Sport Performance Weekly

May 15th, 2006

Curtis Myden

Olympic swimming champ graduates from Medical School.
(The Calgary Herald)

The University of Calgary’s new crop of doctors includes a world-class athlete. Three-time Olympic swimmer Curtis Myden graduated Thursday from the university’s medical school. Myden, who won two bronze medals eight years ago in Atlanta and another in Sydney at the 2000 Games, joined about 100 other medical students in the university’s spring convocation ceremony.

The Calgary native calls this latest endeavour his toughest challenge yet. “Both swimming and medicine take training and discipline, and both have a reward at the end,” said Myden, 32, who is finishing his residency and will join an orthopedic practice in July.
“But in the health field, there is always a new problem to solve, a new challenge. And I want to make a difference to people—a difference in their quality of life. That’s what I’m most looking forward to. “I think the work I’m doing now is the hardest of the two.”

Myden completed his bachelor of science degree at the U of C in 1999. Last month, he was named as one of the university’s top 40 alumni from its first 40 years. Thursday’s graduation ceremonies were the first of the season at the university.

Thomas Grandi (CP)

Skiers Grandi, Forsyth to return for another season.
(CBC Sports)

Thomas Grandi isn’t ready to hang up his skis just yet.  Grandi and Allison Forsyth are among the Canadian ski team veterans returning for another World Cup season, Alpine Canada announced Friday. A total of 26 men and women were named to the team.

Grandi, 33, of Canmore, Alta., is coming off one of his best seasons. Canada’s top technical skier and veteran of four Olympic Games had a second- and four third-place finishes in World Cup races last season.

Forsyth, 27, had a rough ending to her season. The native of Nanaimo, B.C., tore knee ligaments in a nasty crash Feb. 13 during during downhill training at the Torino Winter Olympics. “Having veteran athletes return after an Olympic year to form the core of a rapidly developing young team is very important to our plan to become a world leading racing nation by 2010,” Alpine Canada president Ken Read said in a statement.

Other skiers returning to the team include up-and-comers Genèvieve Simard, Eric Guay, François Bourque and Kelly VanderBeek.  All four had their share of success on the World Cup and Olympic hills last season. 

Simard, 25, of Val Morin, Que., had two second-place finishes in World Cup giant slalom events; Guay, 24, of Mont-Tremblant, Que., posted three podium finishes in World Cup speed events and a fourth in super-giant slalom at the Winter Games; Bourque, 21, of New Richmond, Que., finished a surprise fourth in the giant slalom at the Olympics; and VanderBeek, of Kitchener, Ont., placed fourth in the super-G in Turin.

Canadian skiers earned 12 World Cup medals last season, twice as many as the previous year. Canada also took home five medals at the world junior championships.

Canada paddles to 5 World Cup medals.
(CBC Sports)

Quebec’s Émilie Fournal, who finished fourth in the women’s K-1 500-metre on Saturday, led the way in the second day of competition. The 19-year-old captured gold in the K-1 200-metre sprint. China’s Zhong Hongyan finished second, followed by Nova Scotia’s Karen Furneaux, who earned her second medal of the weekend. Furneaux grabbed bronze in the K-1 500 on Saturday.

In the men’s K-1 1,000, Olympic champion Adam van Koeverden of Oakville, Ont., also earned his second medal of the weekend, finishing second. Ben Fouhy of New Zealand was the winner, with van Koeverden, the 500-metre winner on Saturday, just behind.

Canada also added a pair of bronze medals on Sunday. Richard Dalton of Halifax finished third against a strong field in the men’s C-1 1,000. Olympic medalist Andrea Dittmer of Germany won the race, while Maxim Opalev of Russia placed second. Mark Oldershaw of Burlington, Ont., was eighth.

Canada also took bronze in the men’s K-4 200 with team members Richard Dober of Trois-Rivières, Que., Ryan Cuthbert of Carleton Place, Ont., Steve Jorens of Richmond Hill, Ont., and Andrew Willows of Gananoque, Ont.
Brothers Tamas and Attila Buday of Mississauga, Ont., just missed the podium in the C-2 1,000 and C-4 1,000, finishing fourth in both races. Dmitri Joukovski of Halifax and Thomas Hall of Pointe-Claire, Que., joined the Budays in the C-4.

