Jessica Zelinka fourth in heptathlon at prestigious competion in Europe.

GOETZIS, Austria (CP) - Jessica Zelinka of London, Ont., lowered her Canadian record in the women’s heptathlon en route to a fourth-place finish Sunday at the 32nd annual Hypo world combined events challenge.

Sweden’s Carolina Kluft, who won back-to-back world championships and Olympic gold in Athens in 2004, won the gruelling seven-discipline event with 6,719 points. Lyudmila Blonska of Ukraine was second with 6,448, while Lilly Schwarzkopf of Germany was third with 6,335.

Zelinka, who had been in second place heading into Day 2 of the competition, finished with a score of 6,314, topping her previous Canadian mark of 6,213 she set at the Commonwealth Games in March.

American Bryan Clay won the decathlon with a score of 8,677, while Dmitriy Karpov of Kazakhstan was second with 8,293 and Maurice Smith of Jamaica finished third with 8,268.

Ski Jumper in Training

Female ski jumpers to compete at worlds: Decision paves way for inclusion at Olympics.
The Vancouver Sun

FIS I VILAMOURA, Portugal—Female ski jumpers cleared their first big hurdle toward becoming Olympians.

The International Ski Federation, or FIS, voted Friday to add an individual event to the 2009 World Championships in Liberec, Czech Republic, a necessary prelude to the sport attaining Olympic status. “This has been an historic day for the women ski jumpers in Canada and worldwide,” Brent Morrice, the chairman of Ski Jumping Canada, said in a statement. “We are taking the lead in moving something that needs to move forward and the Canadian sports system continues to show leadership in gender equality.”

Canada, Norway and the United States worked together in their efforts and proposals to FIS, with representatives attending the FIS Congress in Vilamoura, Portugal. Ron Read, the high performance director of Ski Jumping Canada, led the Canadian contingent that spearheaded the proposal. A Normal hill competition was approved for 2009. World championships are required before an event can be part of the Olympics.

“Our Canadian women are some of the best ski jumpers in the world and we hope that we can make Canadians proud by having a world champion competing in Vancouver in 2010,” said Morrice. “Our Canadian girls and all the female ski jumpers currently competing internationally have earned this with their efforts over the past many years.”

For female jumpers to compete at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, the sport still must be accepted by the Vancouver organizing committee and be approved by the International Olympic Committee at its meeting in July 2007 in Guatemala.

Last season, Calgary ski jumpers Katie Willis and Atsuko Tanaka won gold medals on the Continental Cup circuit, a series for female jumpers that was introduced in 2004 and the top international level for women at that time. Calgary will host a Continental Cup at Canada Olympic Park, July 24-26.

Canadian paddlers grab more World Cup gold.
CBC.CA News

Canadian paddlers shone once again on the final day of competition at a World Cup canoe and kayak event in Duisburg, Germany.

Olympic champion Adam van Koeverden, of Oakville, Ont., won the men’s K-1 1,000 metres on Sunday for his second gold medal of the weekend. Canada also earned its first major international triumph in a men’s K-4 1,000 race. The victories came a day after van Koeverden won the K-1 500 event.

“I’m a little bit surprised with my start this season,” said van Koeverden. “I’ve put a lot more focus on the technique. I had a great start last year but didn’t do as well as I wanted at the worlds. This year, I’ve built a plan to keep at the top until the end of the season.”

Along with van Koeverden’s effort, Canada also earned a surprise gold in the men’s K-4 1,000 race. Richard Dober of Trois-Rivières, Que., and his teammates from Ontario - Andrew Willows of Gananoque, Ryan Cuthbert of Carleton Place and Steve Jorens of Richmond Hill - upset other favoured nations for the first major K-4 1,000 win in Canadian history. “This is beyond our expectations,” said Dober. “We’ve been together now for a couple of years and our experience showed.”

He said it was a particularly “big win” because many of the top countries had two entries, whereas at many other major events - including the Olympics - they would only have one.

Sherraine MacKay

Sherraine MacKay wins World Cup Fencing Gold.

Sydney, Australia – The world No.1 women’s epee fencer, Sherraine Schalm-MacKay, defeated Imke Duplitzer from Germany 15-12 to win the Sydney Challenge 2006 Grand Prix World Cup Saturday.

In a year that Schalm-MacKay of Brooks, Alberta has dominated the world cup circuit; this marks the third time this year the two powerhouses have met up in the finals with Sherraine winning on every occasion. “It always feels amazing to win, but afterwards I always ask whether that’s really it? There are no more opponents?” Schalm-Mackay said following her fourth world cup victory of the season.

Earlier in the day Schalm-MacKay defeated Yin Ning Chan from Hong Kong 15-11 followed by wins over Canadian teammate Julie Leprohon of Montreal 12-9, last weeks World Cup winner Weiping Zhong from China 15-8 in the quarterfinals and Hyo-Jung Jung from Korea 15-13 in the semifinals. China’s Lanlan Qin and Korea’s Hyo-Jung Jung won the bronze medals.

