EAST MEADOW, N.Y.- Jennifer Button of Toronto won silver in the women’s 200 butterfly and Lauren Van Oosten of Calgary broke her Canadian record for bronze in the women’s 200 breaststroke Saturday at a World Cup short course swimming event. ‘’I was happy to get on the podium but I was hoping for a better time,’’ said Button, who also tied for fourth in the 50 butterfly. ’’I saw a lot of improvement in my turns and underwater kick. Those are very important elements for me at the international level.’’

In the women’s 200 breaststroke, Van Oosten was third to eclipse her previous national time set at the Canadian Open last November. ‘’I’m a bit surprised with this performance,’’ said Van Oosten, also fifth in the 50 breaststroke. ‘’I had two weeks off at Christmas and just get back into training. My 200 has felt really good over the last few months but I still think my best chance to make the Olympic team is in the 100.’’

Meanwhile Joanne Malar of Calgary provided another promising performance with a bronze in the 400 individual medley and the second fastest time of her career in the event. Malar, who ended her retirement last spring, posted a personal best Friday with silver in the 200 IM.

‘’What’s most important to me is that the strategies I’ve been working I’m able to make them happen in the race,’’ said Malar. ‘’This gives me a lot of
confidence that I’m on track.’’ Elizabeth Warden of Toronto was fifth.

In the women’s 100 backstroke, Jennifer Carroll of Trois-Rivieres, Que., collected her second medal in two days placing third. She won the 50 backstroke on Friday. ‘’It’s a good time all things considered,’’ said
Carroll, who has battled sinus problems this winter. ‘’Certainly I’d like to start going under a minute on a more consistent basis, and I’ll try and achieve that at my next competition.’’

Erin Gammel of Calgary was fifth and Warden, the 200 backstroke winner on Friday, was eighth. Warden was also fifth in the 100 IM. Other Canadian finalists were Morgan Knabe of Calgary fifth in the men’s 100 breaststroke and Sean Sepulis of Victoria seventh in the 200 backstroke.

Several Canadian national team members including Malar and Knabe are now headed to Australia for a month-long training camp.

Canadians Edney and Lewis capture silver at world junior luge championships.
(CODA Release)

Calgary - Canada's Sam Edney and Gwyn Lewis had the fastest single run of the day on their second trip down the ice, and propelled themselves into the silver medal position at the World Junior Luge Championships today, at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary.

Both Lewis and Edney have been competing on the senior World Cup circuit this season and returned home to Calgary to slide with athletes their own age. "After our first time down, we were really focused on letting the sled run and we knew we could pull it out and go faster on our home track," said Edney, who will also slide in the singles event tomorrow. "It felt good to finish the day with that kind of result and I'm hoping to lay down another strong one tomorrow in the singles event."

Two other young Canadian teams were defending their home track, including Marshall Savill and Winston Davis, both of Calgary, who finished in 10th spot. Cameron Gunn and Devon Gell, also posted a strong result in their first World Championship finishing 13th.

In women's doubles action, Meaghan Simister, of Regina, finished the day in 10th place. Three other Canadian women suited up today, including Calgary's Madison Dupuis in 11th; Alex Gough, of Calgary, who finished 20th and Amanda Byrne, of Calgary, who did not start her second run, after a crash in the last corner of her first descent.

"I can't ask for much more, I had two clean runs and I guess they just weren't as fast as they had to be today," said Simister, the 17-year-old who has posted three top-15 results on the senior World Cup this season. "I let myself relax on the second run which is really important to do on this track and that helped my time a bit."

On Sunday, Matt McMurray slid to Canada's second silver medal, and his first ever medal in international competition, in front of a home crowd, at Canada Olympic Park.

McMurray, 19, from Calgary, led a strong team in the men's singles event, which saw all four Canadians make the top-15. "I'm absolutely ecstatic with my result today, I love sliding this track and to win a silver medal in front of my friends and family makes it even better," said McMurray, who was forced to spend the last month training at home, due to a hamstring injury he suffered before Christmas. "After I was fourth on my first run, I knew I could be consistent on my second run and move up the standings."

