was late getting to the rink because bus schedules had been changed. He said he didn’t feel completely ready to compte.

Canada's pursuit teams (CP)

Canadian speedskaters capture two silver medals.
Canadian Press (THE GLOBE AND MAIL)

Turin — Maybe that prediction of five to seven medals for Canada’s long-track speedskating team is within reach after all. The men’s and women’s pursuit teams won silver Thursday to up Canada’s long-track medal total to three at the Winter Olympics. “We nailed it,” said Ottawa’s Kristina Groves. “We did what we were supposed to do and given the circumstances with our team and our individual strengths and weaknesses, this is the best we could have done. “And we’re all really proud of that.”

Before the Games, Emery Holmik, the high performance director for Speed Skating Canada, said he thought the team was capable of winning between five and seven medals in Turin. That looked rocky after a less than a promising start.

Cindy Klassen, Clara Hughes and Groves were all podium candidates in the women’s 3,000 last Sunday, but only bronze medallist Klassen finished in the top three. The next day, medal hopeful Jeremy Wotherspoon of Red Deer, Alta., finished a disappointing ninth in his top event, the men’s 500 metres.

But some of Canada’s top long-track events are on tap in the days to come. Klassen and Hughes are medal contenders in their remaining events and Wotherspoon and Denny Morrison of Fort St. John, B.C., could also reach the podium.

Canadian team member Jason Parker of Yorkton, Sask., says the twin silvers should give the entire team a boost. “These next 10 days are really going to be an amazing 10 days,” he said. “...Today has been a big day and I think it’s really going to give a lot to the whole team.”

The pursuit is a sport new to the Olympics. Two teams of three skaters start simultaneously on each side of the oval and take turns leading the team. The other skaters draft closely behind the leader, with the teams completing the race when the third skater crosses the finish line.

Groves teamed with Klassen and Hughes, both of Winnipeg, in Thursday’s semifinal victory over Japan. Christine Nesbitt of London, Ont., replaced Klassen in the final, where Canada lost to the powerful German team. Germany finished the six-lap race in three minutes 1.25 seconds. Canada crossed in 3:02.91. “We did the best that we could, that’s the best race we’ve ever done together,” said Hughes. “Our goal was to get to the gold-medal final and then fight it out.”

Klassen, who is entered in five different events, said the team agreed it would be best for her to compete in half of the four pursuit races. “We had decided before we came to the Games that I was only going to race two (pursuit) events,” Klassen said. “So I raced yesterday and today and we got into the final. I think that our team is really strong and it could have been anybody out there skating.”

The Canadian men also looked strong in the semifinal but came up short in the eight-lap final. Canada beat Norway to advance but couldn’t top the host Italians, who won in 3:44.46, ahead of Canada in 3:47.28. There were pockets of Canadian fans at the Oval Lingotto but they were no match for the boisterous flag-waving Italians, who erupted when their team won gold. “The crowd was super loud,” said Arne Dankers of Calgary. “I’ve probably never heard anything that that’s loud. Even in Holland where the sport is huge, it doesn’t get that loud.”

Dankers teamed with Steven Elm of Red Deer, Alta., and Justin Warsylewicz of Regina in the final. Elm replaced Morrison for the last race. Parker and Shannon Rempel of Winnipeg did not skate Thursday but both competed Wednesday. The Canadians had the maximum five skaters on each team and all will receive medals regardless of whether they competed in the final. “Just to be here was something special for our team,” said Dankers. “We exceeded all of our expectations, for sure.”

Both team pursuit events were wide open. The powerful men’s Dutch team crashed out in the semifinal but came back later to beat Norway for the bronze. Russia beat Japan to win the women’s bronze. The favoured Germans were led by Claudia Pechstein and Anni Friesinger, who were joined by Daniela Anschuetz-Thoms. It was Pechstein’s fifth gold medal in as many Winter Games. “It is a very beautiful feeling,” Pechstein said. “I feel happy. It is simply dreamy to be part of such a team.”