“It was a good competition because I knew I needed the points to crawl back to No.1 in the world and I LOVE fencing “under pressure”. I accepted the challenge and did my best, while enjoying the game and wanting the day to last as long as possible. Thankfully, it did last as long as it possibly could! I am getting back into top form after a good long break in April. Next stop, Havana!”

Other Canadian results:
Julie Leprohon finished 12th winning her first round match 15-5 against Yi Nei Cheung from Hong Kong and her second match verses Polish fencer Beata Tereba 11-10 before bowing out to Schalm-MacKay in the round of 16. Calgary’s Catherine Dunnette lost her first round match in a nail biter 15-14 to place 38th.

Schalm-MacKay, Leprohon and Dunnette will represent Canada in the team event Sunday as they enter the event the third seed and draw Korea in the quarterfinals.

Grandi, Guay, Simard and Bourque tie record for CAST athletes receiving new Pontiac GMC vehicles through ‘Driven By Champions’ program.

Calgary, AB (May 24, 2006) – Four members of the Canadian Alpine Ski Team (CAST) will start earning style points along with their Pontiac GMC Cup points when they collect the keys to their new rides as part of the “Driven By Champions” program. All four athletes, who tie a record set last year for the number of CAST athletes qualifying for the “Driven By Champions” program, will have the keys to their new vehicles by the end of next week.

As incentive and recognition to Canada’s elite ski racers, General Motors of Canada provides a new Pontiac or GMC vehicle for one year to any member of the Canadian Alpine Ski Team who won a World Championship medal, a World Cup gold medal, or finished the World Cup season ranked among the top-10 in any discipline.

Thomas Grandi (Canmore, AB), Geneviève Simard (Val Morin, QC), Erik Guay (Mont-Tremblant, QC), and François Bourque (New Richmond, QC) all qualified thanks to their tremendous performance this past season.

Grandi, who lead CAST with five World Cup podium finishes in the 2005-06 season, qualified for the “Driven By Champions” program by finishing the season fifth in the slalom and sixth in the giant slalom standings.  For his effort, Grandi has chosen to drive away in a sporty 2006 Pontiac Vibe with XM satellite radio, five-speed manual transmission and four-wheel drive. “This is a very exciting day for me,” said Grandi. “I wanted a vehicle with good gas mileage and the Vibe was my first choice.  I get all the storage room I need for my gear and I know I’m being environmentally-friendly.”

Climbing wall at COP

CODA AND CALGARY BOARD OF EDUCATION JOIN FORCES TO ENHANCE QUALITY OF LIFE AMONGST CALGARY YOUTH.

-Calgary - Thousands of Calgary school children will be introduced to Olympic sport, and have an unmatched opportunity to participate in a more active and healthy lifestyle, thanks to a landmark agreement struck on Thursday between CODA and the Calgary Board of Education.

The unique and innovative relationship is designed to promote active living through physical education programs at CODA’s Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, and at the Canmore Nordic Centre, for the nearly 100,000 students representing 215 schools under the Calgary Board of Education.

Students will participate in a wide array of recreational winter and summer activities including alpine and nordic skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, mountain biking, hiking and orienteering among others. “Increased sport participation will significantly reduce health care costs over the long term,” said Jim Younker, general manager, Canada Olympic Park.

“Through providing access to our worldly-unique programs and facilities, CODA is fully focused on developing more Olympic champions - role models and heroes whose international success will ultimately drive more Albertans to increased physical activities.”

The agreement builds on a long-standing relationship between CODA and the Calgary Board of Education. Working together, the two parties currently introduce more than 40,000 Calgary school children to winter sporting activities at Canada Olympic Park each year. “The Calgary Board of Education is very pleased to publicly formalize our long-standing relationship with Calgary Olympic Development Association and Canada Olympic Park,” said Susan Church, Calgary Board of Education’s Director of Corporate Partnerships.

“The Calgary Board of Education is one of the largest school boards in the country, and we are proud of our 119-year history of involvement in the lives of the citizens of Calgary. Our partnership with CODA is a wonderful opportunity for our students and teachers to take advantage of world-class facilities and the many opportunities available to increase participation in physical activity and the development of healthy lifestyles. We are proud to be a partner with CODA and COP and look forward to continuing to refine our relationship.”

CODA and the CBE also operate the National Sport School, which allows Canada’s high-performance athletes the opportunity to pursue excellence in academics and athletics.

At the core of winter and summer programming at Canada Olympic Park, and the new agreement, is Sport For Life - CODA’s health and wellness brand. Under the Sport For Life initiative, Canada Olympic Park will execute the facility outreach component of the program. A fully non-smoking facility, Canada Olympic Park, which draws more youth than any other sport facility in Alberta to discover year-round recreational activities, will continue to promote healthy messaging and activities throughout its programming for Alberta’s youth, and students under the Calgary Board of Education.

 

"Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will."

~

George Bernard Shaw

 

Top

Subscribe

Archives

Home