Red-hot Groves wins three medals in three days; Morrison captures gold and bronze.
The Edmonton Journal
 
CALGARY—Kristina Groves took it as a sign she was out of her funk with her third podium finish in as many races at the World Cup speed skating final Sunday.

The 30-year-old from Ottawa was third in the women’s 3,000 metres after a silver medal in the 1,500 on Saturday and another bronze Friday in the 1,000 at the Olympic Oval .

After a season of missing the medals too many times for her taste, a trio of them was a timely boost to her confidence because the world single-distance championship starts Thursday in Salt Lake City. “I guess it couldn’t get much better for me than have three personal best times in three races,” Groves said. “I don’t think I’ve ever done that before.”

Denny Morrison of Fort. St. John, B.C., was third in Sunday’s 1,500 following his victory in the 1,000 metres Friday.

The Canadian long-track speed skating team capped the World Cup final with a gold, two silver and four bronze medals.

Six-time Olympic medallist Cindy Klassen was seventh in Sunday’s 3,000. Her bronze in the 1,500 was her lone podium finish. “You can’t always be on every weekend,” Klassen said. “I’ve just got to learn from the things I did this weekend.

“I didn’t have that much top-end speed in the shorter distances, so I hope that next weekend I can get more easy speed and feel more comfortable during the race.”

Klassen, Clara Hughes, an Olympic gold medallist in the 5,000, and Groves, an Olympic silver medallist in the 1,500, dialed down their training intensity and competition schedules this year to recuperate from their Olympic year.

While Groves knew that was necessary to help gear up again for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, she had difficulty coming to grips with regularly finishing off the World Cup podium. “I’ve been fourth, fifth, sixth all year,” Groves said. “I haven’t skated my best technically or been in the right frame of mind earlier this year.”

Hughes was 10th in the 3,000. She hadn’t raced in three weeks because she left the World Cup circuit last month to attend the funeral of her father-in-law in the U.S. “It’s been a little tough lately, so I was glad to race today,” she said.

The resurgence of Groves, Morrison’s double medal performance, a silver medal by Christine Nesbitt of London, Ont., in the 1,000 metres and a runner-up finish in the overall World Cup 1,000-metre standings by Winnipeg’s Shannon Rempel were Canada’s highlights of the final, which drew just over 6,000 spectators to the three-day event at the Oval.

Morrison and Nesbitt are 21 and Rempel is 22. The national program director of the Canadian long-track team pointed out no other country has three skaters that age who won World Cup medals this season.

“When you have these up and coming athletes and veterans such as Cindy, Clara, Kristina and Arne (Dankers), who seem to have really good control over what’s happening, 2010 looks very promising,” Finn Halvorsen said.

Two crowns in a row for Heil.
The Gazette (Montreal)

At Voss, Norway, moguls star Jenn Heil of Spruce Grove, Alta., clinched the women’s overall World Cup freestyle ski title with her second win in two days yesterday.

Her win Friday earned her a fourth straight moguls crown.

Heil, 23, who lives in Montreal, scored 25.34 points yesterday and had a whopping victory margin of 1.55 over silver medallist Margarita Marbler, the Austrian who was also second Friday. “It’s the most challenging World Cup course I’ve ever skied on,” Heil said. “The top section is really steep, and there’s a big drop to the landing for the first jump.

“I had to land in perfect position, plus the turns are very close together. We saw a lot of people make mistakes.”

The latest win represented more technical breakthroughs for Heil, who says she skied to her limit Friday. Yesterday, she successfully worked on faster spins and less air on the unforgiving course.

A Canadian also won the women’s bronze medal for the second straight day as Kristi Richards of Summerland, B.C., stepped to the podium for the third time this season. Stephanie St. Pierre of Victoriaville, who was third Friday, was 14th this time. Sylvia Kerfoot of Vancouver was seventh.

Richards was more than pleased with her bronze. “We came out this morning, and it was icy and incredibly steep,” said Richards, 25. “Just to get down, we would have been happy. To get down and come third, I’m ecstatic.”

