Hayley Wickenheiser puts her gold medal around her son Noah's neck. (CP)

Canada’s golden girls.
CBC Sports

The Canadian women’s hockey team captured its second consecutive Olympic gold medal, dominating an upstart Swedish squad from start to finish in a 4-1 victory Monday.

Jayna Hefford notched a goal and an assist for the Canadians, while Hayley Wickenheiser and Jennifer Botterill contributed two assists each. “This is beautiful, and it was just a great team effort to bring home another gold medal for our country,” captain Cassie Campbell told CBC Sports after the team received their medals. “I know there are so many people back home who are proud of us. I’m so proud of every single player on our team.”

“This is a special moment for me. This is going to be my last Olympics,” 40-year-old veteran Danielle Goyette said. “If I had a choice I would have stayed [on the ice celebrating] all night. They had to push me off. “I want to enjoy every moment of it. I’m going to go back to the dressing room and enjoy everything with my teammates because we worked hard and we achieved our goal this year.”

The Canadians kept Sweden off the scoreboard until five minutes into the third period, when Gunilla Andersson scored from the point during a power play.

Canada out-shot Sweden 26-8. The Swedes advanced to the gold-medal game by upending the favoured Americans 3-2 in the semifinals. The Scandinavian squad was buoyed by the heroics of Martin, who made 37 saves in that shootout victory. The Canadians were mindful of Martin’s strengths heading into the final game. “We wanted to take this whole tournament one game at a time,” Apps told the CBC after the first period. “We knew, going into this game, that we couldn’t take Sweden lightly.”

Canada beat Sweden 8-1 in a preliminary-round contest earlier in Turin, Italy. Sweden was vying for its first-ever gold medal in international competition. Canada won the gold medal in Salt Lake City. The Swedes won the bronze.

Helen Upperton, Heather Moyse (CP)

Bobsleigh gold for Germany's Kiriasis, Canada 4th.

One of the few achievements that has eluded German bobsledder Sandra Kiriasis was an Olympic gold medal. On Tuesday, Kiriasis and brakeman Anja Schneiderheinze corrected that omission as the pair won the women's two-man bobsleigh competition in Cesana, Italy. A silver medallist when women's bobsleigh made its Winter Games debut four years ago, Kiriasis was masterful in driving her Germany 1 sled to a combined four-run time of three minutes, 49.98 seconds.

Americans Shauna Rohbock and Valerie Fleming earned a silver medal as they finished in 3:50.69, while Italy's Gerda Weissendsteiner and Jennifer Isacco delighted the home crowd by winning the bronze.

Calgary's Helen Upperton saved her best heat for last as she posted the second fastest time but still finished off the medal podium. Upperton and brakeman Heather Moyse, of Summerside, P.E.I., drove their Canada 1 sled to a fourth-place finish in 3:51.06.

Competing in their Canada 2 sled, Suzanne Gavine-Hlady of Barrie, Ont., and Calgary's Jaime Cruickshank impressed the Canadian coaches with a 13th-place showing.

Upperton, 26, competing in her first Olympics, looked nervous driving down the Italian track during her first three runs that resulted in the Canadians losing valuable time. However, the experience both Upperton and Moyse gained during the Torino Olympics should bode well for the pair at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games.

Prior to the season, Upperton and Moyse were unknown but quickly established themselves as a team to watch. After starting the season by winning the Canadian title and a bronze in the first World Cup race of the season, the pair earned three more medals, including Canada's first-ever women's bobsleigh gold in St. Moritz, Switzlerand.

Lascelles Brown and Pierre Lueders (CP)

Lueders slides to Olympic silver.
CBC Sports

Canada’s Pierre Lueders captured an Olympic silver medal Sunday in the two-man bobsleigh competition in Cesana Pariol, Italy.

Under heavy snowfall, Lueders and brakeman Lascelles Brown powered their sled down the Italian track for a four-run time of three minutes, 43.59 seconds. Germany’s Andre Lange and Kevin Kuske won the gold medal in 3:43.38 while the Swiss team of Martin Annen and Beat Hefti earned bronze in a time of 3:43.73.

