Morrison, Nesbitt, Wotherspoon, win gold, help team pursuit to gold at speed skating World Cup.

CALGARY – Denny Morrison of Fort St. John, B.C., earned his first victory this season on Sunday edging the hottest long track speed skater in the world – his compatriot Jeremy Wotherspoon of Red Deer, Alta., – to win the men’s 1,000 metres at the second stop on the World Cup circuit.

Morrison then helped Canada to gold in the men’s team pursuit.  Christine Nesbitt of London, Ont., took silver in the women’s 1,000 and was part of the women’s team pursuit silver medal performance.

‘’I opened pretty fast and carried the speed right through to the last lap,’’ said Morrison, who was in the fourth pair of 10.  ‘’A lot of the other skaters lost a lot of speed on that last lap.  Going so early I didn’t think my time would hold up.  But it didn’t matter because I skated the way I wanted after a tough start to the season in the 1,000.  But I’m ahead of last season’s pace.  It took three-four World Cups to get untracked last year.’’

Morrison, Elm and Arne Dankers of Calgary then roared to victory in the men’s 3,200 –metre team pursuit.

In the women’s 1,000, Anni Friesinger of Germany was the winner with Nesbitt second and Chiara Simionato of Italy third.  World record holder Cindy Klassen of Winnipeg was fourth and Kristina Groves of Ottawa fifth. Shannon Rempel of Winnipeg was ninth and Brittany Schussler of Winnipeg 14th.

Nesbitt, Rempel and Groves combined forces for silver in the women’s 2,400 metre pursuit. 

Wotherspoon has won all four 500-metre World Cup races this season and now has a career leading 62 wins in men’s World Cup racing.

In the women’s 1,500, Nesbitt took the gold less than a second off compatriot Cindy Klassen’s world record time.  Anni Friesinger of Germany was second and Kristina Groves of Ottawa took the bronze. Shannon Rempel of Winnipeg was eighth, Klassen 10th and Brittany Schussler of Winnipeg 12th.

Sven Kramer of the Netherlands won the men’s 5,000 with Arne Dankers of Calgary sixth and Justin Warsylewicz of Regina 12th.

Jenny Wolf of Germany won the women’s 500.  In the B group race, Rempel was second, Kim Weger of Regina fourth, Danielle Wotherspoon of Red Deer 11th and Kerry Simpson of Melville, Sask., 14th.

CANADA’S DEVON KERSHAW CLAIMS SECOND STRAIGHT FOURTH- PLACE FINISH IN WORLD CUP TUNE-UP RACE.

Muonio, FIN—Canada’s Devon Kershaw served notice to the world that he is ready to challenge the top athletes this season in both short- and long-distance races, after claiming his second straight fourth-place finish in as many days at a World Cup tune-up race in Muonio, Finland.

Coming off a strong performance in Friday’s sprints, the 24-year-old Kershaw finished fourth in the men’s 15 kilometre classic race, which boasted a field of 220 athletes – many who have Olympic, World Cup and World Championship medals.

“This is a great race for Devon against a very strong field so we are extremely happy,” said Dave Wood, head coach of the Canadian team. “Devon has trained very hard throughout the summer and this is a good result that proves he has prepared himself to compete with the best this season.”

Kershaw’s teammates, Drew Goldsack, of Red Deer, Alta., and George Grey, of Rossland, B.C. also competed Saturday in Finland. Grey finished in 42nd spot with a time of 36:50.1, while Goldsack was behind him in 43rd (36:51.8).

Lukas Bauer of the Czech Republic led the pack on Saturday after crossing the line first with a time of 34:47.6. Two Russian skiers, Nikolay Pankratov (35:09.3) and Alexander Legkov (35:11.5) finished second and third respectively.

MOFFAT BROTHERS SLIDE TO NINTH SPOT IN WORLD CUP SEASON OPENER AT LAKE PLACID.

LAKE PLACID, NY—Canada’s brother tandem of Chris and Mike Moffat kicked off the 2007-08 World Cup season with a ninth-place finish in men’s doubles action on the track at Lake Placid, N.Y. on Friday afternoon.

“We had a few first race jitters and were a little anxious but when we got to the start handles we settled down and found our way in the second run,” said Chris Moffat, the older of the two siblings at 28. “It is starting to come the way we want. This field is so tight and our goal is always to have two consistent runs. When we do that we will be right there with the top of the pack.”

