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Sport Performance Weekly
March 12th , 2007 |
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Canadian Sport News
KEARNS, Utah – Denny Morrison of Fort St. John, B.C., helped Canada to the silver medal in the men’s pursuit after earning a bronze in the 1,500-metres to conclude the long track speed skating world single distance championships.
It was Morrison’s third medal of the competition. Kristina Groves of Ottawa, also added a third medal with a bronze in the women’s 5,000 while Christine Nesbitt of London, Ont., was third in the women’s 1, 000. Canada ended the competition with nine medals second only to the Netherlands with 11.
In the men’s 3,200-metre pursuit, Canada initially broke the world record in its race clocking 3:38.31 with Morrison, Arne Dankers of Calgary and Justin Warsylewicz of Regina. But the Dutch bettered that in the next pair clocking 3:37.80 to knock Canada to the silver position. Russia was third.
‘’The guys skated really well,’’ said Canadian national team coach Marcel Lacroix of Calgary. ‘’We were under the world record pace on every lap.’’
In the men’s 1,500, Shani Davis of the U.S., earned the gold, with Erben Wennemars of the Netherlands second and Morrison third. Morrison also won silver in the 1,000 on Saturday.
‘’Denny achieved his goals this weekend,’’ said Lacroix. ‘’We knew he could skate at this level and he showed he could do it consistently. He gained a lot of maturity this season in all aspects of his racing. He put a lot of pressure on himself here. It’s a big step in his career.’’
Steven Elm of Red Deer, Alta, was fifth and François-Olivier Roberge of St-Nicolas, Que., seventh.
In the women’s 1,000, Ireen Wust of the Netherlands was the victor, with Anni Friesinger of Germany second and Nesbitt third. Groves was sixth and Rempel ninth.
‘’This is the time of year I wanted to have a strong race and I achieved that,’’ said Nesbitt. ‘’I improved all areas of my skating this season. This is the first year I’ve had this kind of success and I learnt a lot about dealing with the pressures and expectations.’’
In the women’s 5,000, Martina Sablikova of the Czech Republic clocked a world record 6:45.61 for the win with Claudia Pechstein of Germany second and Groves third. Michele d’Amours of Ste-Foy, Que., was 12th.
Groves also won bronze in the 1,500 and gold in the pursuit with Rempel and Nesbitt.
Cindy Klassen of Winnipeg won Canada’s other two medals here with silver in the 1,500 and bronze in the 3,000.
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Canadian Sport News
MILAN, Italy- It was a silver Sunday for Canada’s Charles Hamelin at the world championships in short track speed skating.
The Ste-Julie, Que., resident took second spot in the men’s 1,000 metres, finished second overall and helped Canada to silver in the men’s 5,000-metre relay. Kalyna Roberge of Ste-Etienne-de-Lauzon, Que., also capped a successful weekend finishing third overall and helping the Canadian women to bronze in the relay.
In the men’s 1,000, Hyun-soo Ahn of South Korea won the gold medal to edge Hamelin second while Apolo Anton Ohno of the U.S., third and François-Louis Tremblay of Montreal fourth. Olivier Jean of Lachenaie, Que., was eliminated in the quarter finals for 15th place.
Hamelin led most of the race but lost an edge in the dying moments.‘’It was one of my best races this year,’’ said Hamelin, the 500-metre winner on Saturday. ‘’It’s too bad I didn’t get the win but I can’t be disappointed with that performance.’’
In the 3,000 Kyung-taek Song of South Korea was the winner with Ahn second, Ohno third, Hamelin fourth and Tremblay fifth.
Ahn earned his fourth consecutive overall world title with 81 points, Hamelin was second at 63 and Ohno third at 60. Tremblay was fifth and Jean 10th. ‘’I came here with the goal to get an overall medal,’ said Hamelin. ‘’I felt I had the ability to put down some consistent races. To be second overall at the worlds is a great way to head into next season.’’
In the men’s 5,000 relay, South Korea won the gold medal, the Canadians followed with Hamelin, Tremblay, Jean and Jean-François Monette of Pointe-aux-Trembles, Que. The U.S. was third.
‘’We did a good job keeping focused on our own race,’’ said Hamelin. ‘’It was a performance we could be proud of. With three laps to go, the Koreans opened a gap on us and I just couldn’t reel the guy in. He was skating as fast as me.’’
In the women’s 3,000 relay, South Korea collected another gold with China second and the Canadians third with Roberge, Amanda Overland of Montreal, Anne Maltais of Quebec City and Annik Plamondon of Longueuil, Que.