Serge Despres of Cocagne, N.B., and Edmonton’s David Bissett finished 11th with a total time of 3:45.67.

The snow significantly affected the times as the teams suffered through visibility problems and a slow track all day. However, Lueders still maintained the second-fastest time through the final three heats.

Despite losing time in the third heat by scraping the right chicane on turn three, Lueders and Brown were flawless on the final run. The conditions on Sunday were so bad the ice crew had to sweep the grooves after every run to try and keep a fair track.

Lange, who was the gold-medal favourite prior the Torino Olympics, didn’t disappoint as he won two of the four heats. His team overcame a potentially disastrous second heat when Kuske’s left hand slipped while attempting to get into the sled at the push start. Fortunately for the Germans, Kuske was able regain control and lost minimal time at the start.

Lueders, of Edmonton, won a gold medal with CBC bobsleigh analyst Dave McEachern at the 1998 Nagano Games, giving Canada its first Olympic bobsleigh title since 1964 when Vic Emery’s four-man team upset the favoured European countries. Lueders also won the 2003-04 two-man world championship with brakeman Giulio Zardo and repeated the feat last season with Brown.

During his illustrious bobsleigh career, Lueders has won a total of 69 World Cup medals, including several overall titles in the two-man event. However, he would never take full credit for this Olympic medal without pointing out the immense contributions of Brown. The Calgary resident is regarded as one of the top-three brakeman in the world and consistently gives Lueders fast push starts.

with files from CP Online & Associated Press

Cindy Klassen (CP)

Canada’s Klassen wins silver.
CBC Sports

Winnipeg’s Cindy Klassen skated to the silver medal in the women’s 1,000 metres at the Torino Olympic Winter Games on Sunday.

Klassen struggled to maintain smooth arm motion over the final 200 metres yet crossed in one minute and 16.09 seconds, a mere 4-100ths slower than gold medallist Marianne Timmer of the Netherlands. “I was tired so, luckily, it was good enough,” Klassen told CBC Sports.

It was Klassen’s third medal in Turin – a Canadian record for a female athlete in one Winter Games – adding to the silver she won in team pursuit and bronze in the 3,000. Swimmers Anne Ottenbrite and Elaine Tanner both won three medals in a single Summer Olympics. “I’m just so excited with the way the Games are going,” Klassen said. “I’m really happy with how this (1,000) went.”

Klassen soundly defeated China’s Zhang Shuang in the eighth of 18 pairings, so endured a long, anxious wait to see how things unfolded. “I wasn’t getting my hopes up at all,” Klassen admitted. “Marianne beat my time right away. “And so I just thought it would be, like, boom, boom, boom, that every next pair was going to be beating my time. But somehow I held on and I was really excited about getting a silver.”

Timmer, who also won the gold medal at the 1998 Nagano Olympics, outduelled Ottawa’s Kristina Groves in a swift 11th pairing. Timmer’s triumph was particularly sweet, given how she was reduced to tears when disqualified for a second false start in the 500 – a start that looked to be clean.

Groves placed fifth in 1:16.54, but well behind bronze medallist and pre-race favourite Anni Friesinger of Germany (1:16.11). Friesinger had won all five World Cup 1,000s she competed in this season. Jennifer Rodriguez of the United States entered Sunday’s 1,000 as a legitimate contender, but finished 10th. She has no less than five podium finishes in the 1,000 on the World Cup circuit this season, including gold at Milwaukee.

Christine Nesbitt of London, Ont., came 14th. Winnipeg’s Shannon Rempel was 24th. Defending champion Chris Witty of the United States, who set an Olympic and world record of 1:13.83 at the 2002 Winter Games, was a distant 27th in 1:18.70. Chinese skater Ren Hui, the bronze medallist in the 500, failed to finish.

with files from CP Online.

Kyle Nissen (CP)

Mixed Results for Aerialists in Qualifying – Shouldice Shines.

February 21, 2006; Sauze d’Oulx, Italy—Canada’s male aerialists had an up and down day at qualifications at the Torino Games yesterday evening.

