Justin Warsylewicz is Canada’s first ever male world junior long track speed skating champion.

ROSEVILLE, Minnesota- Justin Warsylewicz of Regina became the first Canadian on Sunday to win the men’s overall title at the world junior long track speed skating championships while Dustin Johnston of Moose Jaw, Sask., added a gold with a win in the 1,500 metres.

‘’It’s pretty cool to be the first,’’ said Warsylewicz, 18, who showed promise last month when he won the Canadian senior all around title. ‘’When you look back at the list of Canadians that have skated at this event, it’s quite an honour. I feel like I’m the luckiest guy in the world right now.’’

‘’I knew I had a shot and I definitely wanted to do well,’’ said Warsylewicz, the 3,000 winner on Saturday. ‘’The meet didn’t start well with a so-so
500 but I didn’t let that discourage me. There were still three races left.’’

Jean Pichette, in 1981 and 1982, and Mark Knoll, in 1994 and 1995, had posted Canada’s previous best ever men’s overall results at the world juniors both placing second twice. Other Canadian greats such as Gaetan Boucher and Jeremy Wotherspoon never cracked to the top-three overall. This was the first world juniors since 1974 that Canadian men actually won some gold.

In the men’s 1,500, Johnston became the first Canadian to win a world junior gold in that event. Warsylewicz was third and Morrison sixth.

‘’I was very motivated for this race because Saturday didn’t go so well for me,’’ said Johnston, 19. ‘’I’m really happy to come out with the win. I went out and didn’t start too hard and I just wanted the finish the last two laps strong. Everyone here was really dying at the end.’’

In the 5,000 finale, a soft snow started to fall and slowed the ice considerably. Warsylewicz was seventh, Morrison 18th and Johnston 21st. Morrison, the overall leader after the first two races on Saturday, was hoping for a top-three finish overall.

Last year Shannon Rempel of Winnipeg won the women’s overall title. She placed third overall this year.

Canada qualifies close to maximum amount of Olymic spots for Canadian diving team.

ATHENS- An exhausted Alexandre Despatie of Laval, Que., dug deep in the final and won the bronze medal on men’s 10-metre tower to cap a terrific showing by the Canadian diving team at the 49-country FINA World Cup.

The competition is the third most important in the sport after the Olympics and world championships. However this week’s competition was spiced up by the fact it was a test event for the Olympics, scheduled for Athens this August, and also a last chance qualifier for spots at the Games.

On men’s tower, Olympic champion Liang Tian of China earned at least one perfect 10 on four of his six dives in the final for the gold. His compatriot Jia Hu of China was second and Despatie, the reigning world champion, overcame a slow start to snare the bronze.

‘’The competition was extremely draining and long and I’m very tired right now,’’ said Despatie, 18, who also won gold on three-metres on Friday and bronze on 10-metre synchro with Philippe Comtois of Laval, on Saturday. ‘’I didn’t have my best performance but I’m still pleased. I had no choice but to find a second wind in the final with the quality field that was here.’’

Over the five days, Despatie competed in all four events (individual and synchro three and 10-metres) which totalled 10 rounds of competition. While this was a test event, the Olympic diving competition is spread out through almost the entire 16-day length of the Games.

Nicolas Leblanc of Montreal was 25th on tower but Canadian team officials weren’t sure whether it was enough to earn a second spot for Canada in the event at the Olympics. ‘’The rules aren’t completely clear but we’re confident we’ll get the spot,’’ said Canadian team head coach Mitch Geller.

Blythe Hartley of North Vancouver, B.C., and Émilie Heymans of Montreal finished fifth on women’s synchro three-metres to definitely earn a spot for Canada in the event. The pair which also gained an Olympic berth for Canada earlier this week finishing second on 10-metre synchro. Mingxia Wu and Jingjing Guo of China posted six perfect 10’s en route to the gold.

‘’We’re really a new team so getting the spot was our goal today,’’ said Hartley, who now resides in Montreal. ‘’Some of the teams we faced have been together for years and needed trials just to get here. But Émilie and I are both athletic and we have a lot of experience. So we can make the adjustments needed to make the synchro events work for us.’’

Canada ended the competition with one gold, one silver and two bronze finishing second in the medal standings to China which dominated with five gold, three silver and two bronze.