When the German women crossed the line, all three skaters embraced and held hands. That in itself was noteworthy — Friesinger and Pechstein had a bitter rivalry for years, though they patched things up before the Games.

Matteo Anesi, Enrico Fabris and Ippolito Sanfrantello completed Italy’s unlikely run to the gold. Italy beat the favoured U.S. team in the quarter-finals and the Netherlands in the semifinals. After they won gold, the Italians draped themselves in their country’s green, white and red flag while the crowd chanted “Italia! Italia! Italia!”“It is the most important moment from our sport’s point of view, in Italy,” said Sanfrantello.

Dominique Maltais (CP)

Bronze for Canadian boarder.
CBC Sports

Montreal's Dominique Maltais survived a wild final heat to win a bronze medal on Friday in the Olympic debut of women's snowboard cross. Canada's other finalist, however, wasn't so lucky. Tanja Frieden of Switzerland won the gold medal, while Lindsey Jacobellis of the U.S. took silver.

In a stunning turn of events, Jacobellis appeared to be cruising to victory before going down after the penultimate jump. Frieden took advantage and zoomed past her to capture the gold.

Jacobellis grabbed her board on the jump, a move halpipe riders use to impress judges. After the race the 20-year-old brushed off suggestions that she was showboating. "I had been having trouble with that jump all day. (Grabbing the board) helps you stabilize in the air," Jacobellis said. "I tried but it didn't work."

Earlier in the race Maltais wiped out spectacularly into the netting lining the course, nearly taking out a spectator. But she was able to recover and cross the finish line in third, well behind Jacobellis.

Maelle Ricker of Whistler, B.C., was the first rider to go down in the final. She botched a jump, landing hard on her back, and was unable to get up. Ricker received attention on the course and was taken to hospital in Turin by helicopter. She suffered a concussion and a bruised hip.

Maltais's bronze brought Canada's medal count at the Torino Games to nine and put Canada in fifth place in the medal standings with one gold, three silver and five bronze. The United States is in fourth place with 10 medals, including six gold. Norway leads all countries with 13 medals but has only one gold.

Ricker, who posted the fastest time in both qualifying heats earlier on Friday, won her semifinal heat while Maltais came second in hers. Both Canadians easily won their quarter-final heats.

Montreal's Dominique Vallee and Erin Simmons of West Vancouver, B.C., a dark horse going into the Torino Olympics, failed to advance past the qualifying round on Friday.

Ricker was coming off a bronze medal in snowboard cross at the 2005 world championships and a 23rd place finish in the women's halfpipe competition earlier in the Torino Games.

The unpredictable nature of this discipline was cruel to the Canadian men's team Thursday as medal favourites Drew Neilson crashed in the round of 32 and Jasey-Jay Anderson was disqualified in the semifinals.

Shannon Kleibrink (CP)

Shannon Kleibrink up 4-2 at Games.

got the better of defending champion Rhona Martin of Great Britain in women's curling at the Torino Olympic Winter Games.

Kleibrink, whose rink curls out of Calgary, built up a 3-0 lead by the third end en route to a 9-3 win in the seventh draw at Pinerolo, about 50 kilometres from Turin. Canada improved to 4-2 overall, tied for second place with Switzerland behind front-running Norway (5-1). Great Britain fell to 3-2.

Kleibrink scored two in the second and one in the third, then stole one in the fourth on Martin's failed double-takeout for a 4-0 lead. Martin was lying two deep in the fifth with a chance to draw for three on last rock, but settled for halving the deficit when it ran heavy.
It remained 4-2 until Kleibrink scored one on a takeout in the seventh. Martin answered back with one in the eighth but, forced to relinquish the hammer, conceded when Kleibrink counted four in the ninth.

In men's action, Markku Uusipaavalniemi of Finland parlayed a pair of early takeouts into an 11-4 victory over Sweden. Finland (3-2) pulled even with the United States and Switzerland, an 8-5 winner over Germany. Uusipaavalniemi's opponent is Canada's Brad Gushue (1 p.m. EST).

