Hartley, Despatie and Heymans win silver at Canada Cup diving competition.
(Canadian Sport News)

VICTORIA-Blythe Hartley of North Vancouver, B.C., earned Canada’s third silver medal this weekend at the 12-country Canada Cup diving competition placing second on Sunday on the women’s three-metre springboard.

Olympic silver medallist Jingjing Guo of China won the gold medal followed by Hartley who is now based in Montreal. Vera Ilyna of Russia was third. World champion Julia Pakhalina of Russia was fifth. ‘’I didn’t have very high expectations for this meet so I’m very pleased with the final result,’’ said Hartley, 21, fifth at the World Cup final earlier this year. ‘’The focus right now is more on the training. So I’m going to look back at this competition as a real confidence builder. Overall I’m having a very good season and it continued today.’’

On men’s 10-metre tower, Jinghui Yang of China won the gold medal with Leon Taylor of Britain second and Mathew Helm of Australia third. Christopher Kalec and Nicolas Leblanc, both of Montreal, were eliminated in the semifinals and placed 10th and 11th respectively. World champion Alexandre Despatie of Laval, Que., withdrew from the tower event Friday prior to the preliminaries due to a sore shoulder.

On women’s 10-metre tower, Ting Li of China was the winner with Emilie Heymans, the reigning world champion in the event, second at and Loudy Tourky of Australia third.

Heymans earned one perfect mark and a string of 9.5’s on a reverse three and a half, one of the hardest in the books. ‘’The reverse dive is one I’ve always done well in practice but had trouble with in competition,’’ said Heymans. ‘’So it was very satisfying to land it so well. It’s been a very stressful week. We’ve been practicing very hard and this was the first day I’ve felt pretty good.’’

Myriam Boileau of Pointe-Claire, Que., continued her strong comeback from serious back surgery with her best performance this year. She was eliminated in the semifinals and was eighth overall. ‘’This is the first competition this year that I’ve really performed well,’’ said Boileau, the 1997 World Cup champion on tower. ‘’I’m disappointed of course that I didn’t reach the final but I managed my competition really well, especially my stress level. The back does not bother me at all.’’

On men’s three-metre, Ken Terauchi of Japan took the gold medal while Despatie, the World Cup champion in the event earlier this year, was second. Kenan Wang of China was third and his compatriot Feng Wang fourth. ‘’It was one heck of a competition and it came right down to the final dive,’’ said Despatie, 18, who possibly squandered the gold with a small mistake on his fifth of six dives in the final. ‘’Overall I was very pleased. I’m sort of in a training mode right now and I was focusing on different aspects of my dives.’’

Earle Connor unofficially breaks World Record in first race of the season.

On Saturday May 1st in El Paso, Texas, Earle Connor opened his 2004 Outdoor season by running faster then ever before, posting a shocking 12.01 in the 100m event. That's 0.13 seconds faster than his current world record time of 12.14 which he set last year in Germany.

This record breaking time will not count as an official world record due to rules concerning the fact Connor was competing against the able bodied women, rather than in a Paralympic sanctioned male race.

Earle Connor was born without a fibula, and had his left leg amputated above the knee at the age of just three months. After years of competing in able-bodied sports, Earle first ventured into disabled track events eight years ago. Witnessing the 1996 Paralympics was the turning point for the Calgary based athlete, and he has never looked back since. Earle is currently up for a prestigious World Laureus Award, the winners of which will be named this weekend in Portugal.

Fencer Sherraine MacKay finishes 17th after OT loss.
(Fencing Canada Release)

MODLING, AUSTRIA – Last year at this time, Sherraine MacKay, of Brooks, Alta., climbed the podium to claim the Modling World Cup gold medal in Austria. Today she found herself on the losing end of a 14-13 overtime match against Renata Fodor of Hungary, finishing 17th.

MacKay, now ranked eleventh in the world, could not hold on to a 6 point lead as the young Hungarian found a hole in her armour. “She changed her game after I took an early lead and for some reason I wasn’t able to overcome the momentum swing. Basically, in overtime she hit me before I hit her…end of story”, explained MacKay following her early round exit.

Canada qualifies four more boats for Athens at Pan American qualifier.
(Canadian Sport News)

CURITIBA, Brazil- Caroline Brunet helped Canada qualify four more boats for this summer’s Olympic Games with a victory in the women’s K-2 500 Sunday
with partner Mylanie Barré at the Pan American qualifier in flatwater sprint paddling.