In the final women’s overall standings, South Koreans Sun-yu Jin and Eun-ju Jung tied at the top with 89 points after finishing 1-2 in Sunday’s 1,000 and 3,000. Jin was awarded first overall following the tie breaking procedure.
Roberge was third overall at 42 with Overland ninth and Maltais 13th.
Roberge was fourth in the 3,000 and eighth in the 1,000 with Overland 10th and Maltais 18th.‘’We were very pleased with the level our team competed at this weekend,’’ said Yves Hamelin, the short track program director for Speed Skating Canada and the proud father of Charles. ‘’We were competitive in every race and fought hard in the finals. To do this well in a post Olympic season is a very promising sign for the team.’’ |
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CBC.CA News
Canada’s Erik Guay finished second at the next to last World Cup downhill of the season Saturday in Kvitfjell, Norway, setting a personal best for podium finishes and giving Canada a record-tying season.
Guay, from Mont-Tremblant, Que., nearly won the event, finishing just 0.06 seconds behind winner Didier Cuche of Switzerland, who completed the Olympiabakken course in one minute, 28.51 seconds. Marco Buechel of Liechtenstein was third in 1:28.94.
Guay landed on the podium for a career-best fourth time this season - all in the downhill - bringing Canada’s overall World Cup medal count to 13 on the season, equalling the national record set in 1982.
“We’re definitely creating a buzz on the Tour,” Guay said. “People are talking lots about the Canadians everywhere we go.”
Jeffrey Frisch of Mont-Tremblant, Que., finished 12th Saturday, while Calgary’s John Kucera was 19th.
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Canadian Press
MADONNA DI CAMPIGLIO, Italy — The medal haul continued for Canada at the world freestyle skiing championships on Saturday.
Montreal’s Jenn Heil captured her second medal in as many days by defending her world championship title in the double moguls competition on Saturday.
Heil clinched the gold by defeating Shannon Bahrke of the United States in the head-to-head dual to determine gold. On Friday, Heil finished second to surprise-winner Kristi Richards of Summerland, B.C. in single moguls.
Heil brought the Canadian collection to five medals at the event by winning all four of her duals. En route to the final, she defeated Ljudmila Dymchenko of Russia, Nikola Sudova of the Czech Republic and Richards.
The other Canadian women were Stephanie St. Pierre of Victoriaville, Que., in eighth and Sylvia Kerfoot of Vancouver in 13th.
The day before, Pierre-Alexandre Rousseau was the shocking winner of the men’s single moguls, despite not winning a World Cup single-moguls medal all season. In his 10 years on the World Cup squad, Rousseau now has seven top-10 world championship finishes.
Earlier Saturday, Steve Omischl of Kelowna, B.C., captured a bronze medal in the men’s aerials final won by 2006 Olympic champion Xiaopeng Han of China. Jeff Bean was ninth in the last international event of his 11-year career.
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CODA Release
CALGARY— National Sport School athletes returned to the classroom Monday after capturing an astounding 29 medals at the first-ever Canada Winter Games held North of 60 in Whitehorse, Yukon.
The unique school, where teaching of the high school curriculum is innovatively co-ordinated to maximize year-round training and individual world-wide competition schedules, is a partnership between CODA and the Calgary Board of Education established in 1994.
A total of 35 former and current students under the age of 20 competed over the past two weeks at the 2007 Canada Winter Games in Whitehorse, with more than half coming away with medals, 10 of them gold. Athletes won in 10 sports ranging from alpine skiing to synchronized swimming to speed skating.
“The success of our students in Whitehorse truly shows the results that can happen when you focus on sport and academic excellence,” said Cam Hodgson, principal of the school, which is located in Earnest Manning High School in Calgary.
“Our ability to have student-athletes access courses year-round through a combination of face-to-face and distributed learning, and out ability to adapt to competition and training schedules allowed our students to capture 29 medals against the best young athletes in Canada.”
One year ago, the School witnessed 20 of its current student-athletes, and alumni, compete on Canada’s Olympic Team in Torino.
The National Sport School, now stretched to accommodate 150 students, consistently graduates student-athletes from across the country who rank amongst the top academic performers in Alberta.
Student-athletes benefit from the same provincial grants available to other public-school students in Alberta. The year-round schedule and individualized program requires additional resources, which are offset through program fees, CODA funding and CODA scholarships.
The National Sport School is a core component of CODA’s $276 million plan to create the nation’s first Centre of Sport Excellence – which includes renewing the existing legacy of Olympic facilities in Calgary, and adding new one’s.