While Warren Shouldice and Kyle Nissen, both from Calgary, moved on to Thursday’s final, veteran Jeff Bean of Ottawa and World Champion Steve Omischl of North Bay both “slapped back” on their second jumps and their Olympic dreams came to an abrupt end for this year.

Shouldice had a very impressive showing qualifying in third place without doing his most difficult jumps; World Cup leader Nissen also qualified with relative ease placing seventh.

Han Xiopeng of China qualified in top spot and Dimitri Dashinski was second. Scores from today’s event do not carry over into the finals. Women’s aerial qualification, postponed from Sunday, will take place Tuesday, with finals on Wednesday.

Kelly Vanderbeek (CP)

4th-place curse for Canada.
JIM BYERS SPORTS REPORTER
(TORONTO STAR)

TURIN, Italy - If fourth place is the loneliest spot in the Olympic Games, Canadian alpine athletes are about to open their own heartbreak hotel.

Kelly Vanderbeek of Kitchener today came fourth in the women’s Super-G, while Francois Bourque of New Richmond, Que. finished fourth in the men’s giant slalom. Vanderbeek, who’s never won a World Cup medal, posted a time of 1:33.09 today and was in first place with several talented skiers still to come. Favourite Janica Kostelic of Croatia beat Vanderbeek’s time and took over the gold medal spot for a while.

Vanderbeek, 23, was still in position to earn a shocking silver with only two athletes left to ski. Alexandra Meissnitzer of Austria came down the course and recorded a time of 1:33.06 to put Vanderbeek into third. Austria’s Michaela Dorfmeister then skied down with a gold-medal time of 1:32.47 to win the gold and push Vanderbeek into fourth. “I didn’t do everything perfect but I skied well and Im happy,” Vanderbeek said. “But three one-hundredths (of a second, the margin she was beaten by for bronze) is killing me right now.”

Vanderbeek said her heart “was beating a mile a minute” as she watched the other skiers chase her time. “I honestly thought I was going to pass out, I was so nervous.”

Earlier today, the 21-year-old Bourque was first after the first of two training runs. But he couldn’t duplicate his success in the second run and finished fourth. “After the first run I feel a little disappointed,” Bourque said. “I felt nervous and I made some mistakes in the second run. I could get the podium and now I’m fourth. it’s tough. “When I imagined myself before the race I thought I could get top five. But after the first run I was leading so I expected a little more. I think for my first Olympics it’s not too bad.”

On Saturday, Canadian Erik Guay finished fourth in the men’s super-G event. That’s three fourth place finishes for the Canadian alpine team at these Olympics. Canadians have finished fourth a total of six times in Turin: Andre-Marc Moreau in men’s moguls, Maelle Ricker in women’s snowboard cross and Paul Boehm in men’s skeleton were also one position from an Olympic medal.

Fourth place is the worst,” Guay said Saturday. “It’s like being the first loser.”“I’ll be thinking about that tenth of a second for the next four years when I prepare for the 2010 Games (in Vancouver),” said Guay, who was just one-tenth of a second from a podium finish. “It’s going to stay with me all the way.”

Canada was seeking to win its first alpine medal since the 1994 Winter Games in Lillehammer. Ed Podivinsky won Canada’s last Olympic skiing medal when he was third in the downhill at the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics. Steve Podborski won bronze in the downhill at the 1980 Lake Placid Games.

Sean Crooks (CP)

Italians celebrate cross-country win.
CBC Sports

Italian cross-country skiers claimed the gold medal in the men’s 4x10-kilometre relay on Sunday at the Torino Olympics. Italy’s anchor, Cristian Zorzi, a 24-year-old sprint specialist, crossed the line with a 15-second lead over the field.

The close race for second place was won by Germany’s Tobias Angerer. Angerer, the top ranked cross-country skier on the World Cup circuit sprinted to a silver medal. Sweden’s Mathias Fredriksson was two strides back and claimed the bronze.

