Gymnastics Canada announces Olympic team nominees for men’s artistic gymnastics team.
(Gymnastics Canada Release)

CALGARY- Double world championship medallist Kyle Shewfelt of Calgary headlines the six-member men’s gymnastic team announced Sunday by Gymnastics Canada Gymnastique which will be nominated to the Canadian Olympic Committee for the Games next month in Athens.

Joining Shewfelt are Grant Golding of Calgary, David Kikuchi of Fall River, N.S., and Adam Wong of Calgary, all named for performances at the Olympic trials which concluded Saturday as well as Alexander Jeltkov of Montreal and Ken Ikeda of Abbotsford, B.C., who were both coaching selections. Nathan Gafuik of Calgary was named the alternate.

Jeltkov and Shewfelt were on the 2000 team.

Shewfelt, 22, showed this week he is almost fully recovered from an ankle injury suffered this winter at a World Cup event. He posted several big scores including a 9.800 on vault and a 9.700 on floor.

‘’The ankle is still not 100 percent healed but I’m able to pretty much do everything,’’ said Shewfelt, who won bronze on floor and vault at the Anaheim worlds last summer. ‘’I have big goals for the Olympics and that’s what keeping me going everyday. The injury isn’t even on my mind right now.’’

While Shewfelt was a shoe-in to make the team Jeltkov had to sweat it out as the coaches rendered the final decisions. Jeltkov, who also has an ankle injury, has been one of Canada’s top international gymnasts for several years.

‘’I was little nervous because the trials didn’t go that well for me,’’ said Jeltkov, 26, a silver medallist on high bar at the 1999 world championships and sixth in the event at last year’s worlds. ‘’But I’m glad to be on the team. My injury is getting better and I’ll be ready for the Games.’’

Canada qualified a full men’s team for the Olympics by finishing ninth at the world championships last year.

‘’There’s a lot of dynamic on this team,’’ said Shewfelt. ‘’I love the way it looks. I think we’re going to have a great Olympics. We’ll work well together and I’m hopeful we can come top-eight in the team event.’’

Nominees to Canadian Men’s Olympic Gymnastic Team were introduced to the media and public after Sunday’s performance of the Circle du Soleil Quidam show in Calgary.

Malindi Elmore sets record at Canadian track trials and qualifies for Athens.
(Canadian Sport News)

Malindi Elmore and Carmen Douma-Hussar clinched berths in the women's 1,500 metres while Gary Reed and Achraf Tadili shone in the 800 metres at the Canadian track trials in Victoria, B.C.

Elmore, from Kelowna, B.C., battled windy conditions to win the 1,500 in a meet-record time of four minutes, 4.51 seconds, edging Douma-Hussar (4:05.22) at Centennial Stadium. Having already achieved the Olympic qualifying standard, both Elmore and Douma-Hussar of Cambridge, Ont., needed only top-four efforts on Sunday.

"It's a relief because Athens is where I've had my hopes set all year, so going into this race at the very least I had to be top four, and I knew I could do that," said Elmore. "But definitely I was going after the win, because I've never won a national title before, it's been elusive in the past."
Elmore has big dreams for Athens.

"The Canadian record is 4:00.27 (set in 1985 by Lynn Williams), and I think that running the Canadian record in the Olympic final would be the ultimate dream so that's what we're going to gear the next six weeks to," said Elmore. Victoria's Katie Vermeulen was third in the 1,500 in 4:06.92, narrowly missing the Canadian qualifying standard of 4:05.80 she needed for Athens.

Reed, from Victoria, set a meet-record time of 1:45.34 in the men's 800. Achraf Tadili of St. Laurent, Que., was second in 1:45.76. Both had met the qualifying standard. Andrew Ellerton was third in 1:47.68. The Sudbury, Ont., native set a blistering first-lap pace in hopes of making the Olympic standard, but faded in the final straightaway.