In other results, Kristin Gauthier of Ottawa and Mylanie Barré of Lac-Beauport, Que., placed sixth in the women’s K-2 1,000; Dober, Cuthbert, Jorens and Willows placed sixth in the K-4 1,000; and the Budays, Hall and Ian Mortimer of Ottawa were also sixth in the C-4 200. Furneaux placed seventh in the K-1 1,000 and Dalton and Joukovski crossed eighth in the men’s C-2 200.

Canada wrapped up the two-day competition with seven medals.

Blythe Hartley (CP)

Canada’s Blythe Hartley wins bronze medal at diving Grand Prix.
(Canadian Sport News/Nouvelles-sport canadien)

FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida - Blythe Hartley of North Vancouver, B.C., won the bronze medal Sunday on women’s three-metre springboard to conclude the seventh stop on the Grand Prix diving circuit.

Ting Li led China to a 1-2 finish edging Olympic silver medallist Minxia Wu in second.  Hartley, coming off a double gold performance at the Commonwealth Games in March, followed. ‘’I was happy with my performance in finals, everything was consistent,’’ said Hartley, who was eighth after the prelims and seventh after semifinals on Friday.  ‘’I came in here not having a lot of training done due to school.  So the fact I delivered a solid performance is very satisfying.  It’s good starting point to build up for the big meets this summer.’’

Hartley graduated this year in communications and business at the University of Southern California where she is also a star diver on the NCAA circuit. ‘’It’s been a pretty hectic year so far with the Commonwealth Games, NCAA and school,’’ said Hartley, an Olympic medallist and two-time world champion.  ‘’For now I have more time to totally focus on the diving but I’m looking forward to getting into some line of work soon that will go along with my diving.’’

On men’s synchronized 10-metre, Nicholas Lachance and Nicolas Leblanc of Montreal placed seventh.

Dick Pound (CP)

WADA may move to ban oxygen tents.
JAMES CHRISTIE
Globe and Mail Update

The ethics committee of the World Anti-Doping Agency says athletes who raise their red blood cell count by using tents that simulate high-altitude conditions or hyperbaric chambers are getting an artificial boost and WADA may make it a banned practice.

The use of the tents — previously thought a more “natural” way to raise oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood than administering EPO (erythropoietin) — is a method Canadian medal-winning athletes have used for several years, including Olympic cross-country skiing medalists Becky Scott and Sara Renner.

A ban will be considered at a meeting of the WADA executive committee this weekend. Canada’s national team coach Dave Wood lashed out at the initiative. “They’re putting too much energy into an aspect of sport that is not going to change anything. They should be putting more energy into detecting genetic doping or real blood doping,” said Wood, who confirmed that Scott and Renner are among “older athletes” who benefited from hypoxic conditions at a point in their careers where they look for small improvements that can make a difference in their results.

“I think [WADA’s] position is out to lunch. It’s a tool you can use, but you don’t just sit down in a room and all of a sudden your performance is enhanced. You have to use it properly, and there’s a trade-off of fatigue and stress of being in a low-oxygen environment. It’s not like taking EPO, not even close.”

WADA chairman Dick Pound said in a teleconference yesterday that a ban on such practices would not besmirch the accomplishments of athletes such as Scott, an Olympic gold and silver medalist and now a member of the International Olympic Committee. Reputations of those who have slept in such tents or chambers won’t be impugned, he said. “Not at all. Unless there’s a prohibition, those athletes are not breaking a rule. ... As long as something is not prohibited, it’s allowed,” he said. “But is it contrary to the spirit of sport? Our ethics committee decided it was.”

WADA could put the high-altitude manipulations on the banned list or a watch list for further consideration. Practically, it would be a difficult restriction to enforce, especially determining whether athletes had been in tents or actually training at true high altitudes. “It may well be a bigger headache than it’s worth, like going after cold tablets when there are people out there blood doping,” Pound said.

Wood said Canadian, Japanese and Finnish athletes are among the cross-country skiers who use hypoxic conditions. “It’s used by people who don’t have the opportunity to go to altitude easily, reasonably close to home. In mid-Europe, you can sleep high and drive down the mountain to train. We can’t do that easily in Canada,” he said. “The real high altitude that exists in Canada is in national parks and not available to us for training. Are we forced all the time to travel away? Other countries have environments in their backyards they can use.”

