Former Calgary diver Blythe Hartley has high hopes for Athens after strong season.
(CP Wire - BY DONNA SPENCER )

The hard lesson learned by a teammate and friend at the Olympics in Sydney four years ago gives Blythe Hartley pause as she prepares for Athens. The 22-year-old from North Vancouver, B.C., was Canada's second-ranked women's springboard diver in Sydney. She reached the final and finished a respectable 10th in her first foray into the Olympics.

Teammate Eryn Bulmer, considered a gold-medal contender, did not make it out of the semifinals. ``It's a little frightening,'' Hartley admitted. ``I can understand how Eryn felt because she was so successful. ``In between Olympics she won everything, was so incredibly successful and was set up to win a medal, yet went in and didn't have the greatest day.

``I'm very aware that anything can happen. I know there's going to be people getting on the podium . . . they're going to come out of nowhere and people are going to go, `How did this happen?'''

Hartley's teammates Alexandre Despatie and Emilie Heymans are world champions on the 10-metre tower and are thus contenders for gold. Hartley may be a longer shot for gold on the springboard but a podium finish is definitely within her reach. She was ranked second overall on the Grand Prix circuit this year. ``I don't want to jinx myself but it's been my most consistent and solid year so far in diving,'' Hartley said. She will compete in springboard as well as in synchronized diving on both springboard and tower with Heymans.

Hartley is a former world champion on the one-metre springboard, which isn't an Olympic event. She won bronze at the world championship in that event last year and was also fifth on three-metre. ``I think Blythe has got the stuff to do it,'' Canadian coach Mitch Geller said. ``She's arguably the strongest female diver in the world. ``Nobody jumps like that. We hope she gets rewarded for that because she's not the most aesthetic. There's better legs and toes, but the acrobatics of what she does is really top notch.''

Hartley's power and strength off the board allows her to complete harder, more intricate dives and still have time to get in a clean entry. Four years ago in Sydney, she had a stockier build. After Sydney, while diving on scholarship for two years at University of Southern California, she lost some of her muscle mass as school became more of a priority. Since she began training with the CAMO club in Montreal last September, she has reacquired that muscle, but has stayed streamlined. ``Sometimes I think `I don't think I need this much muscle' but what stands out in my diving is my strength,'' she said. ``I need that and I need to have my muscles.''

CAMO coach Michel Larouche is a genius at knowing what mental buttons to push to get the best out of his athletes. But unlike Despatie and Heymans, who have been working with him for years, Hartley is a newcomer. ``We're still working on the psychological approach with her,'' Larouche said. ``She's very negative. ``She doesn't believe she's great. We're working on it, because she's amazing.''

Hartley wants to hang on to at least a little bit of negativity because she feels it gets her in the right head space to dive. ``I don't enjoy doubting myself and feeling anxious and nervous about things,'' she explained. ``But I feel that type of mentality for some reason gets me going. ``People tell me to be confident but every time I've entered into a competition with that kind of mindset, it hasn't worked out at all.''

Diving has had Hartley living a vagabond life since the age of 17, when she
moved from Vancouver to train at Dive Calgary. After the 2000 Olympics, she headed to California. Instead of returning to train in Calgary ahead of the 2004 Games, she chose Montreal because of the training environment at CAMO. ``It's getting a little tiring to keep moving around and leaving people and places behind,'' Hartley admitted. ``It came down to, `Why am I leaving school?' ``It's for the Olympics and I wanted to be at my best at the Olympics and I chose the Montreal route.''

One of her roommates in Montreal is water polo player Marianne Illing, who is also heading to Athens. Hartley attributes her strength to good genes as her father Michael competed in the 1972 Olympics in bobsled. Her two brothers, Wyatt and Strachan, played university football in Canada and sister Aimee-Noel was a two-time NCAA slalom champion for the University
of Colorado ski team.

Little-known Canadian women's water polo squad has Olympic medal hopes.
(CP Wire - BY BILL BEACON)

MONTREAL (CP) _ It won't be easy, but there may be a medal waiting to be won by the Canadian women's water polo team at the Summer Olympics.

The team led by shooter Ann Dow of Montreal and centre Cora Campbell of Calgary is one of Canada's brighter hopes for the Games in Athens. The Canadians are ranked fourth in the world, winning a silver medal at the Pan Am Games last summer and bronze at the 2002 world championships.