Canada will field entries in 10 of 12 flatwater events in Athens this August. The first opportunity to earn nominations to the Olympic team for the Canadian paddlers is in two weeks at the team trials scheduled for Montreal May 15-16. Canada earned its six other Olympic spots at the world championships last year.

‘’We’re extremely pleased,’’ said Graham Barton, high performance director-sprint for the Canadian Canoe Association. ‘’We set some very high objectives but we knew we had a shot a realizing those goals. We knew our strength was in canoe and women’s kayak but the men’s kayak continued to show a lot of progress as well.’’

On Sunday, Brunet and Barré, both of Lac-Beauport, Que., won their race almost three seconds ahead of Americans Kathy Clin and Lauren Spalding.

Other Canadian boats to qualify thanks to victories in their events were the men’s K-2 500 with Steve Jorens of Aurora, Ont., and Richard Dober Jr. of
Trois-Rivieres, Que., the men’s K-4 1,000 with Jorens, Dober, Jr., Adam Van Koeverden of Oakville, Ont., and Ryan Cuthbert of Carleton Place, Ont. and the C-2 1,000 with Maxime Boilard of Lac-Beauport, Que., and Dmitri Joukovski of Halifax.

‘’We gave everything in the first 500 metres and the rest was guts,’’ said Dober Jr., about the K-4 1,000’s performance, the most surprising of the weekend. ‘’We’ve made a lot of progress and have worked more often as a group this year. We believed we could get the qualification.’’

Richard Dalton of Halifax came agonizingly close to qualifying an 11th boat. He finished second in the C-1 500 final a mere 0.006 seconds behind winner Ledy Frank Balceiro of Cuba.

At the worlds last year, Canada qualified spots in the women’s K-1 and K-4 500, the men’s K-1 500 and 1,000 and the C-1 1,000 and C-2 500.

Changes made to men’s national water polo team program.
(Canadian Sport News)

OTTAWA- Water Polo Canada announced today it has made changes to the men’s national senior team coaching staff.

John Csikos of Calgary has stepped down as head coach after six years to focus on domestic development. He’ll be replaced temporarily by national team assistant coach Dragan Jovanovic of Calgary who’ll guide the team through the summer.

A new head coach that will lead the squad to the 2005 World Aquatic Championships in Montreal is expected to be announced this fall after a hiring process for the position which will be posted on www.waterpolo.ca

‘’John made a decision that it was better for the program to provide leadership on the developmental domestic front,’’ said Marilyn Thorington of Winnipeg, Water Polo Canada’s national team committee chairperson. ‘’He provided a lot skill and vision to the national team but we all felt it was time for a change.

‘’He’ll continue to support Dragan this summer with the men’s team. Dragan with his background from the Yugoslavian team has a lot to offer to the program and will give the team a fresh outlook.’’

Jovanovic was the star goaltender for the Yugoslavian national team for five seasons highlighted by the bronze medal at the 1998 World Aquatic Championships. He moved to Canada 2000 and was named assistant in 2001.

‘’I really appreciate the work John has done, he has left a solid base,’’ said Jovanovic. ‘’This is a team with a huge potential. Right now it is young and inexperienced so it will only get better. I’m looking forward to getting in the water on Monday with this team.’’

The Canadian men did not qualify for the Olympic Games so the big tournament for the squad this summer is the French Open August 4-8.

Back in the swim of things; Joanne Malar has practically picked up where she left off.
(The London Free Press - Cameron Maxwell)

There are no expectations for Joanne Malar this time.

And that's just fine with the 28-year-old swimmer from Hamilton as she prepares for her fourth Olympics after diving back into the pool last May following 30 months of retirement. In fact, she already considers herself a winner after giving up a great life outside of swimming. "My flame is burning brighter, but I'm not out to prove anything or (return) because I can't do anything else. It's because I believe in myself," said Malar, who spent her "retirement" hosting a weekly fitness segment on a morning TV show in Hamilton and working as a director of corporate programs for a health and wellness company.

"It's like my mental balance is tilted where I'm in a new place I wasn't before Sydney. Win, lose or draw, medal or no medal, making the team or not making the team, the decision to come back was a huge victory for me because 95 per cent of the population would never do that, would never give up what I had -- the financial stability and the comfort. And for me to step out of that comfort zone into a place where the odds are stacked against me, it honestly was a huge victory."

The wife of Hamilton Tiger-Cats receiver Mike Morreale is a good bet to make the Canadian Olympic squad following the team trials in early July. If she does get to Athens for the Games, which begin Aug. 13, it'll be a much tougher Malar looking for that elusive first Olympic medal. That's because of the criticism she took after failing to medal at the 1996 Games in Atlanta and in 2000 in Sydney.