In addition to the Moffats, Canada also had two sleds entered in the women’s singles races. Two-time Olympian, Regan Lauscher, led the way for the Canadian women. The Red Deer, Alta. native finished in 12th spot.

“We battled a number of things this week being the first race, and the continuous change of warm and cold weather conditions,” said the 27-year-old Lauscher. “I obviously did not have my best result, but I know I can take a lot from today, learn from it and go forward. We have a big goal in mind over the next two years and we aren’t going to accomplish that overnight so I have to keep reminding myself of that. I am looking forward to racing next week at home in Calgary.”

Regina’s 21-year-old Meaghan Simister, who is among the fastest starters in the world, clawed her way into 18th spot. The German women continued their dominance of the sport into the 2007-08 campaign with a sweep of the podium in the season opener.

Lacroix hovers near world record in silver medal performance at swimming World Cup. Calgarian comes fourth.

Candian Sport News - BERLIN – Audrey Lacroix of Montreal was on world record pace in the women’s 200-metre butterfly on Sunday but ran out of gas and finished with a silver medal to conclude the sixth stop on the World Cup short course swimming circuit.

Liu Yang Jiao of China made a late charge to snare the gold.  Lacroix led at all three splits (50-100 and 150 metres) and was under the world record at the last two, took the silver.  Franziska Hentke of Germany was third.

‘’I started too fast and paid for it at the end,’’ said Lacroix.  ‘’Still I was very pleased to post such a great time.  I’m glad I attempted that kind of race, it was a very valuable experience.  There were also a lot of improvements on my turns.  I had trouble timing my turns this week and today that went very well.’’

Earlier this week, Lacroix won the gold medal in the 200 fly at the World Cup stop in Stockholm with a Canadian record time 2:04.53.  The world record still stands at 2:04.04 set by Yu Yang of China in 2004.

In the women’s 400 freestyle, Chanelle Charron-Watson of Quebec City added a second medal taking the silver which equalled her personal best time.  Federica Pellegrini of Italy won the race.  Chin-Kue Yang of Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) was third.

‘’I gained some ground on the top swimmers in this event,’’ said Charron-Watson, a bronze medallist in the 800 freestyle in Stockholm.  ‘’It was a thrill to finish with a medal in my best event because I fell short at the last World Cup.  I learned a lot on this European tour and I’m more motivated now than I’ve ever been.’’

Other Canadian finalists were: Callum Ng of Calgary fourth in the men’s 50 backstroke; Seanna Mitchell of Ottawa seventh in the women’s 100 backstroke while Charron-Watson was also eighth in the 400 individual medley.

Thiago Pereira of Brazil and Stefan Nystrand of Sweden broke world records on Sunday. Canada’s top swimmers head to Toronto for the Bell Grand Prix this Friday to Sunday (November 23-25)

CANADIAN OLYMPIC COMMITTEE UNVEILS NEW ATHLETE EXCELLENCE FUND.

OTTAWA – The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) today unveiled its new Athlete Excellence Fund, an athlete support and reward program that will provide Canadian athletes with performance awards of up to $20,000 per Olympic medal. The announcement was made at a press conference in Ottawa during the second session of the COC’s Olympic Excellence Series for 2008 Olympic hopefuls.

“This is the first time in its history that the Canadian Olympic Committee is providing performance awards to athletes who win Olympic medals,” said COC president Michael Chambers. “We’ve taken the concept of excellence funding one step further, and are excited as this program demonstrates our commitment to athlete performance and rewarding excellence.”

“The COC Athletes’ Council is delighted to see the Athlete Excellence Fund come to fruition,” said former two-time Olympian and current Athletes’ Council chair, Iain Brambell. “As Olympic athletes are being asked to meet or better the medal targets at each Games, the Athletes’ Council felt strongly about rewarding these athletes that achieve at the highest level. The decision by the council to revamp this program has been incredibly well received and supported by the COC.”

“Training for the Olympic Games can be a huge financial burden for athletes and their families,” said Adam van Koeverden, two-Olympic medallist in sprint kayak. “Through this fund, the COC is recognizing that burden, and what an incredible asset more Olympic medals will be for our communities and for Canada.”