Canada’s foursome skied to 11th place. Off the start, Devon Kershaw of Sudbury, Ont., emerged through the foggy Pragelato Plan course as the leader at around the 20-minute mark. His efforts were remarkable and he did a brilliant job of maintaining the lead until the first transition. ”Kershaw is in among the big boys of this event,” said CBC announcer Brendan Connor.

Kershaw raced with Sean Crooks of Thunder Bay, Ont., Chris Jeffries of Chelsea, Que., and George Grey of Rossland, B.C. This event was Crooks’ Olympic debut.

Norway went in as the reigning Olympic and world champions. Norwegians normally dominate the relay but their top skier, Tor Arne Heltand, did not race. Hetland is the second-ranked skier on the World Cup campaign. Their relay team finished fifth.

The Austrians, competing the morning after they were the target of a doping raid, finished last out of the 16 teams. The Austrian relay team of Martin Tauber, Juergen Pinter, Roland Diethart and Johannes Eder competed only hours after Italian authorities searched the residences of staff members overnight, looking for evidence of banned substances.

”We were surprised in our room,” Pinter said. “Suddenly the police came in and didn’t let us leave on the night before the competition. This happened without any positive result from doping control in the team. There’s definitely no doping in the Austrian team. It’s crazy.”

”The athletes were treated like criminals, they weren’t even allowed to make a phone call,” said Austrian cross-country spokesman Eric Wagner. “They checked every drink, every food, and they took a lot of stuff with them. They came around 9 and stayed until 12, and then took the athletes away to be tested.”

In the team relay, four members of a team each ski 10 kilometres, with the first and second relay members using the classical technique. The third and fourth skiers use the freestyle or skate-ski technique. Italians won a silver medal in the men’s relay at the 2002 Winter Games.

with files from Associated Press

Dubreuil and Lauzon (CP)

Russians take ice dance, Belbin wins silver.
CBC Sports

Canadian-born Tanith Belbin and partner Ben Agosto won a silver medal for the United States in ice dancing on Monday, an event won by the Russians.

Tatiana Navka and Roman Kostomarov, the reigning world champions, took gold with 200.64 points at the Torino Palavela after the conclusion of the free dance. Ukrainian husband-and-wife Elena Grushina and Ruslan Goncharov earned the bronze medal. The top three placings were unchanged from the end of Sunday’s original dance program.

Russia has now won all three figure skating events thus far in Turin, Italy, with Irina Slutskaya a favourite when the quest for the women’s title begins on Tuesday.

The 21-year-old Belbin was born in Kingston, Ont., and grew up in the Montreal region before moving to Bloomfield Hills, Mich., at the age of 14 to seek a competitive partner and pursue a skating career. She has teamed with Chicago native Agosto since 1998. She was granted U.S. citizenship in early January, making her eligible to skate in Turin. The pair finished second at the 2005 world championships in Moscow last March.

Belbin and Agosto scored 196.06 for the first American medal in ice dancing since 1976. They were 0.21 points ahead of the Ukrainians. “I am extremely proud that we’ve been able to achieve this for our country,” said Belbin. “It’s only our first Olympics. We’re competing with second- and third-time Olympians, so this is great to come here and get a medal the first time out when we didn’t even know we’d be here. “Can’t ask for more.”

Canadian hopefuls Patrice Lauzon and Marie-France Dubreuil withdrew from the competition earlier Monday. Dubreuil hurt her right hip in a nasty spill in the original program on Sunday. She had to be carried to her dressing room by partner Lauzon, and was then taken to hospital. “Physically I feel 70 per cent better,” Dubreuil said Monday night while supporting herself with crutches. “Yesterday I could not get out of the wheelchair and stretcher. “I wanted so much to be out there. Emotionally you have to deal with it.”

The pair were in sixth place overall after the original program. “We were so close to our goal,” Dubreil said.