"I got labelled a disappointment and 'Joanne Malar chokes' and, at 20, that's very, very difficult to read about yourself," Malar said. "Most people don't get bad press unless they're criminals or have stolen money from the company you've worked for. Here, you have an amateur athlete working her heart out every day, who finished fourth in the world against cheaters, and she's labelled a big disappointment.

"That really made me the person I am today. I see myself for who I am and what I do for me, instead of a lot of people who make their opinions about themselves by what other people think or say."

After coming out of retirement, Malar -- who still holds the Canadian record in the 400-metre individual medley -- realized she didn't have that much rust to shake off. Her times were within a second of her personal bests and she knew she'd be able to regain her old form. She won gold in the 200 IM at the Pan Am Games last year in the Dominican Republic. "It's mentally wanting to be where I am," she said. Which wasn't always the case, especially when it came to big competitions, like the Atlanta Games.

"I was going in as one of the top in the world and I was labelled a medal hopeful. To tell you the truth, at 20, I was very, very scared," said Malar, who trains in Calgary. "(But) when I got on the blocks, I was scared instead of getting up there and showing the world what I can do. "I'd done a lot of training. I'd won the world championship short-course. I was at the top of the game and it was an exciting time. "But, at the same time, I finished fourth (in the 200 IM) and the one girl (gold medallist Michelle Smith of Ireland) tested positive a year and a half later."

In Sydney, Malar was bothered by shoulder tendinitis and finished seventh in
the 400 IM and fifth in the 200 IM, then retired five months later. For the last two weeks, Malar and a few other national team swimmers have been going through high-altitude training in Flagstaff, Ariz. "The funny thing is since I've come back to swimming after retirement, my perspective's changed. I've always enjoyed training and racing and now I appreciate it to a whole new level.

"There's a big difference between working out for pleasure and training for five or six hours a day. You definitely get exhausted mentally and physically, but it's something where not too many people have the opportunity to go back and be a full-time athlete, so I'm just really soaking it in. "I'm really loving every minute of it. I do have my bad days, but this is all getting me somewhere."

Fund and Games: Are We Willing to Pay for Success? Cost of an Olympic Dream.
(The Toronto Sun - Jason Paul)
Series: Part 2 of 3

With the Athens Olympics just four months away, the debate over funding for amateur sports in Canada will intensify. In this three-part series, The Sun's Jason Paul looks at Canada's commitment to gold:
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Rower Andrew Hoskins is anxious about the Summer Olympics, and not just because he's hoping to earn a gold medal. Hoskins, 28, plans to retire after the Athens Games so he can dig himself out of a debt that has accumulated to $32,000 during his five years of international competition.

"What has kept me going is knowing this will be it because I'm sort of at the breaking point," said Hoskins, who won a world championship last year with the men's eight. "Athens will be the end and then I can start working on getting myself out of debt."

Rowing may be one of Canada's greatest Olympic medal producers, but it's also considered a sport that has many struggling athletes.

To help raise money on their own, the rowers put together a 2004 calendar, which Hoskins says raised $7,000. They're now in the process of making a poster to sell.

What are the costs of being an athlete? It has been estimated it can cost $50,000 a year or more to compete at the highest level, although some sports are more expensive than others.

Hoskins, who is married to a graphic artist and has a two-year-old son, estimates he runs a net loss of $5,000 to $6,000 a year. Rowers benefit from having travel and coaching paid for by Rowing Canada, while in other sports that isn't necessarily the case.

---

A sample of some of rower Andrew Hoskins' major expenses and money-makers (some of which are shared with his wife)

INCOME $2,500 for winning world championship* $5,000 from Investors Group Athletes Fund* $800 from See You in Athens Fund* $13,200 from carding $1,100/month (tax-free)** Total: $21,500 MAJOR EXPENSES

$4,500 in past three years for equipment, upkeep ($1,500/year)

$40 to $300/month in physiotherapy, chiropractor, massage ($1,200 min.)***

$100/year in race fees ($100)

$75/year in club fees ($75)

$1,150/month in accommodations ($13,800/year)

$600/month in nutrition/food ($7,200)

$240/month in utilities ($2,880)

$600/month in child care ($7,200)

$200/month in gas ($2,400)

$600/year in automobile insurance ($600)

Total: $36,955

*-not annual amounts.