But organizers have made it tough, placing Canada in a four-team preliminary round group that includes the top-ranked United States, No. 3. Russia and No. 5 Hungary. No. 2 Italy is in the other round-robin group with No. 9 Australia, No. 11 Greece and unranked Kazakhstan. ``It's realistic that we'll get through,'' Dow said at a training camp at the Claude Robillard Centre. ``It will be challenging, mentally and physically, but we can do it.''

It helps that the teams cross over for the quarter-finals _ second place in Group A plays third place in Group B and third place in Group A plays second place in Group B. It is conceivable, even likely, tha three of the four
semifinalists will come out of Canada's group. ``Either way, to win a gold medal, you have to beat these teams,'' said coach Pat Oaten.

The water polo team is among the world's best, but they and their oft-neglected sport remain a mostly anonymous group in their home country. One player joked that the question she hears most is ``how do they keep the horses from drowning?'' ``It's always been like that, I don't know why,'' said Dow. ``Canada is sending only three teams to the Olympics _ men's softball, men's baseball and us. But I guess we don't host many international competitions, so it's hard to attract attention.''

Canada has eight players left from the team that finished fifth at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, where women's water polo made its debut.
As well as Dow and Campbell, the returning players are forward Sue Gardiner of Vancouver, Jana Salat of Calgary, Johanne Begin and Valerie Dionne of Ste-Foy, Que., Marie-Luc Arpin of St-Lambert, Que., and Melissa Collins of Montreal. There is also Montreal's Whynter Lamarre, who went to Sydney as an alternate goalkeeper.

The lack of public recognition, so far at least, irks Oaten. ``We're a top-five team in the world and how many people know about the sport?'' he said. ``It boggles my mind why some sports are overlooked. ``It's a great sport and has some of the fittest athletes. In Europe there are pro leagues and it's one of the biggest women's sports in the NCAA.'' The team hopes to make its mark by winning a medal.

It will help that more than half the team has been to the Olympics before. Dow admitted she was in awe the first time. ``I approached 2000 as just another tournament,'' she said. ``I'd been on the national team for years. ``But it was overwhelming. It was so big. You don't know where to look. This time, we know what it is. It'll still be exciting, but it will be easier to deal with.'' Campbell agreed. ``This time it will be `OK, whatever,' '' she said. ``I've been to Greece before. I don't have to do the tourist thing.''

Canada uses speed and strong defensive play to counter the size advantage of the bigger teams like the U.S. and Russia. ``We have to follow a game plan and play as a team,'' said Oaten, a former men's national team player. ``We have to force other teams to play to our strengths. ``We're looked at as a sleeper team. We're ranked fourth, but any of the teams ahead of us can be beaten on a given day. The top seven teams in the world can win on a given day. It's probably the closest team sport in the world.''

The team is to leave July 31 for Slovenia, where it will train with the Australian squad before going to Athens on Aug. 8. Its first game is Aug. 16
against Russia. The team actually drew some public attention two years ago, not for its performance in the water but for a player revolt against former coaches Daniel Berthelette and David Hart. Six players _ including Salat, Arpin and Marianne Illing of Ottawa from the current squad _ quit the team to protest what they said was abusive language and a lack of respect from the coaches. The case went to an arbitrator and coaching changes ensued.

All is calm now with Oaten on the job. ``I don't coach with an iron fist,'' he said. ``I've given them the freedom to be creative. ``I give them the game plan, but after that, they can be individual players. And we have become a more offensive team. I'm comfortable with letting them make the decisions to a certain extent. But when we win or lose, it's all 15 of us together.''

The Big Picture with Dale Henwood: In Support of a High Standard.

Considerable media attention has recently been given to the performance qualifying criteria for the 2004 Summer Olympic Games. Much of the controversy seems to stem from the somewhat ambiguous definition of excellence and how it is measured.

Although everyone has their own personal measurement of excellence, at the high performance sport level, excellence needs to be measured in terms of the attainment of medals at the Olympic/Paralympic Games. Accordingly, the Canadian Olympic Committee has adopted a very high standard – for which they should be commended.

Canada needs to increase our performance expectations of those athletes going to the Olympics in order that "a great experience" is no longer seen as the primary expectation or goal.

On a personal or individual athlete level, excellence can be measured in terms of personal best performances. Although there will always be performance fluctuations and zigzags along the way, over time, the performance curve of the athlete should be showing a steady progression upwards. It is very important that the slope of the improvement line be trending ever upwards. Canada must provide the support that our athletes need in order to ensure their performances continue to improve, not only on a national scale, but also at a rate that is higher than our international competitors. There is compelling evidence to show that our athletes are getting continually better on a world stage but, unfortunately, in many sports, the world continues to improve at a faster rate than Canadian athletes.