“Canada’s best athletes should not be forced to sacrifice their education while requiring access to the programs, coaching and facilities they need to improve their athletic skills,” said Bob Nicolay, president and chief executive officer, CODA, who added the school now welcomes athletes from a number of Canadian provinces and Territories.
“Our plan is to build an expanded school as part of the first Centre of Sport Excellence that is now under development in southern Alberta, and allow more young Canadians to complete their high school education while pursuing their Olympic dream.”
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The Globe and Mail
Canada’s medal performance at the Olympic Games would be improved by the inclusion of more women in the coaching ranks, a former Olympic coach says.
“We had four women coaches at the Turin Olympics and all four produced medal performances,” said Sheilagh Croxon, a consultant to the Coaching Association of Canada and two-time Olympic coach for synchronized swimming. “That’s impressive.
Data gathered in the past two years by CAC researcher Guylaine Demers show that women’s hockey, softball and soccer at the Olympic level have bolstered the interest and participation of girls in sport.
However, the number of women in the coaching ranks is lagging, Ms. Croxon said.
The research has shown, for instance, that while 42 per cent of minor soccer players are girls, only about 5 per cent of the coaches are women. Similarly, about 11 per cent of registered minor-hockey players are female, but only 4 per cent of the coaches are women.
“The players are getting some role models, but not the coaches yet,” said Ms. Croxon, whose athletes have won Olympic medals. “We’re trying to get more profile for them. We want them to see that a woman’s participation in sport doesn’t end with competition.”
One of the problems is that many women believe they need to be technical experts in order to be coaches. But, Ms. Croxon said, what’s most important for young athletes is communication skills and teamwork, areas in which women tend to be strong.
“One by one, female athletes are making a transition to the coaching level. Laryssa Biesenthal is a full-time assistant coach with Rowing Canada’s national team, after winning Olympic medals with the women’s eights.
Former world champion Tanya Dubnicoff is coaching BMX cycling, and Christine Nordhagen, a six-time world champion in women’s wrestling, is coaching in the mat sport.
At the Turin Winter Olympics last year, Canadians won medals in a spectrum of sports, including four with women at the helm. There were 68 Olympic coaches in all, and female coaches accounted for 14.7 per cent.
The coaches who brought back hardware were: Melody Davidson of Oyen, Alta., in women’s hockey; national long-track speed skating coach Xuili Wang of Calgary; national curling coach Elaine Dagg-Jackson of Victoria; and skeleton coach Teresa Schlachter of Calgary.
The female coaching contingent also included figure skating coaches Joanne McLeod of West Vancouver, B.C., Manon Perron of Boucherville, Que., Annie Barabe of Sorel-Tracy, Que., Sophie Richard of Saint-Charles-de-Drummond, Que., and Steffany Hanlen of Edmonton and Margot Page of Calgary, an assistant coach with the women’s ice hockey team.
“But a lot of time, these situations happen in isolation,” Ms. Croxon said. “. . . It may take a Melody Davidson getting behind a National Hockey League bench to change perceptions.”
Social convention has also played a part in keeping women out of coaching. Women have traditionally been the core of the family unit, and the demands of time and travel in coaching discourage many.
However, Ms. Croxon points out, Rowing Canada is ready to make an accommodation to keep Ms. Biesenthal’s talents in the system. “They’re prepared to send a nanny on the road as a support person,” she said.
“But not every national sport organization will do that.”
Some will soon be alerted to the strategy. At the end of the month, the Coaching Association of Canada will stage a think tank on women’s coaching headed by Marion Lay, the president of the Vancouver Olympics’ Legacies Now Society
“It will be some of the brightest minds in sport,” Ms. Croxon said. “Increasing the number of women coaches is on everybody’s agenda.”
It’s not a matter of women displacing men in coaching, she said. Often, positive results can come from men and women working together. She cited the case of the figure skating coaching co-operation of Michelle and Doug Leigh.
“I’d also bring more men into the coaching of women’s teams,” she said. “It’s a possibility that hasn’t been explored. Men and women approach a situation differently, and more can be accomplished with an exchange of ideas.”
Girls 11 to 15 would benefit and stay in sport if they have a female coach to relate to as a role model and mentor, she said. “Self-esteem is fragile at that age, and it’s a barrier they have to cope with.
“. . . Women in coaching is an area of untapped potential,” she added. “No country stands head and shoulders above Canada in this area. Why can’t Canada be the one to lead the way?”
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