Calgary's Sam Edney, who won the silver medal in yesterday's men's doubles race, posted the two fastest starts of the day, but narrowly missed the podium, ending up in fourth place. Ian Cockerline, of Calgary, climbed up the standings with a strong second run good enough for sixth place. The last Canadian to slide was Matt Babinec, who in his first Junior World Championship, claimed the 14th spot.

In the team event, Canada was disqualified after the race because of an equipment problem. "Considering the limited training and conditions we had this week, I think it was a very successful weekend for our young luge team," said Walter Corey, head coach of the national team. "We had athletes put in some strong performances, and along with our senior team that did well in Europe, we have some good momentum heading into the World Championships in Japan."

Omischl extends medal-winning streak.
(Freestyle Canada Release)

PARK CITY, Utah -- The Canadian aerialists extended their medal-winning streak on the Suzuki Freestyle FIS World Cup circuit to eight events, as Steve Omischl of North Bay, Ont., captured a silver medal Saturday.

For the second straight week, Omischl was second to a high-scoring winner. This time the gold medallist was Dmitri Dashinski of Belarus, as last week's winner, 2002 Olympic aerials champion Ales Valenta of the Czech Republic, placed 17th to miss the 12-skier final.

"It's hard work paying off, plain and simple," said Omischl, 25. As for his second straight silver medal, he added, "What can you do? I'll take it with the way Dmitri performed today."

Several jumpers became concerned when calm conditions turned into blowing snow just before the final, meaning approach speeds would have to be quickly adjusted. However, it stopped snowing shortly afterwards, as Omischl went on to capture his sixth medal in eight World Cup starts this season.

The bronze medal went to Jeret Peterson of the United States in 242.30, while Ryan Blais of Grande Prairie, Alta., was fifth to continue a season that has featured four top-five finishes. The other Canadian finalists were Cord Spero of Grande Prairie in 10th and Warren Shouldice of Calgary in 12th.

Omischl, meanwhile, kept the leader's bib for leading the overall standings. Dashinshi, who has two World Cup wins this year, sits a distant second overall.

The Canadian men now have at least one aerials medal in eight World Cups this year, while their female counterparts had chipped in three medals, including a silver by Veronika Bauer of Toronto last week in Fernie, B.C.

Deidra Dionne of Red Deer, Alta., was the only Canadian to reach the women's aerials final Saturday. She finished fifth, while Amber Peterson of Thunder Bay and Bauer just missed the 12-skier final, placing 13th and 14th respectively.

The Big Picture with Dale Henwood: The Medal Shine.

The Canadian sport system is undergoing a shift in direction – one that will provide a much clearer pathway to international success for our athletes. Our international success is measured by the medal count at Paralympic and Olympic Games. Medals are the performance standards by which excellence in the Canadian sport system is evaluated.

Excellence and the “golden glow” created by podium performances inspire participation by young Canadians, they encourage us to be more active in our lifestyle, which reduces health care costs, and costs associated with crime.

There is an obvious continuum or a circular relationship between the influence of the high performance athlete on the community and vice versa. All athletes get their introduction to sport at the community level and, consequently, the role of the community in supporting athletes is critical. It is at this foundation level where our youth get excited about sport. As the participants become more physically active and involved in sport, they progress through the development stream up to the elite level. The ensuing performances of Canada’s best athletes excite, stimulate and inspire others to get involved and the continuum comes full circle.

The athletes can greatly assist community development by sharing their story, speaking to youth groups and community organizations/service clubs, and being role models for people of all ages. Also, by inspiring others to become active and involved, this can lead to a fitter and healthier community (economically, physically, psychologically and spiritually). High performance athletes help our youth recognize there is another lifestyle they can pursue and, as a by-product, our sporting heroes can help to curtail the obesity creep.

Athletes in Calgary have been very generous with their time – freely giving back by being involved in a wide variety of activities such as the United Way, Raise a Reader, Special Olympics, Alberta Sport Plan advocacy efforts, Champions Together and numerous other community and charity events. Through their involvement and active participation, the athletes can show their appreciation for all the support they have received, as well as inspire dreams and create greater interest in the community through their powerful message of success.