Canada has many great and world-class athletes. It is widely accepted that the Olympics are the premiere "best on best" competition in the world. We have come to a point in time where being the best in Canada may no longer be good enough to qualify for and compete in the Olympics. Canadian best and personal best are great stepping-stones to excellence, but do not automatically entitle an athlete to represent Canada at the pinnacle of sport competitions.

We must keep in mind that there are numerous other high profile international, multi-sport events (World Championships, Commonwealth Games, Pan American Games, World Cup circuits) for Canadian athletes to demonstrate and test their abilities and to use as benchmarks to their performance improvements.

The new COC standards, agreed upon by the COC voting members (including representatives of all the Olympic and Pan American Games sports) in April 2002, have without a doubt raised the bar for high performance sport in Canada. These criteria will however, be up for review following the Athens Games, when perhaps rather than adopting an across the board standard applicable to all sports, consideration could be given to an individual sport-by-sport standard.

Additionally, we need to find a way to deal with the issue of the first Olympic experience. Since it is generally agreed upon that athletes need to have an initial Olympic experience in order for them to perform optimally at a subsequent Olympics, a “relaxed” standard should be considered for developing athletes. For example, based on the professional discretion of the coach, backed by evidence from past performance statistics and expert support personnel, younger athletes whose performance is trending upwards could have a separate qualifying criteria.

Canadians are no longer content to see personal bests in the preliminary rounds of Olympic competition. The Olympic Games are first and foremost about top athletic performance on demand. The COC’s decision to raise the bar in the name of Canadian Olympic excellence should be applauded.

Dale Henwood
President,
Canadian Sport Centre Calgary

Duo digs underdog tag: Beach volleyball medallists from '96 squeak into Athens.
(By DOUG SMITH)

On a quiet, cloudy morning at the beach, alongside the camp kids and dog walkers and joggers, two Canadian Olympians go about their business in solitude — just a couple of guys, their coach and a buddy getting ready for Athens.

It is appropriate that beach volleyball stars John Child and Mark Heese find themselves here, utterly anonymous less than a month before they head to the Olympics because they go to the Games unheralded and lightly regarded, former medallists who are given little chance by many to once again mount a podium.

It is a situation that suits them just fine. "We still want to win gold, no question, but we're coming in as literally the last team, or the 22nd team out of 24 teams that qualified, so I don't think the expectations are on us to win a medal from other people, from the tour, other Canadians we talk to," Child said after a 90-minute workout at Ashbridge's Bay Park. "It's a nice position to play that underdog role. We know that we're capable of beating anybody out there and if we just string together a few good days of volleyball, we'll have a good chance."

The Canadian duo, three-time Olympians and bronze medallists when the sport had its debut in 1996 in Atlanta, barely squeaked into the Athens Games earlier this month at the final qualification tournament for the touring professionals of the beach volleyball world.

A February knee injury to Heese — a slightly torn patellar tendon that is still not 100 per cent — set them back greatly in their pursuit of an Olympic berth and they only gained one in their last opportunity. They go into the 24-team Athens tournament seeded 22nd, a far cry from the top-10 seeding they had in both Atlanta in 1996 and Sydney in 2000, when they finished fifth overall. "It was kind of a stressful ride all season," said Heese. "To have it come down to that last game, it kind of simulated the kind of pressure we'll be facing at the Games."

If there's one thing the veterans won't be facing in Athens, it's scepticism about the legitimacy of their sport. When beach volleyball debuted in Atlanta, it was more a curiosity than a true sport, a fun-in-the-sun diversion from what people perceived as "real" Olympic endeavours. With scantily clad competitors, the smell of sunscreen wafting through the air, rock music blaring and bikinis and tank tops as far as the eye could see, it was certainly not the kind of competition Baron de Coubertin might have envisioned at the modern Games.

"Right after we won the bronze in Atlanta, I remember there was a press conference ... and the first question was something about sex; `Are you thinking about sex?' or something," said Heese, who'll turn 35 during the Games. "It was kind of strange but those questions aren't there as often anymore."

That's not to say the image isn't still there, though. "Now we field questions about rankings and seedings and `Are you medal hopefuls?'" said the 37-year-old Child. "Back in 1995, '96 we were fielding questions like, `Is it a legitimate sport? Are you just there for the sex and sun appeal of it?'

"The focus in the last 10 years is totally switched. I think we're winning people over. The more people who really see the game and get exposure to it appreciate the game for the athletic attributes themselves, how physical it is, how difficult it is to do and just the level of play.