Gushue currently is tied for top spot at 4-1 with David Murdoch of Great Britain. Defending Olympic champion Pal Trulsen of Norway trounced host Italy 11-3 in Friday's remaining morning matchup. Italian skip Joel Retornaz conceded when Norway (3-3) stole four in the seventh.

The top four rinks advance to the medal round.

Beckie Scott and Sara Renner (CP)

POLE-ITE SOCIETY; ALBERTANS RENNER, SCOTT SKI TO SILVER THANKS TO KINDLY COACH FROM NORWAY
The Calgary Sun

Sara Renner owes Bjornar Hakensmoen one silver medal, one ski pole and one huge hug. "She didn't give me my ski pole back,'' the Norwegian coach jokingly complained after handing Renner a replacement pole to help carry her and Beckie Scott to a silver medal for Canada in cross-country skiing. "Ah, I don't want it back. I want her to keep it. It would be a good souvenir,'' he said. "We have lots of ski poles. But tell her she owes me a great big hug.''

The Albertans won the first surprise medal of the 2006 Winter Olympics for Canada thanks to Hakensmoen, a Norwegian coach, who watched Renner bust her left ski pole during the sprint relay finals as she passed his position on the course.

As a result of handing her his pole, combined with a massive move by Scott to catch the lead pack after the tag, produced a pair of Olympic moments for the ages. "Some countries don't give poles to their opposition. That is bull----,'' he said."Our policy in Norway is we should give poles or skis to everyone. We talked about it at our team meeting the night before. We are a country which believes in fair play. I like to be somebody of fair sportsmanship.''

The gesture likely cost his Norwegian skiers a medal as they finished in fourth place. Hakensmoen deserves to be as big a hero in Canada today as Canmore's Renner and Vermilion's Scott. Somebody send him a Canadian outfit to wear for the rest of the Olympics.
Have Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who called Scott and Renner to offer his congratulations on behalf of the country, to call Hakensmoen, too. "I saw it happen,'' said the Norwegian of Renner's mishap. "It was almost crushing.''

Renner said that's one way to phrase it. "It was like being in a canoe with no paddle," she said. "I was in shock. Then I looked up and the Norwegian coach is handing me his pole. "I was told that 25 years ago a Swede broke a pole and a Norwegian coach wouldn't give him his pole and it became a morale issue after that,'' said Renner, the 29-year-old who is married to giant slalom skier Thomas Grandi. "I'm told this will be the Norwegian coach's last Olympics, that he's retiring after this, so maybe this is a good way for him to go out."

They should put the pole in Canada's Olympic Hall of Fame. "It's a men's pole and it's really long,'' said Renner. "But it got the job done. I was able to make it back to Beckie without losing too much time.''

Renner said she couldn't believe when it happened. Almost like when, two hours after the race, she stood waiting for Scott to come out of drug testing when she looked around and exclaimed: "Oh, my God, that's my dad peeing behind a tree!' Sepp Renner said that was better than messing his pants, which is what he felt like doing when he saw his daughter's pole break."I thought 'Oh, my God, she's broke her bloody pole," he said. "She's in front at the Olympics and she's going to lose a medal because her bloody pole breaks.''

Scott said she did have a moment of disbelief before Hakensmoen produced the pole. "I did have a brief flash of 'Oh no, not now, not here,' " said Scott. "In a way it was a huge setback. It meant a little extra double poling for me at the start of my leg. But, fortunately, because she was given that pole, it wasn't insurmountable.''

Renner said the pole the Norwegian produced meant nothing without Scott getting back in the race. "Beckie skied like a tiger," Renner said. "When she saw the pole was broken, that really spurred her on. She had a substantial gap to make up. I guess I just made sure she got a lot of exercise today.''

Regan Lauscher (CP)

LUGE SUCCESS ELUSIVE.
The London Free Press

Luge wins and Canada are seldom mentioned in the same sentence and it'll likely be a while.
Regan Lauscher took another small slide to her dream of making it happen in Vancouver 2010. But she stepped off the track feeling like it's one of those so-close and so-far-away things. The slider from Red Deer, Alta., 12th in the women's singles four years ago in Salt Lake, finished 10th yesterday. "I'm definitely happy with that,'' she said. "Top 10 was my goal. I knew it would be tough to get much closer to the medals than that here. But I wanted to show progress.''