Canadians Megan Wing and Aaron Lowe of Vancouver finished 11th out of 23 pairs in their Olympic debut. “I think we performed it the best we possibly could and I think it’s a lot of good hard training that we’ve put in all year,” Wing said.
with files from Associated Press

Christine Keshen and Shannon Kleibrink (CP)

Kleibrink, Gushue reach curling playoffs.
CBC Sports

Canada’s Shannon Kleibrink used a patchwork rink to reach the playoffs in women’s curling at the Torino Olympic Winter Games. Kleibrink, who curls out of Calgary, needed a clutch shot on last rock in the 10th end to get past Dorthe Holm of Denmark 9-8 and clinch the final berth in the medal round at Pinerolo, located 50 kilometres from Turin.

Canada completed the round-robin in fourth place at 6-3 and will face Switzerland in Wednesday’s semifinals (8 a.m. EST). “We’re going to have to be a lot better than we were out here tonight,” Kleibrink told CBC Sports. “It was a bit messy out there so we’re gonna go practising tomorrow and come out firing on Wednesday.”
Sweden meets Norway in the other semi.

Amy Nixon’s nagging stomach virus forced Canada to juggle its lineup on Monday, moving Glenys Bakker from second to third and inserting alternate Sandra Jenkins as second.

Canada’s Brad Gushue showed plenty of determination Monday in claiming the final playoff berth in men’s curling at the Torino Olympic Winter Games. Gushue made three clutch shots in critical situations to beat Pete Fenson of the United States 6-3 in the 12th and final draw at Pinerolo, about 50 kilometres from Turin.“It is nice knowing we are in the playoffs now,” Gushue said. “If we have two good games now, from here on in, we achieve our goal.”

With the win, Canada completed the preliminary round at 6-3, eliminated defending Olympic champion Paal Trulsen of Norway and set up a rematch with the U.S. (6-3) in Wednesday’s medal round (1 p.m. EST). “They are going to want to beat us as much as we want to beat them,” said American vice Shawn Rojeski. “If we go out and play a good game together, we can win.”

Finland (7-2) finished first overall and faces Great Britain (6-3) in the other semifinal. “That’s fine,” British skip David Murdoch said. “It’s what we expected. “We get a chance to get our revenge on Finland. We are going in very confident.”

Jeremy_Wotherspoon (CP)

Wotherspoon ready for a break, not retirement.
CHRISTIE BLATCHFORD Globe and Mail Update

Turin — All around Jeremy Wotherspoon, people were effectively writing his athletic obituary. His third Olympic Games were done. His second and final race had ended with a 11th place finish in the 1,000 metres and a ninth in the 500.

Competitors and teammates who passed by the clutch of Canadian media gathered in the bowels of the Oval Lingotto before him were duly asked about Wotherspoon’s legacy in long-track speed skating, as if his retirement at 29 was announced and impending, or about how the Olympic gold had eluded him, or about how his enormous contributions to the sport remain largely unheralded in his own country.

When the lanky Wotherspoon, whose face is all huge eyes and generous mouth, finally came by himself, the same questions flew at him, and as the scrum was wrapping up, one writer tripped over his tongue and said earnestly, “Jeremy, you’ve had this Hall of Fame career in figure skating…”

Wotherspoon grinned and replied, “No, that’s my future.”

A few minutes later, someone else asked if he could bear another legacy question. Wotherspoon smiled and shrugged. The reporter asked, “What would you like your legacy to be?”

Wotherspoon’s face grew very serious then, and he said, “Well, I think I have one of the best bodies in speed skating.”

The young man of the notorious stumble at the start line in Salt Lake, who had hoped to put that public memory out of its misery here, has no plans to retire and isn’t at all sure he’s done with skating. All he knows for sure is that “I’m going to give myself a bit of a break.” Physically, he’s still strong as a horse, but the intensity of training and race preparation “can fry your brain a little bit”, he said.

But if these Games were to be it for him, Wotherspoon will be remembered as a champion of champions, an athlete who won more World Cups than any other in speed skating (57) plus a silver medal at the 1998 Nagano Games, who is revered by his teammates and respected by his opposition.

As American Casey Fitzrandolph said of him, “If he has it in his mind [to try for another Olympics] and he still has the fire, well, I’m 31 and I still have it. I’ll have to remember to tell him that.”