Tim Berrett of Edmonton secured his ticket to Athens with a gold in the men's 20-kilometre race walk in one hour, 26 minutes and 6.61 seconds.

Twenty-two athletes are expected to be named to the Canadian Olympic track team Monday, including high jumper Mark Boswell of Brampton, Ont., who didn't make his Olympic B standard Saturday, but is expected to make the team on an injury appeal. Courtney Babcock of Chatham, Ont., is also appealing, based on a foot injury. Babcock was eighth in Canadian-record pace in the 5,000 at last summer's world championship in Paris, but didn't also didn't meet the fitness standard in Friday's race.

The Canadian track team in Sydney numbered 42, and if there's been a theme to these track trials, it has been about the gruelling standards set by the Canadian Olympic Committee and Athletics Canada. The aim was to send a small, but talented team to Athens. "I'm feeling good about the team," said Athletics Canada head coach Alex Gardiner. "The entire bar has been raised, and it's been raised by how you have to make the team, but I think it's been raised by the attitude and the spirit from the Commonwealth Games and (world championships in) Paris."

In the women's heptathlon, Calgary's Jessica Zelinka prevailed with 5,890 points. She made the Olympic qualifying standard at a meet in Europe earlier this season, but the result didn't stand because the 200 metres was wind-aided.

In other events Sunday, Anson Henry of Pickering, Ont., won the men's 200-metre race, edging Pierre Browne of Toronto. Both finished in 20.67 seconds, with Henry getting the gold courtesy of a photo finish. Lami Oyewumi of Toronto won the women's 200 in 23.31. Adam Kunkel of Paisley, Ont., won the men's 400 hurdles in 50.22 seconds while Tawa Babatunde of Edmonton took the women's event in 56.88.

Alberta's Haley Digel captured the women's 3,000-metre steeplechase in 11 minutes, 22.75 seconds. Marina Crivello of Montreal won the women's 20-km race walk in one hour, 48 minutes and 48.06 seconds.

In field events, Julie Bourgon of Longueuil, Que., won the women's discus with a toss of 52.54 metres, while Wanita May of St. Catharines, Ont., won the women's high jump, clearing 1.86 metres. (With files from Canadian Press).

ATHLETICS CANADA NAMES OLYMPIC GAMES TEAM NOMINEES

(Ottawa, July 12, 2004) – Athletics Canada is pleased to announce its official list of 26 athletes who have been selected for nomination to the 2004 Olympic Games team.

Made up of 14 men and 12 women, including three athletes with a disability who will compete in the wheelchair demonstration event, team members have had to meet a series of tough performance standards during certain time periods over the past year in order to be considered for selection to the team in an individual event. Depending on the event, the majority of the nominees also had to finish in the top four of the 2004 Canada Dry National Track and Field Championships which took place this past weekend in Victoria.

“This is an extremely well-prepared and talented team -- each member has had to repeat qualifying standards and show that they are in their best form before they go to Athens,” says Alex Gardiner, Athletics Canada’s chief technical officer and national team head coach. “Everyone we’ve selected is a proven athlete. We’ve been applying this same strategy for the team selection for the past two years and the athletes are definitely rising to the occasion.”

With a mixture of veterans and exciting young talent, Canada is looking to improve upon its last Olympic performance in Sydney where the team had seven performances in the top 12.