**--equivalent to $15,000 before tax, based on personal income tax rates.

***-a portion is covered through insurance.

'I would like my coach there for the big race'; Athletics Canada poses potential hurdle for Felicien.
(The Hamilton Spectator: John Kernaghan)

Perdita Felicien enters a room and it's like someone opened a can of warm spring mornings. She smiles and the sun has just burst over the horizon. One thing could bring a scowl to the face of Canada's top track athlete, though, and that's the prospect of her coach, Gary Winkler, not being with her at all the important stages of this summer's Athens Olympics.

Athletics Canada has not confirmed if there is a spot for Winkler, a notion that irritates Felicien, the reigning global women's champ in the 100-metre hurdles. "I just can't see going to the biggest race of all and not having your coach," she said yesterday from Champagne, Ill., where she is finishing her kinesiology studies at the University of Illinois. "Don't they want to win medals?" Felicien asks. "He has to be there with me in the warmup area, not just sitting in the stands cheering me on."

She points out she wants no special dispensation other than her coach. "I don't need to fly first-class, in fact I've told my friends to make sure I stay the person I am. But I would like my coach there for the big race."

Though Winkler is American, Canada and other Olympic nations have always accredited foreign coaches to handle athletes. Oakville's Donovan Bailey, for instance, had Dan Pfaff of the University of Texas at his side in two Olympics.

Felicien, 23, easily won a special 100-metre hurdle event Saturday at the Drake Relays in Iowa, clocking her third straight 13-second result at the meet. Now she's girding for a May 22 showdown with Gail Devers, the U.S. legend whose star she eclipsed at last year's world championships. When Felicien was the new hurdler at the blocks, Devers was friendly towards her. Now she's icy. "We weren't close by any means but exchanged smiles and hellos before. "Now there's no eye contact and I guess I can understand that."

As the next step in its strategy to manage the risks inherent to its core business - the Olympic Games - the International Olympic Committee (IOC) today announced that it has taken out an insurance policy, which also protects the interests of the National Olympic Committees and the International Federations.

New policy
The first Games to be covered by this new policy will be the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad in Athens, this summer. The total coverage will be for an amount of US$170 million. A similar approach will apply for the next editions of the Games, i.e. Turin 2006, Beijing 2008 and Vancouver 2010.

Protect the funding of the Olympic Movement
The idea to put in place a risk management policy was initiated by IOC President Jacques Rogge following his election in 2001, when he clearly indicated that there was a need for the IOC to protect the funding of the Olympic Movement by building financial reserves and, when necessary, taking out insurance. First discussions on the matter were held during the 114th IOC Extraordinary Session in Mexico City in November 2002.

“Standard and prudent behaviour”
Commenting on the announcement, President Rogge said: "Taking out a policy to manage the risk associated with one's core business is standard, prudent behaviour for any modern organisation. We are happy with the terms agreed which will support not only the IOC but also the National Olympic Committees and the International Federations".

World Masters Games coming to Edmonton!

Edmonton 2005 World Masters Games – Early Bird Deadline Approaching…

The next World Masters Games - the largest international amateur multi-sport event - will be held July 22 – 31, 2005 in Edmonton, Alberta. Registration is well underway. Edmonton 2005 anticipates welcoming 16,000 recreational and elite athletes, from as many as 100 different countries, to compete over 10 days … celebrating sport for life.

There are 27 sports, 41 disciplines:

Athletics Badminton Baseball Basketball 10-pin Bowling Canoe/Kayak Cycling Diving Golf Ice Hockey Lawn Bowling Orienteering Rowing Rugby Union Shooting Soccer Softball–Fast-pitch Softball–Slow-pitch Squash Swimming Synchronized Swimming Table Tennis Tennis Triathlon Beach Volleyball Indoor Volleyball Weightlifting

Passion qualifies you! Anyone who meets the minimum age requirement for a sport can register to compete (average minimum age is 30). Masters sport is about competition and participation. In addition to the international competition, the event presents a festival-like atmosphere where athletes who are serious about their sport have some serious fun, too.

To find out more or register online, www.2005worldmasters.com It pays to register by July 22, 2004 to take advantage of the Early Bird discount. Hope you can join us!

Canadian Sport Centre Calgary launches Athens Olympics Website.

This section of our website has been developed in order to provide the sporting community with up to date and behind the scenes information on the 2004 Athens Summer Games as well as the athletes that will make up Team Canada.

The Athens section will feature everything you need to know including:
*Who has qualified so far
*Calgary contenders and profiles
*Team Canada coaches
*Review of what Canada did in Sydney
*An inside look at the competition venues
*Latest news updates on Athens

This summer the Olympic Games are returning to the place of their birth in Athens. Visit the Athens Web Section to find out more about Team Canada and the latest news on the 2004 Summer Olympics.