Lauscher, who last year was the first Canadian to win a medal (silver) in the 28-year history of luge World Cup races, wanted to match Marie-Claude Doyen's Canadian Olympic best, eighth at the Calgary 1988 Olympics. "I wanted four consistent runs and, for the most part, I was able to do that,'' she said.

It didn't help to see teammate Meaghan Simister of Calgary taken off on a backboard after slamming into the roof on Curve 17. Simister was ejected from her sled, sliding down the track behind the sled, before being taken away in an ambulance. "She's fine,'' said Tim Farstead, the Canadian team leader. "She has bruises on her leg and back. She was taken to the medical centre and her parents were there with her. She made a mistake on Curve 16, went up to the roof in 17 and came down and hit the inside wall.''

Lauscher said it was a test to not let that bother her. "You hate to see a teammate get hurt, but you have to block it out and focus on yourself and what you have to do to get down the track. This is a very difficult and challenging track.''

Sylke Otto became the second women's luger to win consecutive golds, leading Germany to its sixth medal sweep in 12 Olympics. Silke Kraushaar won a record third overall medal and Tatjana Huefner edged American Courtney Zablocki for the final podium spot. There have been 36 medals awarded in women's Olympic luge history; 27 have gone to Germans.

Kalyna Roberge (CP)

Canada looking to upgrade bronze.
(TORONTO STAR)

TURIN, Italy—The Canadian Olympic Committee has filed a complaint with the Court of Arbitration for Sport over the finish of the women’s 500-metre short-track speed skating final.

Anouk Leblanc-Boucher of Prevost, Que., earned the bronze in Wednesday’s race but the Canadians contend silver medallist Evgenia Radanova of Bulgaria crossed the finish line with her front skate tilted in the air. The rules require skaters to cross the line with both skates on the ice.

If Canada wins the appeal, Leblanc-Boucher’s medal could be upgraded to silver. Kalyna Roberge of St-Etienne-de-Lauzon, Que., who won the “B” final and finished fourth overall after China’s Fu Tianyu was disqualified in the “A” final, would receive the bronze. After the “A” final, officials reviewed the video and awarded Leblanc-Boucher the bronze and disqualified Fu for cross-tracking — improperly crossing the course or interfering with another skater.

“Kalyna didn’t want us to file the appeal,” Canadian coach Guy Thibault said. “She was saying she wanted to beat the skaters on the ice and it’s for her honour. But for me, I’d really like two medals and the rules are there to be respected. “I don’t know if we have a chance of winning the appeal, but its worth trying,” Thibault said.

CAS will hold a hearing today and is expected to announce its decision tomorrow. With files from star wire services.

Meaghan Simister(CP)

Crashes, injuries mount at Olympics.
CBC Sports

Doctors in Turin, Italy, probably were as deserving of a medal as any of the 2,500 Olympic participants on Monday. No less than 11 athletes were injured at the Torino Winter Games as several crashes occurred on the ski slopes and luge track, in the centre of the halfpipe and at a skating rink.

During a women's downhill training run, Canada's Allison Forsyth tore a ligament in her left knee when she lost control of her ski and skidded into the protective fencing. Forsyth reportedly will return to Calgary on Tuesday for surgery and begin at least six months of rehabilitation.

Forsyth insisted the course in San Sicario, Italy, is safe. Olympic organizers increased the height of several jumps and sharpened corners after some skiers complained it was "boring" following a World Cup event last year. "I think it was a very difficult course as far as the conditions of the snow, and the conditions of the snow isn't anybody's fault but nature," Forsyth said.

Kerrin Lee-Gartner of CBC Sports attributed Monday's problems to the course conditions, saying it was icy and grippy in spots. Austrian skier Michaela Dorfmeister, the harshest critic of the course last year, told CBC Sports that some turns are very icy and bumpy, but added "it's a very nice downhill."