The Athlete Excellence Fund will follow a four-year cycle that will reward Canadian athletes for excellence. For the first three non-Olympic years of the cycle, athletes who place in the top five in years one or two, or top four in year three, will each receive $5,000. Meanwhile, Olympic medals in year four will garner athletes $20,000, $15,000 or $10,000 for gold, silver or bronze, respectively. Athletes will receive the award for every medal they win at the Olympic Games, meaning multiple awards for multiple medal winners.

The performance awards apply to all Olympic sports, and will be the same whether the athlete is from a team sport or an individual sport. For a medal-winning team sport, each member of the team will receive the performance award.

Canadian athletes competing in Beijing in 2008 will be the first eligible to receive the Athlete Excellence Fund awards for winning Olympic medals. The 2008 Olympic Games, scheduled from August 8-24, will feature a total of 28 sport disciplines, 302 events, more than 200 participating countries, and an estimated 10,700 athletes.

The goal for the Canadian team, as set by the COC, the Road to Excellence program and the summer National Sport Federations, is for Canada to finish amongst the top 16 nations in the overall medal count.

TRAVEL ALBERTA SIGNS WORLD UNIQUE AGREEMENT WITH SIX NATIONAL WINTER SPORT ORGANIZATIONS.

Calgary, Alberta — Travel Alberta and six national winter sport organizations have signed a landmark marketing partnership designed to promote Alberta as a premier international winter sports destination.

Surrounded by medal-winning World Cup athletes and representatives of Canada’s six winter national sport governing bodies, Cindy Ady, Associate Minister of Tourism Promotion, announced the $450,000 agreement - the first of its size in the world – during a ceremony at CODA’s Canada Olympic Park – the flagship facility of Canada’s first Olympic Winter Games in 1988.

“Alberta hosts by far the most winter World Cup events in North America, and this agreement boosts funding for sport and bolsters our international reputation as a leader in winter sports tourism,” said Ady, who heads Alberta’s 2010 Olympic Winter Games initiatives. “With all the sports Travel Alberta has brought together under this agreement, we are really able to showcase Alberta to the world.”

Partners on the World Cup Roundtable in support of the agreement include: Cross Country Canada, Canadian Snowboard Federation, Speed Skating Canada, Biathlon Canada, Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton and the Canadian Luge Association.

Through increased signage, marketing opportunities, hosting and numerous other initiatives, Travel Alberta intends to use international television coverage for the 2007-08 World Cups to promote the province as a sport tourism destination. All of the World Cup events are televised internationally, attracting more than one hundred million viewers over 310 broadcast hours each winter.

“Amateur sport in Europe attracts millions of visitors who tune in to follow the World Cup circuit each week,” said Jean R. Dupre, director general, Speed Skating Canada, who added that speed skating in the Netherlands is similar to Canadians watching Hockey Night in Canada. “Whether it is speed skating in the Netherlands, snowboarding in France, cross-country skiing in Norway or bobsleigh in Germany, winter sport is an integral part of European culture, and we believe working together with Travel Alberta will be an effective way to reach these audiences and better market the province as a winter sport destination.”

Promotions under the agreement, which is renewable, started with the ISU Long-Track Speed Skating World Cup held over the weekend on the Olympic Oval ice at the University of Calgary. “Travel Alberta’s partnership with the World Cup Roundtable will increase worldwide awareness of Alberta as a winter and sports tourism destination as the world begins to turn its attention to the Olympic Winter Games in 2010,“ said Derek Coke-Kerr, managing director of Travel Alberta.

Traditionally, agreements have been signed with only one sport governing body at a time. The multi-sport agreement was co-ordinated by CODA, the legacy operator of the 1988 Olympic Winter Games facilities, and developer of the nation’s first $276-million Canadian Centre of Sport Excellence, which is currently under construction in southern Alberta. With Canada Olympic Park serving as the hub location, the core new facility to be added is an Athletic and Ice Complex.

“The support of Travel Alberta will help our athletes become the world’s best while also showing to the world the wonderful and unique sport and travel opportunities available in this province,” said Jim Younker, CODA’s acting president. “Travel Alberta has been a leader in supporting international events in the Calgary Bow Valley Corridor, and today once again, has shown its commitment to marketing this province by showcasing what makes Alberta great – and winter sport excellence is one of our significant strengths. We encourage not only our friends around the world, but all Canadians to catch these exciting sporting events.”