Fitzrandolph said he and Wotherspoon talked about this a little, and that the Canadian from Red Deer, Alta. says he may take a year off. Fitzrandolph added with a touch of glee, “I would certainly like to watch him come back.”.

Then he added, “You know what? Jers taught me quite a few things, and one of the things he taught me is that what really matters in this sport is that you do everything you can to succeed. He’s a guy who already as much respect from his competitors [as he could want]…To anyone who knows Jer already knows he’s already got it.”

As Wotherspoon’s teammate Steven Elm said, “He didn’t get the Olympic gold medal yet, but it’s not everything.

“He’s got an amazing legacy in our sport, he’s the most winning sprinter ever, and in speed skaters’ eyes, it’s about more than one race.

“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him,” Elm said. “He lets me do a lot of stuff in his shadow. I credit him, and I’ve had a great career too, myself, and guys like him in Red Deer…You can’t do it alone. No one can do it alone.”

Elm said he watched all the media interviews leading up to Turin and said that while Wotherspoon “had lots of great races” after Salt Lake, in every single interview he was asked, “’Are you over your fall?’ How can you get over it when you’re always being asked if you’re over it?

“I kind of wish he was more Barry Bonds, and told them stuff it, but he’s a really nice guy.”

Wotherspoon’s 20-year-old teammate Denny Morrison was reluctant to endorse any notion of retirement. “I think Jeremy has lots of good races in him”, and he said he also believes that the American phenom Shani Davis, who trains with Wotherspoon in Calgary and who raced against him in the 1,000 and overtook him in the last leg, has benefited from the experience.

As for Wotherspoon, he said what he treasures most, when he thinks of his years in the sport, is the company and the fun. “The best times I’ve had were travelling, having fun, and helping people on my team have fun as they get better.” He keeps about 10 races in his head, five of each event, where “I really felt on.

“But sometimes, it was practice races,” he said dreamily, “where I skated world records in practice in Calgary. They were probably the most honest races, because you finish and look up and say, ‘What was that?’”

Bjoernar Haakensmoen (CP)

Norwegian coach popular.
The Leader-Post (Regina)

CESANA PARIOL, Italy (CP) -- The kudos keep coming for the Norwegian ski coach who gave cross-country skier Sara Renner a pole when hers snapped during Tuesday’s Olympic team sprint.

Renner has already sent Bjoernar Haakensmoen a bottle of wine. Cross Country Canada has passed on its appreciation. And Norway’s chef de mission can also expect a letter of thanks from the Canadian Olympic Committee. Thanks to the borrowed pole, Renner and teammate Beckie Scott went on to win the silver medal.

”It was reflex,” Haakensmoen said Thursday. “I didn’t have to think. ”Our policy of the Norwegian team, and my policy, is we should help each other. We should compete on the same ground. Everybody should have two skis and two poles. ”We try to do our best so our skiers can be on the top of the podium, but the issue here is we need to help each other.”

For Haakensmoen, giving Renner a pole was a simple act. To others, it’s an example of the Olympic spirit that sometimes gets lost in the quest for medals.

”I think it’s a fantastic gesture,” said Shane Pearsall, the Canadian Olympic team’s chef de mission. “To have a coach do this is phenomenal. It’s great sportsmanship. It makes you believe in sport.”

The Canadian Olympic Committee is sending a letter to Norway’s chef de mission “indicating our thanks and extending to them our gratitude on the sportsmanship they extended to us,” he added.

The COC also plans to inform the International Olympic Committee about Haakensmoen’s unselfish act.

Heinz Jungwirth, Secretary General of Austria's national Olympic Committee

Police raid finds doping materials.
CBC Sports

Italian law enforcement authorities who raided the Olympic residences of Austria’s biathlon and cross-country teams early Sunday, confirmed later in the day they had found equipment involved in illegal doping activities.

Among the discoveries was blood analysis equipment, as well as syringes, vials of distilled water, asthma medication and other substances, according to ANSA, the Italian news agency. The announcement was just one in a day filled with emerging information about the case.