Team members are listed below:
Name, Age, Event, Hometown

Jeff Adams* 33 1500mWC Toronto, ON
Richard Adu-Bobie 19 4x100m Ottawa, ON
Charles Allen 27 4x100m Brampton, ON
Courtney Babcock 31 5000m Chatham, ON
Tim Berrett 39 50km RW Edmonton, AB
Mark Boswell 26 High Jump Brampton, ON
Pierre Browne 24 100m, 4x100m Toronto, ON
Diane Cummins 30 800m Vancouver, BC
Carmen Douma-Hussar 26 1500m Cambridge, ON
Dana Ellis 25 Pole Vault Kitchener, ON
Malindi Elmore 24 1500m Kelowna, BC
Perdita Felicien 23 100m Hurdles Pickering, ON
Martin Grenier 25 4x100m Sherbrooke, QC
Anson Henry 25 4x100m Pickering, ON
Priscilla Lopes 22 100mH Whitby, ON
Nicolas Macrozonaris 23 100m, 4x100m Laval, QC
Stephanie McCann 27 Pole vault Richmond, BC
Emilie Mondor 22 5000m Mascouche, QC
Chantal Petitclerc* 34 800mWC Montreal, QC
Gary Reed 22 800m Kamloops, BC
Diane Roy* 33 800mWC Lac-des-Aigles, QC
Brad Snyder 28 Shot Put Windsor, ON
Kevin Sullivan 29 1500m Brantford, ON
Achraf Tadili 23 800m Montreal, QC
Jason Tunks 28 Discus London, ON
Angela Whyte 23 100m Hurdles Edmonton, AB

*Wheelchair demonstration events

Team Staff:
Name, Residence, Position

Jean-Guy Ouellette Sherbrooke, QC Head of Delegation
Joanne Mortimore Ottawa, ON Head of Delegation
Alex Gardiner Winnipeg, MB Head Coach
Larry Switzer Winnipeg, MB Team Manager
Derek Covington Ottawa, ON Team Manager
Les Gramantik Calgary, AB Team Coach
Martin Goulet Montreal, QC Team Coach
Glenroy Gilbert Ottawa, ON Team Coach
Daniel St. Hilaire Montreal, QC Team Coach
Jean Laroche Sherbrooke, QC Team Coach
Wynn Gmitroski Victoria, BC Team Coach
Georgette Reed Edmonton, AB Women in coaching apprenticeship
Ross Outerbridge Kamloops, BC Team Doctor – COC mission staff
Linda Thyer Vancouver, BC Team Doctor (Training Camp Only)
Garfield Crooks Winnipeg, MB Massage Therapist – COC mission staff
Marilou Lamy Mont Tremblant, QC Physiotherapist – COC mission staff
Wilbour Kelsick Vancouver, BC Chiropractor – COC mission staff
Penny Joyce Ottawa, ON Media Attaché

A pre-Games training camp will be held for the athletics team in Grossetto, Italy from August 8th until the 15th. The track and field portion of the Games takes place August 20-29. Final selection subject to COC approval.

Canadian men’s 50 freestyle record takes beating at Olympic trials, team set to be nominated.
(Swimming Canada Release)

ETOBICOKE, Ont.- Matt Rose of Peterborough, Ont., lost his men’s 50 metre freestyle record then reclaimed it in the final to highlight the last day of competition at the 2004 Canadian Olympic Trials in swimming. Swimming/Natation Canada announced it will nominate a 20-member team to the Canadian Olympic Committee.

In the men’s 50 freestyle final, Rose capped a great week clocking a Canadian record 22.42 seconds, just 0.01 off the Olympic qualifying standard. He had qualified for the Games earlier this week in the 100 backstroke. Riley Janes of Victoria, who broke Rose’s Canadian record in the morning heats with a 22.66, finished second in the final in 22.59. Yannick Lupien of Beauport, Que., also went under the old record in the preliminaries at 22.79 then clocked 22.86 in the final.

‘’I got it back in the end,’’ said Rose, headed to his first Games. ‘’I was little surprised after the morning, those guys just popped in the heat before me. I definitely came into the final with more intensity and I felt a lot smoother. I haven’t had great 50 freestyles this year so I’m very happy with that result.’’

In the men’s 100 butterfly, Mike Mintenko of Vancouver, fifth at the 2000 Olympics, went under the qualifying standard clocking 52.67. He had already pre-qualified by beating the standard at the world championships last year.
Jennifer Fratesi of Waterloo, Ont., won the 200 backstroke in 2:13.58 more than a second off the standard but was pre-qualified. Brittany Reimer of Surrey, B.C., earned a third gold medal this week with a win in the women’s 800 freestyle. She was pre-qualified in the event.