Dale Henwood
President
Canadian Sport Centre Calgary

Lueders, Hough, Kotyk and Zardo win silver at 4-man bobsleigh race ending 4 year drought.
(Bobsleigh Canada Release)

Cortina, Italy – Pierre Lueders put in his best 4-man performance ever in Europe this morning when he and his Canada 1 crew won silver in today’s re-scheduled 4-man race in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, narrowly missing gold by 6/100ths of a second. Lange snatched victory from Lueders in the second heat to win his fifth straight 4-man race in this season’s FIBT Bobsleigh World Tour. Lueders, 33 of Edmonton, Al Hough, 39 of Newmarket, ON, Ken Kotyk, 22 of Saskatoon, and brakeman Giulio Zardo, 23 of Montreal, trailed Lange by less than the blink of an eye. Matthias Höpfner of Germany placed third.

The last time Lueders medaled in the 4-man was in January 2000 in St. Moritz. It was on this Cortina track where Lueders nearly totalled his brand new 4-man sled near the end of the second heat of the Cortina World Cup in 2002, a month before the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympics.

“This is my best 4-man result in Europe,” said Lueders. “It was great. I’ve had my ups and downs here in Cortina. The famous crash in 2002 is always on the back of my mind when I walk the track and that corner before the race. It’s a tough track. The G’s we pull here are some of the toughest, particularly that last corner. I gotta tell you that I’ve known since the beginning of the season that we’ve got the right stuff to win 4-man medals this year. It started in Calgary with 3rd in the first heat, despite our dismal 15th finish. We were 2nd in Altenberg after the first heat. We almost had it in St. Moritz, but I drove badly in the second heat. Here, the good luck of being 1st in the draw paid off. The guys are pretty excited with their first 4-man medals. They have worked hard. The coach and I have kept the pressure on them to reach their potential. I think we’re going to build on our performance today. We’ve made great progression, considering our inexperience at the start. We’ll go right back at it on Sunday. Watch.”

Canada finishes eighth at men’s water polo Olympic qualifying tournament.

RIO DE JANEIRO- Rafael Murad scored with 32 seconds remaining in the game to lift Brazil to a 7-6 victory over Canada in the match for seventh place Sunday at the men’s water polo Olympic qualifying tournament.

The Canadians finished eighth, four positions better than at the last Olympic qualifying tournament in 2000. But they were eliminated from Olympic contention after finishing the round robin at two wins and three losses for fourth in their group.

Russia gained the last available berth for the Olympics on Sunday winning the third place match 8-4 over Romania. Croatia beat Germany 6-1 in the gold medal match. Croatia and Germany had locked up Olympic berths with their semifinal wins on Saturday.

Vladimir Cosic of Calgary and Nathaniel Miller of Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Que., scored two goals each for Canada with singles to Noah Miller of Regina and Iain Lark of Vancouver. Cosic, a professional player in the Spanish league, finished seventh in tournament scoring with nine goals.

‘’It’s a bit frustrating because I feel we’re better than Brazil,’’ said Canadian national team coach John Csikos of Calgary. ‘’But they always find a way to
beat us by a goal. If we could be more solid from start to finish we could hold them to very few goals. They make us pay for our mistakes every time.’’

The Canadian men’s team is a young group and already clearly superior than four years ago. The next big objective for the squad is the world aquatic
championships scheduled for Montreal in the summer of 2005.

‘’Progress has been made but we have to find a way to keep up with other countries such as Brazil,’’ said Csikos. ‘’As the number-two team in the Americas (after the U.S.,) they get invited to some prime tournaments such as the World League. That’s a factor, so we have to find the same kind of
competitive opportunities leading up to Montreal.’’

The other countries at the Olympics in men’s water polo are Hungary, Italy, Serbia/Montenegro, Spain, the U.S., Kazakhstan, Australia, Egypt, which all
qualified last year, and Greece as host.

200 days until the 2004 Olympic Summer Games.
(Canadian Press)

Canadian athletes are entering the home stretch of trying to earn a trip to Athens with teams and individual athletes in the throes of the qualification process. Canadian Olympic Committee CEO Chris Rudge expects between 300 and 320 Canadian athletes to qualify for the 2004 Olympics. The Canadian team will be introduced in mid-to-late July.