Also on Sunday, Walter Mayer, the banned coach whose presence at the Olympics set off the first-ever raid of athletes, was taken into custody after allegedly crashing into a police road block following a chase through the mountain roads near the Austria-Italy border.

Mayer was apparently on his way home, having slipped away from the raid of the Austrian team. Meanwhile, BBC News reported the head of biathlon’s international federation was claiming documents confirming a positive pre-Games drug test were missing. “I have simply been told that documents were stolen,” Anders Besseberg told the BBC. It was not said whose test it was, or for what country the athlete competed. Canadian Dick Pound, head of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said he was not aware of such a theft.

The Austrian ski federation confirmed two of the 10 competitors tested by the IOC following the police raid had been kicked off the team for going home without permission. The federation also announced it had ended its relationship with Mayer, effective immediately, giving the accident as the reason. It was not clear why the federation was involved with Mayer, after he had been suspended by skiing’s international governing body until 2015. The Olympic Organizing Committee banned him from Torino and the 2010 Vancouver Games, for doping violations at Salt Lake City in 2002.

Wolfgang Schuessel, the Austrian chancellor, weighed in on Sunday in an interview with ORF, the Austrian state broadcaster. He said he found it “completely infuriating that someone like Walter Mayer shows up [in Turin]. “Dozens of Austrian athletes have been preparing for their whole lives to reach this summit, and then something like this happens,” he said.

On Saturday, as Italian authorities searched the local residences of the Austrian nordic team, the IOC conducted unannounced, out-of-competition tests on 10 Austrian athletes – six cross-country skiers and four biathletes. “We never asked the Italian police to take action,” IOC medical commission chief Arne Ljungqvist said. “We informed them that we would conduct testing on the evening of the 18th and they decided to take action at the same time.”

Italian police were acting on a report by WADA. Pound told the Associated Press on Saturday that doping control officers went to Austria to test athletes and, while they did not find who they were looking for, they did find blood doping equipment linked to Mayer. “They [the Austrians] have been playing with fire in having an association with this guy,” Pound said. WADA officials later learned that Mayer was in Italy with the Austrian team. “The fact he was in the same area as the athletes created quite some concern to us,” Ljungqvist said.

Despite being banned by the IOC and skiing’s international body, Mayer is still the head coach of the country’s cross-country and the biathlon team. Wagner confirmed Mayer had been at the Torino Games, in a private capacity, and in touch with the team as of Saturday. “Why not? He’s allowed to talk to anyone,” Wagner said. “If he is with the team the whole year, why not now?”

Mayer coached the cross-country team to its first-ever medals in nordic skiing at the 1998 Nagano Olympics, and a gold in the relay at the 1999 worlds and two more medals at the Salt Lake Games in 2002. But after blood-transfusion equipment was found in a chalet at 2002 Olympics, Mayer was banned for life by the International Ski Federation (FIS). That was eventually lowered to 10 years, in 2005. German chiropractor Volker Mueller, who prescribed the blood treatments, was also banned through 2010.
with files from Canadian Press, Associated Press and BBC News

Emily Brydon (CP)

Everybody loves skater Cindy.

TURIN—He wore an orange helmet with the gold-painted skate embedded in it. Nestled inside the skate was the Netherlands’ version of a teddy bear, a Dutch Lion, its head peering out of the boot like a Manitoba gopher peeking out of its hole. Miniature wooden shoes, pins and other trinkets also adorned the hard-hat.

You get the feeling Gerrit Hofstra is a hard-core skating fan—is there any other kind in his country? Hofstra even has his own version of an Olympic medal collection: hanging from his neck is a collection of small, red pucks, the kind they use to mark the lanes in speed skating. There’s one from Albertville 1992, Lillehammer ‘94 -- and in four years Hofstra plans to set aside his fear of flying and add one from Vancouver.