"The atmosphere, when it's played in the sun and people in bathing suits and people are having fun, the music and all that, just adds to it. We've always maintained that position, that's something we don't want to lose. That's what beach volleyball brings. "That appeal is still there. Call it the sex appeal, the atmosphere, but now there's the legitimacy of the sport, too."

Child and Heese, both from Toronto, are the only Canadian men to qualify for the Olympics while Guylaine Dumont of St-Antoine-de-Tilly, Que., and Annie Martin of Sherbrooke, Que., are entered in the women's event.

Unlike professional tour events, which are double-elimination tournaments of 32 teams run over three days on a weekend, the Olympics consist of pool play with the winners advancing to quarter-finals. The Canadian men, who are off to Austria for a final tune-up tournament next week, will find out at that event which teams are in their Athens pool. Two teams from Brazil are ranked first and second but Heese said that really makes no difference.

"That's the funny thing about the Olympics, seeding doesn't mean a lot," Heese said. "John and I are seeded 22nd going in this year, as opposed to fifth or sixth at previous Olympics, but we're using that as kind of a motivator. We know that seeding doesn't play a big role down there."

Industry's self-regulation will make it easier for athletes to select safe medication.
(By GRAEME SMITH - The Globe and Mail & Canadian Sport News)

WINNIPEG -- Clara Hughes won two Olympic bronze medals in cycling at the Atlanta Olympic Games and another bronze in speed skating at the Salt Lake Winter Games. But all she took home from the 2000 Sydney Games was whooping cough. "It was awful," she said. "I'd wake up in the middle of the night, choking. I still, to this day, wonder how I did those races in Sydney."

Even after that nightmare, Hughes was reluctant to try health supplements
that might prevent her from getting sick. Like many elite athletes, she agonized over which pills and powders she could ingest without triggering a
positive doping test.

Experts say government regulation of nutraceuticals -- vitamins, herbal remedies, dietary supplements and other natural health products -- is slowly improving but remains woefully inadequate for the needs of athletes. That's why some members of the sporting community are hoping manufacturers will regulate themselves, to guarantee the purity and efficacy of their products.

Perhaps the first example of such self-regulation in Canada was unveiled at a news conference in Winnipeg yesterday, as the makers of Cold-fX announced a study showing their pills full of bitter-tasting ginseng extract don't contain any banned substances.

It was an unusual study in an industry notorious for shoddy science. Grant Pierce, a sports researcher at the University of Manitoba, conducted clinical trials at arm's length from the company, CV Technologies Inc. His team gave the cold remedy to 40 recreational athletes under controlled condition for a month and tested their urine according to International Olympic Committee rules.

The results, to be published in the August edition of the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, showed the athletes tested negative for about 200 banned substances. Pierce said he wasn't paid anything by the company, which spent "hundreds of thousands of dollars" on the project. He was also free to report his results if they were unfavourable. "It provides an example for the nutraceutical industry that this is what they need to do make their compounds credible and show they're safe," Pierce said.

The research also represents the beginning of an effort to properly inform anti-doping agencies, Pierce said. Canada and the United States are both in the process of strengthening their nutraceuticals regulation, but neither country requires manufacturers to test their products for IOC-banned substances, said Joseph de Pencier, the director of sport services at the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport.

But some countries, such as the Netherlands, are organizing industry associations to certify the quality of the products, he said. "That model is likely the next wave here," he said. Pete Lemon, a health sciences professor at the University of Western Ontario, suggests governments should get more directly involved. "Government regulation in Canada and the U.S. isn't as strict as it needs to be," Lemon said. "We need to get these companies to confirm what's in their products, and show evidence they actually work."

For an athlete such as Hughes, it helps to know that at least one product in her medicine cabinet won't trigger a failed drug test. "I definitely feel a lot safer," she said. "Tainted substances have been an excuse for a lot of athletes. . . . I think there are a few cases where it is genuine, but that's why I'm so careful. I know if it were to happen to me and it was an accident, a lot of people would be like, yeah, right, sure you didn't know. So that's why you have to be so responsible."

Canada earns hard fought berth to 2005 World Junior Water Polo Championships.
(Canadian Sport News)

SAN SALVADOR- Canada won the silver medal in women’s competition while the Canadian men earned a crucial victory to earn a spot at next year’s world junior championships on Sunday to conclude the Pan American junior water polo championships.

In the women’s final, the U.S., defeated Canada 14-6. It was a rematch of last year’s final at the world junior championships which Canada won in a shootout. Canada only had one returning player from last year’s squad while the Americans had five returnees.