Rudge and Canadian team chef de mission David Bedford head to Athens on
Tuesday for a look at the city's preparations for the Games that start Aug.
13. The goal of the COC is for Canada to finish eighth or better among countries at the 2004 Games. ``It might be a stretch,'' admitted Rudge. ``I suspect we're going to do somewhat similar to where we were in Sydney. I think I said in an article last week I expected between 12 and 18 medals. I suspect we're going to finish the same.

``If we're going to improve and we're serious about medals being important,
there has to be a significant change in the approach to funding sport and
our system for sport in this country right from the top on down through the
provinces.''

With the exception of the boycotted Games of 1984 when Canada was sixth, the country has not finished in the top 10 in a modern Summer Olympiad. Canada's best result was 11th in Barcelona in 1992. Canada won 14 medals in Sydney, finishing 24th.

In team sports, Canada will be represented in men's baseball for the first
time since 1988, women's softball, in both men's and women's gymnastics
teams for the first time since 1988 and synchronized swimming in both duet
and team.

In equestrian, Canada will be in both eventing and dressage, but will not have a jumping team for the first time since 1968. Jump Canada will choose one rider for the individual competition and it remains to be seen whether Ian Millar of Perth, Ont., will represent Canada at the Olympics for an eighth time.

The men's water polo team opened a qualifying tournament in Rio de Janeiro
this week and the women are up next month in Imperia, Italy. They must
finish in the top three in their respective tournaments in order to go to
the Olympics.

The women's soccer team is in Costa Rica next month for an Olympic
qualification tournament and the men's team will try to get into the Olympic
tournament, which is an under-23 event, via a tournament starting next week in Mexico. The Canadian women have a good shot, but the men will be in tough.

The men's volleyball team has one more shot at Athens, needing to win a
qualifying tournament in Japan in May. The men's field hockey team, which
was 10th four years ago in Sydney, competes in a qualifying tournament in
March in Madrid.

While Canada has qualified to compete in several individual sports, most of
the athletes for those sports have yet to be selected for the Olympics by
their national governing sports bodies. Most will be determined through
Olympic trials and national championships over the next six months and some will be chosen based on their national and international results.

anada has qualified two women and one man for trampoline and world champion Karen Cockburn of Toronto, an Olympic bronze medallist in Sydney, has sewed up one of the women's berths.

Former world champion whitewater paddler David Ford of Edmonton will compete for Canada in slalom kayaking.

Viola Yanik of Saskatoon and Evan MacDonald of Ottawa were the first
wrestlers to nail down Olympic spots after qualifying their country in their
particular weight class at the world championship and then securing their
spot on the Canadian team via trials.

In judo, Nicholas Gill and Keith Morgan have assured themselves a trip to
Athens, although Gill, a two-time Olympic medallist, tore ligaments in his
knee at a competition in November.

Canada's mountain bike team will send three women and two men with Olympic medallist Allison Sydor and world champion Rolland Green top candidates to represent Canada.

The national diving trials are in Winnipeg in June. World champions Alex
Despatie of Laval, Que., and Emilie Heymans of Greenfield Park, Que., are
Canada's top medal prospects there.

Canada's rowing team has qualified in seven Olympic events. The first round
of Canadian trials were conducted in November and more are scheduled for
this spring at Elk Lake in Victoria.

The Olympic swim team won't be determined until July, when the trials are
scheduled for Toronto.

The Canadian track and field team will be chosen after the national championship in Victoria in July.

As the competition for Athens accelerates, so does the drug testing. The goal of the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport is to test every Canadian athlete heading for Athens. The CCES tests athletes year-round in order to emphasize to them that they can be tested any time and anywhere, but testing will be stepped up from now until the Games start. ``We know that leading up to a major Games, the pressure to cheat . . . the pressure increases for a whole host of reasons,'' said CEO Paul Melia. ``We
augment our year-round testing program with something we call our pre-Games testing program.''

The CCES works from a list of athletes likely to compete in Athens, provided
by the COC. ``In the six months leading up to the Games, we endeavour, on a no-notice basis, to test those athletes,'' said Melia. The CCES also increases the information and education program for the athletes. It gives seminars at training camps on doping rules, putting particular emphasis on the danger of inadvertent doping by taking nutritional supplements.