Hofstra is not only one of the best-adorned Dutch fans here, he’s got to be one of the most passionate. Anyone who’s gone to the trouble of making this particular piece of headgear is right over the top. “I’ve had it for 20 years,” Hofstra told the Sun from his seat at the Oval Lingotto. “It’s been all over Europe.” Hofstra is one of a few thousand fans from the Netherlands who’ve made the trek here to watch skating. They’ve turned the seats at the Oval into a sea of orange—and a screaming wall of sound every time a skater chugs past. While they cheer them all, they appreciate some more than others.

Outspoken Texan Chad Hedrick, who predicted he could win five gold medals here?
The Dutch can take him or leave him. On the other hand, they can’t get enough of someone like Winnipeg’s Cindy Klassen, a shy, modest star who’d never make a brash prediction—but who might just win five medals.

Sure, they admire Klassen’s combination of power and endurance, her grit and determination, her will to win. But they also can’t get enough of that warm-your-heart-on-a-January-night-in-Winnipeg smile.“I applaud for Cindy Klassen,” Hofstra said. “She is always happy. She is a great girl. She always waves.”

Due to the stature of speed skating in the two countries, Klassen may be a bigger star in the Netherlands than she is in Canada. Whenever the World Cup circuit takes her there, she’ll routinely race before thousands of screaming fans. “The Dutch fans are awesome,” Klassen said. “It’s really exciting whenever we race in front of a big crowd of them. They cheer for everybody. That’s really special.”

On Sunday, Klassen became a triple-medallist here, winning a silver in the 1,000 metres, to go along with her bronze in the 3,000 and silver in the team pursuit. She wouldn’t dream of sulking that she hasn’t finished first, though. She has far too much respect for her opponents than that. The feeling is mutual. “She’s really good,” said Dutch skater Marianne Timmer, who edged Klassen by .04 seconds to win gold in the 1,000. “And when she hits it, she hits it hard, and she’s going like crazy. She’s a great sporter.”

It’s Klassen’s sportsmanship that impresses Irene Postma, a reporter with the International Skating Union. “She enjoys herself, and that seems to be her focus, instead of winning gold,” Postma said. Klassen’s four career medals (she won a bronze at Salt Lake City) has the 26-year-old poised to join Marc Gagnon (1994-2002) and Phil Edwards (1928-36) as Canada’s most decorated Olympic athletes of all time, with five. But even though tomorrow’s 1,500 is her strongest event, she refuses to make a prediction. “It could be anybody’s day,” Klassen said. “I’m going to keep an open mind. Hopefully, the 1,500 will go well. I think (the 1,000) was a good sign for the 1,500 ... I’m looking forward to it.”

As are her growing legion of fans, from North Kildonan to the Netherlands.

Creating Relationships Building Stronger Futures –
Announcing the Calgary Swimming Academy.
 
The Canadian Sport Centre Calgary, Swim Alberta and the Calgary Foundation for Swimming Excellence are pleased to announce a new joint project – the Calgary Swimming Academy (CSA).  This organization is being created to provide a solid foundation for high performance swimming in the City of Calgary, province of Alberta, and for Canada.  This new approach will maintain Calgary’s presence as a leader in international swimming with a renewed focus on Calgary area based programming leading to vastly improved performances for Canada.
 
The new relationship will see the Academy provide the Provincial Coach services for Swim Alberta as well as supporting a Training Group that will have a world class coach on the deck.  The partners are committed to the development of high performance swimming and the advancement of athletes in Alberta to the national and international podium.  Currently Swim Alberta and the University of Calgary National Swimming Centre work collaboratively to provide cutting edge programs in the province to develop swimming.  The current Head Coach of the National Swimming Centre has been fulfilling this role for the last 18 months.
 
Together, the Canadian Sport Centre Calgary, Swim Alberta and the Calgary Foundation for Swimming Excellence have engaged the services of world class coach Jan Bidrman to assume the duties of coaching at the Academy.  The intent is to provide world class programming in Alberta that will allow our swimmers and coaches the support services necessary to achieve success at the top level of swimming.  The Academy will train out of the University of Calgary facilities and will commence operations April 1, 2006.
 
Contacts:
Jan Bidrman
Head Coach, Calgary Swimming Academy
403.875.7946
 
Or