Marie Helene Premont (CP)

CANADA OLYMPIC PARK PEDALS IN NEW WAVE OF ACTIVITY DURING SUMMER PROGRAMMING.

Calgary - It’s an annual rite of spring at Canada Olympic Park. With the snow melted off the hill, throngs of local sport and recreation enthusiasts have replaced their skis and snowboards with mountain bikes and mini-golf putters, and are limbering up their muscles for the challenge of the climbing wall for when the Park opens its fun-filled summer programming May 13.

“This summer promises to be a great one at Canada Olympic Park, with a wide range of activities and new additions to our summer programming and tourism packages,” said Jim Younker, general manager, Canada Olympic Park. “From the sheer adrenaline rush of mountain biking and the Eurobungee trampoline, to the more laidback atmosphere of mini-golf, there’s an activity for everyone.”

In addition to a newly renovated Daylodge, a number of other exciting additions will greet visitors to Canada Olympic Park this summer:

•        The new Olympic Odyssey Audio Tour brings alive for visitors the venues and drama of the 1988 Olympic Winter Games in English, French, German, Japanese and Mandarin. Featuring sound effects and voicing by world-renowned international athletes, this headset-enabled tour includes access to the Ice House, Olympic Track, Ski Jump Tower, Olympic Hall of Fame and Museum and the chairlift.
•        Visitors can take their best shot in the thrilling simulated experience offered by the new Virtual Reality Hockey Shootout Display, located on the second floor of the Olympic Hall of Fame and Museum.
•        Also new at the Olympic Hall of Fame and Museum is an exhibit detailing the stirring achievements and podium performances of Canadian athletes at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games.
•        A partnership with Kona established this winter will bring the arrival of a new fleet of mountain bikes to the rental shop for the summer season.
•        The Paskapoo Restaurant and Lounge will be open throughout the summer season, with a new outdoor patio enhancing its relaxing dining experience and delicious menu.

One of Canada Olympic Park’s premier summer attractions, the Kona Groove Approved mountain bike park, will also undergo exciting changes, thanks to a heaping of world-renowned expertise that will help usher it into the 2006 summer season. The only full-service mountain bike park in Alberta, the facility boasts more than 25 kilometres of open and single-track cross-country trails, including a beginner area, a stunt park, a free-ride stunts area and a dirt jumping area expanded by roughly 50 per cent for the 2006 summer season.

In addition, Canada Olympic Park will run the high-speed quad chairlift throughout the summer season to maximize riders’ time on their bikes. The new Mountain Bike Discount Dirt Card, now available at the Park and at Bow Cycle, gives riders three complimentary mountain bike day passes, plus 50 per cent discounts on all other day passes through the summer season.

“Our skill-specific mountain bike lessons, including a number of girls-only sessions, can further enhance the experience for riders by providing world-class instruction on all the necessary skills for safe and enjoyable riding,” said Younker. “And with the return, by popular demand, of Downhill Wednesday and Cross-Country Thursday race leagues, the mountain bike park will continue to solidify its reputation as the perfect setting for riders to hone their skills, while maintaining a healthy lifestyle and having fun.”

In addition to mountain biking, mini-golf, Eurobungee trampoline and the climbing wall are all set to open May 13. Public luge sessions in the world-unique Ice House, beginning July 1, will be another exciting addition to the summer lineup.

And for those aspiring Olympians and energetic youngsters looking for a taste of the sports smorgasbord offered at Canada Olympic Park, the annual Camp Torch program kicks off on July 4 with a comprehensive array of half and full-day camps for children four to 14 years of age. Unique additions to the program for the 2006 summer season include grassroots biathlon and outdoor adventure camps.

“Our wide range of summer camps introduces children to a variety of sporting and fun activities, offering everything from luge, to ski jumping and climbing on the rock wall,” said Younker. “It is our goal to offer a variety of sports to our next generation of high-performance athletes, and hopefully ignite the Olympic dream in each one of them.”

Owned and operated by CODA, Canada Olympic Park is Alberta’s second largest tourist attraction outside the Rocky Mountains, welcoming more than 1.3 million visitors each year. C.O.P. offers a wide range of Olympic summer and winter sport programs for all ages and abilities. For more information on Canada Olympic Park, please call 403-247-5452, or visit us at www.canadaolympicpark.ca on the Internet.