For the Olympics, Canada has its maximum spots for the women with two berths on three and 10-metres and one berth on three-metre synchro and 10-metre synchro. The men have two berths on three-metres and one on
10-metre and 10-metre synchro locked-up with one still undecided on 10-metre.

Who fills those spots will be decided at the Olympic team trials June 4-6 in Winnipeg.

Wotherspoon clinches World Cup 500 crown and
impressive start for Klassen at speed skating World Cup.

INZELL, Germany-Jeremy Wotherspoon of Red Deer, Alta., earned the silver medal in the men’s 500 metres Sunday to clinch the event’s World Cup title to conclude the second to last stop on the World Cup long track speed skating circuit.

It was also a big day for Olympic medallist and world champion Cindy Klassen of Winnipeg. She returned from a serious injury and placed seventh in the women’s 1,500.

Fengtong Yu of China won the gold medal in the men’s 500 while Wotherspoon and Hiroyasu Shimizu of Japan tied for second. In the 500 standings, Wotherspoon now has 860 points and can’t be caught for first spot with the final two races next weekend. Dmitry Lobkov of Russia is second at 580 and Mike Ireland of Winnipeg third at 550. Each victory is worth 100 points.

‘’I’m pretty happy with my season in the 500,’’ said Wotherspoon with five wins in 10 races this season in the 500. ‘’There’s been some subpar races but overall pretty good. Today there were a couple of areas that I could have done better.’’ It’s the third straight World Cup crown in the 500 for Wotherspoon and his sixth in seven years.

Ireland, third on Saturday, took sixth with Brock Miron of Cornwall, Ont., 16th and Mark Nielsen of Calgary 18th. In the B final, James Monson of Calgary was third.

The women’s 1,500 was won by Anni Friesinger of Germany. Klassen was seventh and Kristina Groves of Ottawa 14th. In the B final, Kerry Simpson of Melville, Sask., was fifth, Clara Hughes of Glen Sutton, Que., sixth and Tara Risling of Medicine Hat, Alta., ninth.

‘’I’m really happy with it, I didn’t know what to expect,’’ said Klassen, involved in a freak training accident in October that required extensive surgery on her right arm. ‘’Today the first lap went pretty easy but near the
end I got tired. I don’t feel I’m in great shape but I don’t want to go the whole year without racing.’’

In the women’s 500 B final, Krisy Myers of Calgary was second in 40.20, Kim Weger of Regina seventh and Danielle Wotherspoon of Red Deer, eighth.

Chandra Crawford wins silver medal at Continental Cup after last minute qualification.

Capracotta, Italy - Canada's Chandra Crawford's storybook cross-country ski season continued on Sunday when the upstart athlete won a silver medal in a photo finish at an Opa Continental Cup sprint competition in Capracotta, Italy.

The 20-year-old Crawford, who was not supposed to travel to Italy until she won two medals last week at the Under-23 World Championships in Soldier Hollow, Utah, including a silver in the sprint competition, took her show to the next level, and hopped back on the podium for the second straight week.

The Canmore, Alta., native, who was the fastest qualifier in the women's event, made her way through the elimination round, and missed a gold medal by inches in a photo finish at the wire. Janet Klein, of Germany, squeaked out the victory over Crawford, while Emilie Vina, of France, grabbed the bronze medal. Two other Canadian women entered in the event cracked the top-10. Montreal's Dasha Gaiazova and Christine Bisson finished seventh and eighth respectively.

Toronto's Gordon Jewett was the top Canadian in the men's sprint, finishing sixth.

Canada's World Cup men's team was also in action on Sunday down the road in Umea, Sweden. Chris Jeffries, 26, of Chelsea, Que., and George Grey, 24, of Rossland, B.C., welcomed two new teammates to the World Cup circuit. Devon Kershaw, 21, of Sudbury, Ont., and Drew Goldsack, 22, of Red Deer, Alta., joined the Canadian duo, fresh off claiming two medals in the Under-23 World Championships, for their debut on the World Cup.

The inexperienced foursome kept up with the worlds best in front of 20,000 Swedish fans who took in the event, as they completed the 4 x 10-kilometre relay in 14th-place with a time of one hour 43 minutes 25.7 seconds.