Other winners who didn’t make the standards were Kurtis MacGillivary of Waterloo in the men’s 1,500 freestyle, Audrey Lacroix of Montreal in the women’s 200 butterfly and Laura Nicholls of Waterloo in the women’s 100 freestyle. ‘’I put together everything I had in both sprint freestyles and it just didn’t happen,’’ said Nicholls, a two-time Olympian. ‘’I knew what the standards were and I knew I had to break Canadian records. The bar was raised and I didn’t rise to it.’’

Nominated on the men’s team are: Mintenko; Rose and Janes in the 100 backstroke; Keith Beavers of Waterloo in the 200 backstroke; Mike Brown of Perth, Ont., in the 200 breaststroke; Scott Dickens of Vancouver and Morgan Knabe of Calgary in the 100 breaststroke; Brent Hayden of Vancouver in the 100 and 200 freestyles; Andrew Hurd of Toronto in the 400 freestyle; Brian Johns of Vancouver in the 200 and 400 IM, Mark Johnston of Vancouver in the 4X200 freestyle relay; Yannick Lupien of Beauport, Que., in the 4X100 freestyle; Nathan O’Brien of Victoria in the 200 backstroke; and Rick Say of Victoria in the 200 freestyle.

Nominated to the women’s team are: Fratesi; Reimer in the 400 and 800 freestyle; Erin Gammel of Calgary in the 4X100 medley relay; Rhiannon Leier of Winnipeg and Lauren Van Oosten of Calgary in the 100 breaststroke; and Liz Warden of Toronto in the 400 IM.

‘’We’ve seen a step forward, these swimmers had to work very hard to reach these standards,’’ said Dave Johnson of Calgary, head coach of the Canadian national team. ‘’We still have some hard work to do to get ready for Athens, but these athletes have a lot of spirit and enthusiasm. Medals are within our grasp and these athletes have shown that they’ve accepted the challenge.’’

Johnson was disappointed that only six women made the team. ‘’ I would have preferred a better balance,’’ he said. ‘’But the misses that did happen at these trials, happened mainly on the women’s side. These things seem cyclical. In 1996, we had 21 women and eight men.’’

Canadian swimming team to be nominated to the Canadian Olympic Committee following this week’s trials:

Men: Mike Mintenko, Vancouver (100 butterfly); Matt Rose, Peterborough, Ont. (100 backstroke); Riley Janes, Victoria (100 backstroke); Keith Beavers, Waterloo, Ont. (200 backstroke); Mike Brown, Perth, Ont., ( 200 breaststroke); Scott Dickens, Vancouver (100 breaststroke); Morgan Knabe, Calgary (100 breaststroke); Brent Hayden, Vancouver (100 and 200 freestyles); Andrew Hurd, Toronto (400 freestyle); Brian Johns, Vancouver ( 200 and 400 IM); Mark Johnston, Vancouver (4X200 freestyle relay); Yannick Lupien, Beauport, Que., ( 4X100 freestyle); Nathan O’Brien, Victoria (200 backstroke); Rick Say, Victoria ( 200 freestyle).

Women: Jennifer Fratesi, Waterloo, Ont. (200 backstroke); Brittany Reimer, Surrey, B.C. ( 400 and 800 freestyles); Erin Gammel, Calgary (4X100 medley relay); Rhiannon Leier, Winnipeg (100 breaststroke); Lauren Van Oosten, Calgary (100 breaststroke);Liz Warden, Toronto (400 IM).

Canadian team for the 2004 Paralympic Games:
Men: Tyler Emmett, St. Catahrines, Ont.; Andrew Haley, Toronto; Brian Hill, Nanaimo, B.C.; Benoit Huot, Montreal; Adam Purdy, London, Ont.; Brad Sales, London, Ont.; Donovan Tildesley, Vancouver; Walter Wu, Richmond, B.C.