Defending Olympic champion Carole Montillet-Carles of France suffered rib and back trauma on Monday, while gold-medal favourite Lindsey Kildow of the United States was airlifted to hospital after sustaining a severely bruised hip in a free-fall crash.

Montillet-Carles, 32, was one of the skiers who expressed some concern about the course on Sunday. "There is a trick at every gate, a lot of jumps and they have put a lot of water at some points and that affects your stability," she said.

American Julia Mancuso, who finished fourth in Monday's training, couldn't understand why there were so many crashes. "It (the course) really was no problem," Mancuso told CBC Sports. "It's a little bumpy, so maybe they were catching edges or just getting caught off guard, but it's an awesome course."

In luge, American Samantha Retrosi sustained a concussion and experienced short-term memory loss after slamming into the wall on the second run of the women's singles competition. The 20-year-old appeared unconscious as she slid underneath her sled through at least two curves. Retrosi was taken by helicopter to a hospital in Turin, where she was expected to spend the night.

Italy's Anastasia Oberstolz-Antonova, Czech slider Marketa Jeriova and medal hopeful Natalia Yakushenko of Ukraine also crashed, while Canada's Alex Gough hurt her ankle during a shaky run in which she nearly came off her sled.

The lightning-fast track in Cesana, Italy, was reconfigured last year for safety reasons. Some of the changes involved raising the ice base between curves 16 and 17, near the site of Retrosi's accident. Some wonder if the track is too dangerous, but current leader Sylke Otto of Germany isn't among that group. "It's a very hard and difficult track," said the defending gold medallist. "Crashes are always possible, but it's not too dangerous. But it is a track where you have to concentrate the whole time."

Also injured on Monday was Japanese star snowboarder Melo Imai, who was carried away on a stretcher after hurting her lower back during the qualifying rounds.

During the pairs free skate, China's Zhang Dan crashed to the ice and slid into the boards after a failed throw quadruple Salchow. Dan and patner Zhang Hao, consulted with paramedics before resuming their routine. The pair received a standing ovation and were awarded the silver medal.

Figure skaters Phyo Yong Myong and Jong Yong Hyok of North Korea pulled out of the pairs final after Phyo crashed into the boards in practice.

Dr. Kimberley Amirault

Canadian Olympic team accompanied by a dozen psychologists.
CTV News and Current Affairs

O’REGAN: Expectations are high for our Canadian athletes competing in Turin. So high, in fact, that the mounting pressure can take its toll. That’s why the Canadian Olympic Committee has sent 12 sports psychologists to Turin to work with the different teams. Dr. Kimberly Amirault is working the long-track speedskating team.

Thank you very much for joining us.

AMIRAULT: Thanks very much.

O’REGAN: Dr. Amirault, first of all, is there anything we should be worried about? I mean, why is there such an increase in the number of psychologists going to these Olympics?

AMIRAULT: Well, we’ve actually acted in more of a proactive approach, that a lot of us have been working with these teams since 1998. And so, it’s very normal for us to be a part of the team. And we actually work on a larger scale with the whole performance enhancement team. So, we have a lot more physiologists here, massage therapists, you name it. We’ve got the whole team with us this time around in the Olympics, also in preparation heading into 2010.

O’REGAN: We’re looking at images right now of Jeremy Wotherspoon. And, you know, obviously he was greatly disappointed with his performance. What do you do in a case like his both before and after the competition?

AMIRAULT: Well, with all of our athletes we really work on a whole system of having them plan what they’re going to do, execute the plan, and then evaluate whether they were successful or missed their mark. And then, it’s a matter of refocusing and bringing it back to what it is you need to do if you’re blessed to have an opportunity to try again. So, if you take, for example, I’ll give you an example of Beckie Scott, because I asked for her permission last night to talk about this.

O’REGAN: Sure.

AMIRAULT: After Sunday’s race, she finished up sixth after she had nothing left in the tank. She gave it all. But she was hugely disappointed because obviously she wanted to be on the podium.

O’REGAN: Yeah.