"Things went really well and the whole team was solid from start to finish," said Goldsack, who along with Kershaw, were making their first-ever World Cup appearance. The two Canucks will continue to gain experience at the World Cup level throughout the rest of the year. "It is so different out here, the stadium was packed and every athlete is out here to ski their hardest. It is high-level competition and it can be intimidating, but I wanted to be within a reasonable amount of time with each skier on my leg and I did that today so I'm very satisfied."

The Canadian women's World Cup team, Beckie Scott and Sara Renner, used Saturday as a training day to prepare for a busy week ahead that sees the squad competing in four events around Europe. The next competition on the calendar is set for Tuesday, February 24, 2004 in Trondheim, Norway.

Canadian women’s epee fencing team qualifies for Athens Olympics.

TAUBERBISCHOFSHEIM – For the first time in fencing history Canada will be sending a women’s epee team to the Olympics.

Despite Canada’s first round loss 45-39 to France at the Würth Cup in Tauberbischofsheim, Germany today, the moment Team USA lost their first match to China, Canada had their Athens Olympic ticket in hand.

Canada went on to defeat Greece 35-32, lose to Ukraine 45-37 and in their last match beat Italy 45-39 to finish 11th.

France, needing gold to qualify for Athens, defied all odds winning the competition with a convincing 45-27 victory over Germany. China captured the bronze defeating Hungary.

Canada team members Sherraine MacKay of Brooks, Alta., Monique Kavelaars of Appin, Ont., Montreal’s Julie Leprohon, Marie-Eve Pelletier from Quebec City and Catherine Dunnette of Calgary, Alta., got the job done this year and are honoured to be in on something so special. “I’m really proud to be part of the first Canadian team in history to qualify for the Olympics,” said Dunnette.

The Canadians will now focus on securing their own spots on the National team. Kavelaars pointed out, “We all played a big role in qualifying, all five of us will be there in spirit even though only three of us will get to go.”

The 9 countries that will compete in women’s epee for gold this summer are Canada, France, Germany, Hungary, Russia, China, Korea, South Africa and hosts, Greece.

Team captain, Sherraine MacKay believes that they can compete with the best. “We are a team that every country in the world takes seriously now … and that’s all it takes to be successful in the Olympics. Watch out for us in Athens!”

Gregory Baxter claims three national ski jump titles winning second day of competition.

Calgary - For the second day in a row, 14-year-old Gregory Baxter, won every competition he entered on Sunday, at the Canadian Ski Jump and Nordic Combined Championships at Canada Olympic Park, in Calgary. Because of his young age, Baxter is credited with the national titles in three categories - overall, junior and juvenile. He was competing against 50 other athletes, all from Calgary.

"This is the first time I've ever won titles on all three hills so its pretty exciting. They weren't the best jumps I've ever had, but they were great compared to how its been lately, so I'm really happy," said Baxter, who enjoyed showcasing his sport to the spectators watching today. "It was a great day for jumping and great to show off what we do. This is the sport that people love so much over in Europe."

In second place on the K114 was 16-year-old Stefan Read, and in third place was Michael Nell. There were two other athletes crowned national champs in ski jumping, including Trevor Morrice, who won the bantam/midget category, and Katie Willis who is Canada's second female ski jump champion. She competed against eight other girls on the K38 tower.

The nordic combined Gundersen event was run by three athletes, who just returned home from Europe. Max Thompson, 18, won the gold medal and national title, crossing the finish line first, at the end of a 10-kilometre cross-country ski course. The silver medal went to 16-year-old Denny Lynch and third place was filled by Wesley Savill.

Today's shorter nordic combined event featured both men and women combining ski jump scores with cross-country ski times. The men's bantam/midget division was won by Trevor Morrice, and the women's event was won by Katie Willis.

Baxter, along with his teammate Stefan Read, will now head back to the World Cup circuit, as they travel to Park City, Utah.

Canada's badminton team wins Uber Cup without losing a match.

February 22, 2004 - The Women's national team won the Uber Cup for the Pan-American zone without losing a match this weekend. Calgary based athletes Denyse Julien, Charmaine Reid, Jody Patrick and Helen Nichol made up a large portion of the team along with Anna Rice from British Columbia. The women went 20-0 in the series of 4 team matches played. The USA came second and PEru third.