Women: Danielle Campo, Tecumseh, Ont.; Andrea Cole, London, Ont.; Kirby Cote, Winnipeg; Stephanie Dixon, Victoria; Darda Geiger, London, Ont.; Chelsey Gotell, Antigonish, N.S.; Kaley McLean, Toronto; Anne Polinario, Toronto; Rhea Schmidt, Winnipeg; Jessica Tuomela, Waterloo, Ont.; Elisabeth Walker, St. Catharines, Ont.

Head Coach: Dave Johnson
Coaches: Cory Beatt, Jan Bidrman, Vlastimil Cerny, Jim Fowlie, Tom Johnson
Team Leader: Alain Lefebvre
Managers: Lynn Fowlie, Josey Corbo
Physioligist: Scott Maw
Sport Psychologist: Hap Davis
Chiropractor: Ken Mikkelsen
Therapists: Aurel Hamran, Sherry Gross, Jamie Carlson,
Media Attaché: Martin Richard

The Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) is pleased to announce the 2004 Canadian Team attending the XII Paralympic Summer Games.

The Paralympics are the pinnacle of international multi-sport competition for elite athletes with a physical disability.

The Canadian team numbers 144 athletes (91 men and 53 women) from all 10 provinces who will compete in 13 of the 19 sports on the Games program. Ontario fields the most athletes at 46 (32 percent), followed by B.C. at 35 (25 percent) and Quebec with 30 athletes (21 percent). The team’s average age is 32. The youngest member is swimmer Rhea Schmidt at 18 and the oldest is sailor David Williams at 65.

"This is a team with a lot of experience and a history of success," says Louis Barbeau, Canada’s Chef de Mission who also heads a 105-member mission staff. "More than two thirds of the athletes competed in Sydney four years ago, with 66 winning medals. We are fortunate to have an incredibly deep and talented team."

Leading the way are four athletes who are headed to their sixth Paralympic Games: Jacques Martin and Clayton Gerein in track and field and Linda Kutrowski and Chantal Benoit in wheelchair basketball.

Even with 18 fewer athletes on the Canadian team this year than in Sydney, so much talent remains that the medal expectations are still high. In Australia, Canadian Paralympians earned a record 96 medals and finished third overall in the country standings. In Atlanta in 1996, Canada was seventh overall with 71 medals.

The drop in the number of athletes is due mainly to the removal of standing volleyball from the Paralympic program and the fact Canada didn’t qualify athletes in archery, fencing and table tennis for Athens. The CPC estimates that Canada can finish in the top eight nations and earn approximately 80 medals. "With the infusion of $900,000 over the past two years from the Paralympic Excellence Fund, targeted towards athletes demonstrating medal potential, we are confident our athletes have been able to benefit from the highest level of training and preparation possible for the Games," added Barbeau.

All the athletes hope to achieve personal bests in Athens and here are some of the top athletes to watch in each sport:

· Athletics (Track and Field): The largest Team at the Games includes many potential medallists, though several medals, and potentially world records, are expected from Jeff Adams, Earle Connor, Lisa Franks and Chantal Petitclerc on the track, while on the field all the Canadian throwers are standouts.

· Boccia: Paul Gauthier is a medal contender in singles.

· Basketball (wheelchair): Canada looks to successfully defend its men’s and women’s titles led by Patrick Anderson and Chantal Benoit.

· Cycling: Jean Quevillon is a medal contender on the road and on the track. Stephane Cote and his guide Pierre Olivier-Boily are currently ranked number-one in the world on the road.

· Equestrian: Canada didn’t compete in 2000 but return with a strong team in dressage, led by Lauren Barwick.

· Goalball: The women’s squad looks to successfully defend its title led by Nancy Morin, the top scorer at the Sydney Games.

· Judo: Bill Morgan is Canada’s sole entry and a solid medal contender.

· Powerlifting: Sally Thomas is the first Canadian woman to compete in the sport at the Paralympics and is vying for a medal.