AMIRAULT: But for her, literally, what she talked about that night was we went through obviously about race plan and how things went and what things she could’ve done differently. But then talked about simply things that are really important, about her work with UNICEF, and talked about her family and how much they care about her, and her support network that are going to be there regardless of what the outcome is. And that she needs to bring it back, to keep it all in perspective and focusing what she needs to do in the next race, and just bring herself into the race, too. And, luckily, I mean, her and –

O’REGAN: And that’s exactly what happened for Beckie.

AMIRAULT: Oh, exactly. Her and Sara were great. They fed off one another, dealt with adversity. And that’s the beauty about the Olympic Games, is that you can really, if you’re in tune with what you need to do and bring yourself to your races, anything is possible.

O’REGAN: Really interesting, talking to you, Dr. Amirault. Thank you very much. Perhaps we could check in with you at some other point during the Olympics.

AMIRAULT: Great. Thanks very much.

O’REGAN: Thank you.

Dr. Kimberley Amirault is the Director of Sport Psychology for the Canadian Sport Centre Calgary.

Emily Brydon (CP)

Canadians falter in women's Alpine events.

Dorfmeister wins Alpine Austria's Michaela Dorfmeister finally realized her Olympic dream Wednesday, capturing the gold medal in the women's downhill at the Torino Winter Games. Dorfmeister, 32, negotiated the treacherous Fraiteve Olympique course in San Sicario, Italy, in one minute and 56.49 seconds."It's like a dream," enthused Dorfmeister, whose previous best was a silver medal in the super-G at the 1998 Nagano Olympics.

Emily Brydon of Fernie, B.C., was the top Canadian, finishing 20th. "What didn't happen today is I didn't perform to my ability and to my expectations and to what I know I can," she said, close to tears. "Why I didn't, I don't know. I went in 100 per cent prepared."

Kelly VanderBeek, from Kitchener, Ont., the fastest qualifer in Tuesday's qualifying, was 24th. "My goal was to attack and give everything I had," she said. "I did, but I was just a step behind the rollers all the way."

Shona Rubens of Canmore, Alta., was 26th, and Calgary's Sherry Lawrence, 27th, in what proved a disappointing day for Canada. "After the training results yesterday, we were having some high hopes for today," said Alpine Canada's chief athletic officer Max Gartner. "It was overcast, which brings a quite different element to the game. "All of a sudden, you cannot see anything. You need to approach it a little bit different."
SOURCE: CBC.CA
 
OLYMPIC RESULTS UPDATE With its second largest Olympic delegation ever, Alpine Canada Alpin has qualified 16 skiers intently focused on bringing back home one Olympic medal from the Games held this February.... Full story

HBC Trapper Hat (CP)

Hungry as wolves for sheep clothing; Eager shoppers at Olympics snap up Canada’s shearling hat Canadian jackets, scarves, gloves also flying off the shelves.
The Toronto Star

Shear madness, it is.
Eight years after that Roots newsboy hat became the fashion sensation of the Nagano Games, Canada has struck haberdashery gold again with the shearling trapper hats worn by our Olympians in the opening ceremonies.

They have – quite literally – flown off the shelves here. At B.C. House – the rustic log cabin showcasing Vancouver 2010 and all things Canadian – the earflap hats can’t be had, not for love nor euros, with pre-positioned warehouse stock already shipped in and sold out.

NBC wants to interview The Hat. Australian TV has asked if The Hat would be a guest in-studio. Yet only the faux shearling version remains, at 40 euros per, or half the price of the real sheep thing.

Simonetta Bella had just snapped up a couple of the hot hats, one for herself and one for 12-year-old son Giovanni, describing them as carino, which means pretty or lovely. “A little bit expensive,” Bella noted. “But they’re both very stylish and warm. Also, I like that they say Canada on the front. Canada is a beautiful country with a great reputation around the world.”

Canadian gear for sale at the HBC satellite store within B.C. House has been a magnet and a primary reason the queue for entry often stretches around the block with only a certain number of shoppers allowed inside at a time. The other night, it stayed open till midnight to accommodate eager patrons. “We’ve replenished our stock twice already,” said a frazzled Kristina Panko, a service manager for HBC in Sudbury brought to Turin to work the B.C. House branch. “The hat’s so popular because it’s such an obvious symbol of Canada. But even at home, when I called the other day, they told me the stores had sold out.”