It was a strong finish to the World Cup season for the Canadian women’s squad, which now heads to the world championships in Italy.

Half-pipe, full effort: Canadian boarder rides 1080 spin onto podium.
The Edmonton Journal

CALGARY - It became obvious just seconds after he entered the halfpipe Saturday night that Brad Martin was going for it.

Beginning his first run of the men’s final by nailing a 1080 degree spin for his first trick, Martin’s aggressive ride down the 170 metre pipe earned him a score of 39.6 points and a bronze medal at a World Cup Snowboard Halfpipe event at Canada Olympic Park.

“It was fun, I just went for it,” said Martin, who was the lone Canadian to come away with a medal in the two days of World Cup competition.

Saturday was a strong showing for the Canadian men with three other riders making it through to the final.

Barrie, Ont.’s Brendan Davis finished fifth, Jeff Batchelor of Oakville, Ont., took sixth, and veteran Justin Lamoureux from Squamish, B.C., ended up eighth.
“My teammates were definitely there for me,” Martin said. “There was four of us Canadians in the final and that was cool to see.”

Although it’s still years away, Martin admits he’s looking forward to the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. Martin was 16th in halfpipe at the 2006 Winter Games in Italy. “I want to be there, and do well, and I just want to have fun doing it,” Martin said.

The halfpipe at Canada Olympic Park with the new 22-foot walls has been built to the exact specifications that the 2010 venue will feature.

The men’s competition was won by Japan’s Ryoh Aono for the second straight day.

Canada dominates international cross country running competition.
Canadian Sport News

CLERMONT, Florida – Malindi Elmore of Calgary highlighted an eight-medal day for Canada on Saturday at the North America, Central America and Caribbean (NACAC) cross country running championships with a victory in the women’s senior race.

Canada added three team gold in senior women and junior men and women.    
In the women’s senior six-kilometre run, Elmore clocked 20 minutes and 41 seconds in a dominating performance.  Korene Hinds of Jamaica was second and Desiraye Osburn of the U.S., third.  Elizabeth Wightman of Toronto was fourth.

‘’It’s a great way to start with the outdoor season in track coming up,’’ said Elmore, one of Canada’s top 1,500-metre runners on the track.  ‘’The race went as I expected.  I had a very strong first lap and was able to take control of the race and build my lead in the hilly sections of the course.’’

Rebecca Stallwood of Burlington, Ont., was seventh, Chantell Widney of Edmonton ninth, Meaghan McCollum of Vancouver 16th and Kristen Kolstad of Surrey, B.C., 17th.

In the team standings Canada was first in senior women and junior men and women as well as third in senior men.

‘’I was pleased with the performance of all 24 Canadians here,’’ said Canadian team head coach Hugh Cameron.  ‘’Everybody brought their A game.  To be in the top-three as a team in all four events shows the quality of our depth.’’

Top coach fosters culture of speed: Wang succeeds in blending Chinese, Canadian ways.
The Calgary Herald

Less than a year after arriving in Canada from China, Xiuli Wang went to the Olympic Oval, looking for work.

A former 1,500-metre world champion, Wang appeared one day in the office of Oval general manager Jacques Thibault, eager to coach speed skating. It was the fall of 1997.

Thibault knew Wang from her racing career, but a dearth of coaching experience and English language skills resulted in her being turned away.
Undaunted, Wang returned a few months later with a repertoire of improved English and her Level I and II coaching certifications.

“She was very persistent,” Thibault recalled, with admiration. “And I thought we should give her a try. But we had a good group of coaches together and it would be tough to get her in the group.”

To test her chops, Thibault gave Wang one-on-one assignments that sometimes included older “athletes” with money to spend and crazy dreams of becoming Olympic champions. High maintenance and lacking talent, some of these students actually began to improve under Wang’s watch.

The Oval noticed this trend, heard the positive feedback and decided to hire Wang in 2000 after further upgrades to her coaching credentials.

Two years later, Clara Hughes won bronze at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and proudly deflected a portion of credit to Wang for teaching her how to skate. Soon after, the national team offered Wang a full-time position.