· Sailing: the Sonar crew is in the medal hunt, looking to match or improve in their Sydney bronze.

· Shooting: Chris Trifonidis, who has a Greek heritage, hopes to do well in Canadian colours.

· Swimming: Canada is looking to replicate our outstanding performance in Sydney, where Canadian swimmers won a total of 48 medals in the pool.

· Tennis: for the first time there is a quadriplegic category and Canada has a top entry in Sarah Hunter.

· Rugby: Canada is the reigning world champion and looks to better its fourth place finish from Sydney.

The Canadian team leaves for Greece on September 9 although a number of athletes plan to arrive earlier for the final phase of their preparation. The flag bearer is scheduled to be announced on September 15 at the Canadian Team Pep Rally in Athens.

The Canadian Paralympic Committee is a non-profit, charitable, private corporation that is recognized by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). CPC delivers programs that strengthen the Paralympic Movement in Canada, including sending Canadian Teams to the Paralympic Games. The CPC empowers persons with physical disabilities, through sport.

The Athens Final Team List is available as a pdf download : http://www.paralympic.ca/english/media/pdf/Athens_final_team_list_final_en.pdf

Water Polo Canada announces strong and experienced women’s team for the 2004 Olympic Games.
(Canadian Sport News)

OTTAWA- Led by veterans Johanne Bégin of Ste-Foy, Que., Cora Campbell of Calgary and team captain Ann Dow of Montreal, Water Polo Canada announced the 13-member women’s squad it has nominated for the Olympic Games next month in Athens.

The Canadians are currently ranked fourth in the world and were fifth at the 2000 Olympics, the first time women’s water polo was included on the official Games’ program. The Canadian women feel they are contenders for gold in Athens.

‘’There’s no doubt we can win the gold medal,’’ said Patrick Oaten of Montreal, head coach of the women’s national team. ‘’We are strong in all aspects of the
games and have particularly improved offensively. This is a team basically with 13 role players.’’

Canada is in a tough division with the world champion Americans, number-three Russia and surging Hungary, which lost to the U.S., in the World League final last month in a shootout. First place in each of the two divisions is worth a bye to the semifinal while second and third cross over in the quarterfinals. ‘’We’ll have to be on our game right off the bat,’’ said Oaten. ‘’It’s not a stretch to believe all three medallists could come from our division.’’

Oaten says having veterans such as Campbell, Begin and Dow- each with about 15 years national senior team experience- will keep the situation for the players in perspective at the Games. Also returning from the 2000 team are Marie-Luc Arpin of St-Lambert, Que., Melissa Collins of Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Que., Valérie
Dionne of Ste-Foy, Jana Salat of Calgary and Susan Gardiner of Vancouver.

‘’We can’t get ahead of ourselves and must focus on one game at a time,’’ said Bégin, who works as a police officer in Quebec City. ‘’We are a team that gets along very well and I think that will be beneficial for us. My personal motto for these Games is Enjoy the Moment, and I want to spread that message.’’

Also nominated to the team were goaltenders Whynter Lamarre of Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Que., and Rachel Riddell of Vancouver as well as Marianne Illing of Ottawa, and Andrea Dewar and Christine Robinson, both of Dollard-des-Ormeaux. Marina Radu of Dollard-des-Ormeaux is the team alternate. Lamarre
was an alternate on the 2000 team.

The Canadian team will train in Montreal over the next month then leave July 31 for a training camp in Slovenia with the Australian team. They’ll head to Athens on August 8.

Players:
Whynter Lamarre, Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Que.;
Rachel Riddell, Vancouver; Marianne Illing, Ottawa;
Susan Gardiner, Vancouver; Jana Salat, Calgary; Andrea
Dewar, Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Que.; Marina Radu,
Dollard-des-Ormeaux alternate); Christine Robinson,
Dollard-des-Ormeaux; Melissa Collins,
Dollard-des-Ormeaux; Valérie Dionne, Ste-Foy, Que.;
Johanne Begin, Ste-Foy; Marie-Luc Arpin, St-Lambert,
Que.; Cora Campbell, Calgary; Ann Dow, Montreal.