The trapper hat is the “it” item of jock – and pseudo-jock – apparel in Turin. “It’s the trendy item of the Games,” said Curtis Runions, a 27-year-old native of Kingston, Ont., who has come to town from England, where he’s a high school teacher, to watch some hockey. “Maybe the fad will pass, like it did with the newsboy hats in Nagano, when everybody had one. But right now it’s the thing to have.”

If disappointed at the unavailability of the trappers, most shoppers here appeared eager to purchase other stuff instead, from shell-jackets to Team Canada hockey jerseys to scarves and gloves and the signature Hudson Bay Company blankets. Unfortunately, also out of stock – not even halfway through these Winter Games – are the goofy but endearing snowboard-influenced braided toques, with the hanging braided tie-ups, sort of like Hasidic side curls. Gone. Gone. Gone.

Yesterday, an eagle-eyed customer pounced upon the one such toque – known as a “Bugsy” – that was visible on the premises, only to discover it actually belonged to a staffer, who’d left the iconic item on a filing cabinet. Then the shopper very nearly refused to return the Bugsy to its rightful owner. It’s a clearance sale kind of environment except nothing’s been marked down and most of it is rather pricey.

The craze for Canada togs is gratifying for Tu Ly, the Toronto designer chosen to head the creative garb group when HBC wrested the Canadian Olympic Association contract from Roots (which still dresses Team USA, and those uniforms are nothing to write home about).
Ly, who has boutiques in New York and Los Angeles, is in Turin to witness his handiwork on the Olympic stage. “The shearling hat is the hat of Turin,” he said yesterday. “I think we hit the mark with this one.”

Ly has been wandering around town, taking pictures of his clothes whenever he spots them being worn by non-Canadian athletes. Thus far, his fashion-photo gallery has included a chic woman in a mink coat and trapper hat and an Italian guy wearing it whilst riding a motorcycle. “It’s a wholesome Canadian look,” said Ly.

The Olympic line, oxymoronically dubbed “Heritage Modern,” was devised as “cognizant of the past and looking forward to the future,” he said, borrowing richly from Canada’s (and the Hudson Bay Company’s) trapping, portaging history.

The Hat is a streamlined version of the classical trapper, crossed with snowboarding, earflaps trim to the scalp, pearl suede on the outside and warm wool pile on the inside. The “Bugsy” is also influenced by snowboarding, “but I’ve added some snap and pop so that it wouldn’t look like Elmer Fudd.”

Canada’s outer coat, on display in the opening ceremonies, is made from a nylon fabric – also used in bullet-proof vests – which protects against chill and dampness, with a three-dimensional insert of maple leaves on the side panels. Maple leaves could also be found inside the palm of the gloves Canada’s athletes wore – and those are gone from these parts as well. The quasi-mukluks, known as trapper boots, have the word CANADA and a maple leaf on the sole tread, so that they leave those marks on the snow. (Well, if there were any snow in Turin.)

What’s interesting is how many non-Canadians are snatching up all this gear at B.C. House, or placing orders to be filled later. Canada is cool, it would appear. “I’m a big fan of Jeremy Wotherspoon, Cindy Klassen, Mike Ireland,” said Sandra Vanosch, 34, as she scooped up some fleecy red sweaters. “But I’m from Holland and we’re crazy about speedskating. “Even if I wasn’t a fan, though, I’d buy some of these Canadian clothes. I don’t know, but ever since I was a little kid, I’ve loved your maple leaf symbol.”

Similar sentiments have been scribbled into a guest book that hundreds of visitors have signed “Bellissima!” “I love Canada!” “Passion lives in Canada!” “Fantastico!” “I want to live in Canada!” At least as popular as the merchandise is the ceremonial-dress RCMP who’s always on the premises as a promotional greeter and photo-op star. “On weekends, I must get my picture taken with people maybe 2,000 times a day,” said Constable Richard Couture, 44, who’s with the RCMP detachment in Surrey, B.C. “Of course, they think that this is what we wear all the time and that we work on horseback.”