The Men's team lost to a very strong USA team in the finals 3-1. Calgary based athletes William Milroy and Keith Chan did not get a chance to play in the final as the tie was decided before the last match. Before this point, the team had only lost one match in 3 rounds of play.

The women qualify for the world finals in Indonesia in May. The competition will be taken to a new level there as the best in the world will be in top form looking forward to the Olympics a couple of months later.

Vancouver - The Board of Directors of the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games has announced that John Furlong has been selected as Vancouver 2010's Chief Executive Officer.

"I am pleased to announce that John Furlong will lead the day-to-day operations of the 2010 Winter Games," said Vancouver 2010 Chairman Jack Poole.

Furlong was President and Chief Operating Officer of the Vancouver 2010 Bid Corporation, which prepared Canada's successful bid for the 2010 Winter Games. Furlong has an extensive background in sport and sport management. A member of the Canadian Olympic Committee, Furlong has served as co-chair of the BC Summer and Winter Games and Sport BC. He founded the Northern BC Winter Games Society and was a BC Mission Staff member for seven Canada Games and two Western Canada Games.

Furlong was chosen after a process overseen by the Board's Chief Executive Officer Search Task Force. Ray & Berndtson, a leading executive search firm, was hired to conduct the search.

"We considered many well-qualified applicants during this rigorous process," said Michael Phelps, 2010 Board member and chair of the CEO Search Task Force. "We believe that John's leadership will help us produce an outstanding Winter Games in 2010."

"Since Vancouver was chosen to host the Games last July, we've been making the transition from bid committee to Games organizing committee. Today's appointment takes us another step towards completion of that transition process. John will now begin building the senior management team to lead the preparations for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games," said Poole.

The IOC selected Vancouver as the Host City of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games at its session in Prague on July 2, 2003. The 2010 Olympic Winter Games will be staged in Vancouver and Whistler from February 12 to 28, 2010. Whistler will host the Paralympic Winter Games from March 12 to 21, 2010. The Nominating Entities of the Vancouver 2010 Organizing Committee are the Government of Canada, the Province of British Columbia, the City of Vancouver, the Resort Municipality of Whistler, Canadian Olympic Committee, Canadian Paralympic Committee and the Lil'wat and Squamish First Nations.

Money starts to flow for Olympic Games: Government gives $51m this year, pledges a total $235 million over 3 years.
(The Province)

Vancouver Olympic organizers are getting $51 million this year to start
building 2010 Games venues. And B.C. Finance Minister Gary Collins is pledging $235 million over the next three years. "We're investing $55 million to fully fund our share of the Olympic endowment -- offsetting future costs for operating revenues," said Collins. "We are also investing $51 million as the first instalment in our funding commitment for venue construction -- and all the jobs and growth that go along with that initiative. This means we've met 20 per cent of our financial obligations for building venues."

Collins said most of the 2004 money comes from last year's budget "from
year-end savings -- money that was earmarked for servicing the debt."
As well, a $25-million, one-time grant goes to Legacies Now, for sport,
music, arts culture and volunteer initiatives.

According to budget documents, by 2007, the B.C. government will have spent
$132 million on Olympic venues,
$55 million on an endowment fund to run them, $3 million on medical and
security and $15 million on First Nation and municipal Olympic legacies.
Starting with $5 million this year, a further $30 million in capital
advances will go to UBC and SFU by 2007 for Olympic venues they will
eventually own.
The government will also fund a B.C. Olympic Games Secretariat to the tune
of $22 million.

As part of the bid to win the 2010 Olympics, the B.C. government had
committed to provide $310 million in funding -- matched by the federal
government -- made up of $255 million for venues and $55 million to fund
their operation after the Games. "We've already got the commitment from both governments to fast-track the process with the understanding that the funding would be there as quickly as we could utilize it," said Jack Poole, chairman of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic board.

Marion Lay, president of Legacies Now, said some of the $25 million will be used to work with B.C. groups as a "broker of opportunities." She said arts and culture groups have an opportunity to showcase local artists as part of a four-year "cultural Olympiad" starting in 2006. "We want to build up to really showcase B.C. at the Olympics," she said. "Let's have a lot of our B.C. artists at the Games." The budget also includes funding for the first stages of the $600-million upgrade of the Sea-to-Sky Highway.