Head coach:
Patrick Oaten, Montreal.
Assistant coach: Ahmed El-Awadi, Richmond Hill, Ont.
Team massure: Manon Prieur, Montreal.
Team physio: Brigitte Léger, Montreal.
Coaching consultant: Daniele Sauvageau, Montreal.

Canada’s schedule at the Olympic Games:
August 16: vs Russia (10h30 a.m.- EDT)
August 18: vs U.S. (3h30 a.m.)
August 20: vs Hungary ( 10h45 a.m.)
August 22: quarterfinals
August 24: semifinals
August 26: medal matches.

Genevieve Jeanson a no-go for Olympics.
(CBC Online)

Genevieve Jeanson, the top Canadian women's road racer, apparently won't be travelling to Athens next month. Dogged by doping suspicions and controversy all season long, Jeanson has been left off Canada's Olympic team, the Toronto Star reported Monday.

Jeanson, a former double world junior champion once considered the future of national cycling, was the only Canadian rider with a World Cup victory this season, but she had performed poorly otherwise. Manon Jutras of Drummondville, Que., edged the 22-year-old Jeanson for the third and final spot on the women's road race team.

Jutras, who has struggled this season, looked strong in finishing second behind Lyne Bessette of Knowlton, Que., at the recent national championships in Kamloops, B.C. Bessette and Jeanson feuded at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, where Bessette blamed Jeanson for messing up her chances by leading a chase group against her when she was in front during the race. Bessette also gloated when Jeanson was pulled from the world championships in Hamilton last year after failing a blood test.

Bessette had cemented her spot on the Athens team by being the leading Canadian rider in the international standings, while veteran Sue Palmer-Komar of Hamilton showed she was a certain selection when she blew away the field in the time trial at the nationals.
with files from Canadian Press

Canada's McGlone 11th at Edmonton triathlon, qualifies for Athens.
(CBC Online)

It was a bittersweet Sunday for Montreal's Samantha McGlone. She bowed to Australia's Loretta Harrup at the Edmonton World Cup triathlon, but secured the final berth on the Canadian Olympic team with an 11th-place finish. McGlone joins Jill Savege of Penticton, B.C., and Vancouver's Carol Montgomery on the women's Olympic squad.

Savege was 10th in Sunday's race while Montgomery did not compete. McGlone passed Sharon Donnelly of Kingston, Ont., on the final lap of the 10-kilometre run, finishing 40 seconds ahead of her opponent. Donnelly was 12th.

Harrup, the 1999 world champion, edged countrywoman Rina Hill in a footrace at the end of the 1.5-kilometre swim, 40-km bike and 10-km run. Sam Warriner of England was third. Harrop crossed in one hour 58 minutes and 11 seconds, one second ahead of Hill. New Zealand's Samantha Warriner clocked 1:59.04. The women ran into heavy rain, hail and win in the final kilometres.

McGlone chose to break away from a chase pack during the bike stage, a move that helped her make up the minute-plus deficit she faced against Donnelly. It also allowed McGlone to separate herself from the other two Canadian Olympic hopefuls, Natasha Filliol of Paris, Ont., (14th, 2:02.19) and Vancouver's Lauren Groves (18th, 2:04.06).

For Donnelly, the dream of competing in a second Summer Games died despite coming out of the swim stage in the lead group. "When you finish, you feel it's just another race and then you see your family and friends," she said, fighting back tears. "I knew it at the end and then I saw them and that's probably the worst feeling. "I like Sam and I'm happy for her. She has brought her racing up tremendously. I just ran out of room."

An onslaught of golf ball-sized hail cancelled the men's race. Olympic gold medallist Simon Whitfield and Brent McMahon, who were to race in the men's event, have already secured Canada's two men's berths to Athens. (With files from Canadian Press).