An RCMP ceremonial detail is scheduled to carry the Maple Leaf flag into Stadio Olimpico at the closing ceremony, when Turin hands off to Vancouver. That’s when Canada Cool will really be in.

Torino Hockey Fans (CP)

Women’s gold-medal game featured at Olympic fun day: Oval’s big screens show Team Canada on Family Day.
The Calgary Herald

Our Canadian athletes may be taking part in the Winter Olympics in Turin, but Calgarians will get the chance to play games of their own come Monday. On Family Day, the Olympic Oval is holding Papa John’s Family Fun Day, an afternoon of activities, public skating and a chance to support local charities and amateur sports, from noon to 4 p.m.

Meagan Walton, captain of the Calgary Oval X-Treme hockey team, said she’s especially excited as it comes at a time when the world is celebrating the achievements of Olympic athletes. “Having the opportunity to share in the Olympic experience with your family is a special experience,” said Walton.

The woman’s hockey gold-medal game will be broadcast on large screens so people can watch as the Canadians defend their title. Twenty-two Canadian athletes who train at the oval are now competing at the Winter Olympics in Turin. Five national-team speed-skating coaches who are based here also made the trip.

Four of the athletes are members of the women’s hockey team, and Walton said the event is a chance to cheer on her friends and teammates with a big, enthusiastic Calgary crowd. The event is also a chance for the public to interact and talk to athletes who are striving to achieve their ultimate goal of participating in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Last year’s Family Fun Day attracted more than 6,000 people. This was good news for the Calgary Inter-Faith Food Bank and the Calgary Dream Centre. More than 2,000 kilograms of food and over $5,000 were collected for these charities. “It is representative of what Calgary is about – people coming together to make a difference,” said James McAra of the food bank.

The oval hopes to meet and beat last year’s attendance and collections. Events at the oval include high-performance sport demonstrations, radar cages, human curling as well as dishing out Papa John’s pizza, with 100 per cent of their proceeds going to charities and amateur sports groups.

Jayson Krause (CP)

The Olympic journey started off as a dream for Canadian bobsledder, Jayson Krause, with his sights set on the Torino 2006 Winter Olympic Games 8 years ago. It was his dream – a passion that he was willing to spend thousands of hours of time and effort on. It was a dream that he was living so close, but unfortunately was just out of reach, for now.

With the Torino Winter Olympics on the horizon, Jayson Krause started the 2005 / 2006 World Cup season with the expectation of making the Olympics. A series of unfortunate events in both his personal and sporting life, took a toll on the Canadian bobsledder. That real life dream of being a Winter Olympic champion had eluded him once again.

The journey to the Olympics is a long, hard and sometimes painful one. It is filled with valleys of disappointment balanced by the peak of victory and excitement along the way. For many athletes that road to the Olympics is based on the dream of one day competing for your country and standing on the podium as a proud Olympian.

Jayson Krause’s journey is no different than that of other Canadian athletes in the past, of the present, those in the future. This Canadian bobsledder tells the story of his road to the Olympics in a recently recorded song, “Real Life Dream,” written and performed by Jayson in Calgary, Alberta over the past several months.

Download Real Life Dream now

From being a ‘small town kid from nowhere’ to being ranked in the top 15 bobsledders in the world and his eyes fixed on an Olympic berth, Jayson Krause captures the story of not only his Olympic dream, but that of many Canadian athletes – and athletes all over the world.

Most importantly, Real Life Dream is about taking chances. There’s always a risk to chasing your dreams. But if there’s no risk then there’s no fun. You might get hurt, but you might push yourself beyond your limitations and learn something about yourself along the way.

You can now own a piece of Jayson Krause’s Olympic quest by downloading the song, Real Life Dream. All we ask for is a small donation in return for downloading “Real Life Dream”. All donations can be made through Paypal.com directed towards jayson@bobteamkrause.ca Your support is appreciated!