2005 Canadian Sport Review Panel - Summer Sport Report Cards.
Opinion By Amateur Cansport Blog - http://now-thats-amateur.blogspot.com/

In the past few years, the agencies that fund high-performance sport in Canada have made a change to their basic philosophy. Instead of stretching the available funding until it’s thin enough to cover every sport, there has been a trend toward concentrating financial resources on sports with the greatest probability of international success. I’ve previously touched quite a bit on the winter sport Own the Podium program. Today I want to talk about summer sports.

The 2005 Report of the Canadian Sport Review Panel was finally completed and released last month. The CSRP is an arm’s length group of technical experts that reports to Canada’s high performance sport funding partners: Sport Canada, the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC), and the Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC). The CSRP was created with a mandate to assess the high performance programs of Canada’s summer sports, and the potential for repeatedly winning medals at the summer Olympic, and the summer and winter Paralympic Games. The report contains summaries of those assessments, and funding recommendations for each sport from the CSRP.

Before I get into the data, it is important to note that the CSRP evaluation is based on the high performance programs of the various sports, and doesn’t address the broader goals of Canada’s sports organizations, such as participation or outreach.

The CSRP defines several categories of Olympic summer sports, from 1A through 6B. Category 1A/1B is for Olympic individual/team sports with high probability of podium success, category 2A/2B is for sports with moderate probability of podium success, and so on. Sports are ranked on the basis of their athlete development systems, technical leadership and authority, organizational commitment and the capacity to implement, and sport science development.

There are three 1A sports, two 2A sports, three 2B sports, and four 3A sports. Altogether, these sports garnered 55% of the CSRP funding, and account for 17 of the 20 medals that the CSRP predicts Canada will win at the 2008 Olympic Games. I will focus on these twelve sports.

As part of the CSRP evaluation process, each Canadian NSO was asked to provide detailed information to the panel. This information included a budget submission, and an assessment of potential Olympic medal performances in 2008 and 2012. The CSRP then performed its own evaluation of the submissions, and used them to provide recommendations to the funding partners. The table below attempts to capture some information about the NSO inputs, the CSRP evaluation, and the sport performance in 2005, for each of the sports in categories 1A through 3A.

The list of sports follows CSRP terminology; in many cases they identified one discipline governed by an NSO as a distinct “sport” separate from other disciplines. It is significant that “men” and “women” are listed as different disciplines in some sports. The CSRP has obviously decided that in many cases one gender should be supported more than the other. The support money in the table is only the portion for Olympic funding, which is separate from Paralympic allocations.

The “Requested” column shows the budget presented by the NSO, and the “Recommended” column indicates the CSRP recommendation to the funding partners. The next column lists 2004 Olympic medals — the twelve sports in the table accounted for all but one of Canada’s 12 medals in Athens. The 2008 Medal Prediction column indicates the number of medals predicted by the NSO, and the number of medals predicted by the CSRP after an evaluation of the NSO submission. The last three columns show Canada’s performance in each discipline at the 2005 World Championships.

It is amusing to note that the sports, when asked to predict their own success at the 2008 Olympics, came back with a “bottom-up” estimate of 68 medals — more than three times the total in 1996, which was the best non-boycott result ever. The CSRP has refined that estimate to 20, with a “top end” of 30. The top 12 sports included in Table 1 — presumably the best-managed of the bunch — thought that they could contribute 34 medals in 2008. The CSRP reduced this by “only” a factor of two.

The lion’s share of that reduction came from Athletics, Cycling, and Swimming, which together predicted 17 medals in 2008. That story didn’t wash with the CSRP, who reduced the number to 4. That mistrust of the medal predictions didn’t necessarily translate into a loss of sport funding; Athletics, in fact, was recommended for a larger allocation than they asked for.

All three of these “over-confident” sports had relatively good years in 2005, putting a large number of athletes into top-8 and top-12 positions at the 2005 World Championships. The top 12 sports are otherwise living up to CSRP expectations, with sprint canoe/kayak and diving leading the way. It will be interesting to follow progress leading up to the next summer Olympics.