In 2006, Wang helped Hughes, Kristina Groves and Arne Dankers reach the podium at the Winter Games in Turin, Italy. For her work last year, she received the Jack Donohue Award as Canada’s top coach.

Using a blend of Chinese and Canadian cultures, she has a unique, effective approach to her job. “In China, athletes are disciplined, you’re pushed hard and there’s no room for dissent,” said Groves. “Here, it’s all about the athlete. In my opinion, it’s a little too soft sometimes at the top level.”

But not with Wang. Her small stature belies a strong spirit and determination.
“She’s taken all of the really hard-core things from Chinese culture—the work ethic, the discipline, the competitive nature—and somehow managed to find a way of softening it up enough so she can translate to us western athletes,” said Hughes. “With our Canadian brains, we’re definitely different athletes.”

“She can be so relentless, but she also has that soft side. She has the yin and the yang. She has the masculine, the feminine; the softness, the hardness; the cold and the warm. Complete balance 99.9 per cent of the time,” said Hughes.

“I think that’s why her athletes are able to go to the Olympics and be prepared and quietly show how good we are. We all do that. We’re not loud, we’re not broadcasting our lap times and races, we’re humble in what we do and Xiuli has always taught us that.”

Known as an amazing technician, Wang has an uncanny ability to physically imitate her skater’s actions and demonstrate the way they should be skating. She also has an innate ability of knowing when to apply the gentle touch.
“There have been practices where she yelled at me 400 times to keep my shoulders down,” said Groves. “Now, I keep my shoulders down. It sunk in.

“Not every athlete works well with every coach. Xiuli works with me. It’s nice to find someone you connect with on a level that makes both of you better.”
Olympic medallist Shannon Rempel joined Wang’s group this year and already has seen a wealth of mutual respect and loyalty.

“She puts her heart into every skater and cares so much about everyone,” said Rempel. “She really wants us to do well, you can tell.”

Blind skier takes on world’s best: Canmore’s Brian McKeever moves closer to competing in the 2010 Olympics.
The Calgary Herald

Already a decorated Paralympian, Canmore’s Brian McKeever is moving closer to his goal of representing Canada at the able-bodied Winter Olympics in 2010.

The 27-year-old cross-country skier finished 24th at Wednesday’s 15-kilometre freestyle race at the FIS world cross-country championships in Sapporo, Japan.
It was heady stuff—being the top Canadian in a field of 119 world-class racers—made even more impressive by the fact McKeever is legally blind.

“I’m very happy with it,” McKeever told CanWest News Service. “It’s kind of funny. At times like this, you can struggle with coming to terms with a result. Is it conditions? Did I ski well enough to finish where I did? In the end, you can’t question it, the result is what it is.”

As a child, McKeever was diagnosed with Stargardt’s disease, a rare form of macular degeneration that affects central vision.

He has “about 10 per cent” of normal vision and when he skis in ParaNordic events, his brother Robin skis directly in front to guide him.

On the able-bodied circuit, however, he’s on his own. When skiing against sighted competitors, he does a careful pre-race inspection to commit the track to memory. But there are still challenges in flat light and on downhill sections.
“We laugh that now he’s got 13 Norwegians and a couple of Germans to be his guide,” his father Bill said on Wednesday from his home in northwest Calgary.

Starting from the 44th position, McKeever’s time of 38 minutes, 3.7 seconds put him in a respectable spot as snow began to fall and the course worsened.
“The first lap (of two 7.5-km laps) was brutal,” said McKeever. “It was really flat light and some of the downhills were really icy. And it was rutted and chunked up. I couldn’t find the smooth line and my skis were flopping all over the place. I’m sure I lost time. On the second lap, for the most part, I was following people and it was easier to pick out lines.”

McKeever owns seven medals, including four gold, from the last two Paralympic Winter Games and Sapporo was his first foray into an able-bodied event, so anything is possible.

No Canadian has ever competed at the Paralympic and Olympic Games.