The Canadian women finished the tournament with seven wins and two losses, both defeats to the Americans. Krystina Alogbo of Montreal was the only returning player. The other team members were Joelle Bekhazi, Nadia Kvakic, Kaitlin Leonard, Katie Monton, Nessrine Sabri and Steph Valin, all of Dollard-des-Ormeaux; Alex Dionne of Ste-Foy, Que.; Carmen Eggens and Kerry Kaukinnen of Vancouver, Whitney Genoway of Regina and Melanie Laroche and Johannie Morisseau of Montreal.

Canada easily clinched a berth for the women’s world juniors this January in Perth, Australia by finishing in the top-four. Brazil won the bronze medal.

In men’s play, Canada beat Colombia 10-8 to finish fifth and grab the last available spot for the men’s world juniors set for October 2005. The Canadians went 2-2 in round robin and won their two playoff matches to achieve their number-one goal at the tournament.

Justin Oliveira of Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Kevin Graham of Regina, and Clem Hui of Vancouver, were the three returnees from last year’s world junior squad. Other Canadian team members were Adam Tittley, Tommy Baker and Mohammed El-Sakkary of Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Bradley Ward of Saanich, B.C., Brandon Jung, Thomas Courtemanche and Alex Demner of Vancouver and Curtis Petersen and Steven Ardell of Calgary.

The U.S., won the gold medal with Brazil second and Argentina third.

Calgary’s Earle Connor heads to Germany with world records on his mind.
(Canadian Sport News)

CALGARY- Earle Connor, Canada’s amazing amputee sprinter, heads to Germany this week to the scene of some of his greatest triumphs.

The Calgary resident and winner this year of the Laureus World Sport Award as the best athlete with a disability in the world, plans to race the 100 and 200-metre events at a IAAF competition in Leverkusen, Germany on August 1. Connor holds the world mark in both events.

Last year at a meet at Levekursen, he clocked 12.14 seconds in the 100 to smash his previous mark of 12.56 set in August 2001. In the 200 he clocked 26.66 seconds to break his previous mark of 26.96 also set in 2001. He would later lower his 200 mark to 26.39. He also beat 400 mark that same day in Leverkusen but lost it later in 2003.

‘’Those races are right down my alley,’’ said Connor, who turns 28 next Friday. ‘’It’s going to be extremely special to go back there. It’s a good town for me and I’ve spent the last eight weeks getting my body ready to run fast there.’’

‘’The event falls on a perfect day as well for my Paralympic preparation. What I’ll do is repeat the same training formula I used to peak for the Leverkusen for leading into Athens. So this is a big test for me for the actual big show.’’

‘I’m going faster than I ever have right now, so I’m pretty excited.’’

Connor lost his left leg at three months because of a problem with his fibula but that didn’t deter him from excelling in abled-bodied sports as a youngster. He was a standout hockey player reaching the highest levels in Saskatoon where he grew up. He was also an excellent first baseman in baseball and a sought-after doubles partner in tennis.

But watching the 1996 Paralympics, the multi-sport Games for athletes with a disability, on TV changed his life.

‘’At that time I thought the Paralympics was just a participation thing,’’ said Connor, who runs with a state-of-the-art prosthesis. ‘’But I realized these
guys are high level and very skilled athletes. I made a few phone calls and immediately got involved in running. I guess it took me a while to find the right sport.’’

At the 2000 Paralympic in Sydney, Connor won gold in the 100 in a world record time and was second in the 200. ‘’I want two gold this time,’’ said Connor. ‘’I’m going in much better prepared. Back in 2000 I only had my coach Les Gramantik for a year, so he didn’t know me. But now we’ve known each other for five years and we have a comfortable fit. I’m doing
exercises and physiological things that I never did before Sydney.’’

After the German meet, Connor returns to Canada to prepare for the Canadian Paralympic Championships August 6-8 in Edmonton.

The 2000 Paralympic Games, a multi sport event for athletes with a disability traditionally held in the same host city as the Olympic Games, are this September in Athens.

Cooling vests will help Canadian athletes beat the heat at Olympic Games.
(Trail Daily Times)

VANCOUVER (CP) -- Canadian athletes will try to beat the searing heat at next month's Olympic Games in Athens with a cooling vest developed by a sports physiologist at the PacificSport Centre in Victoria.

Daily highs in Athens could reach 35 to 40 C, sapping strength and fluids from athletes like a sponge, said Dr. Gordon Sleivert, the centre's director of sport science and medicine. The lightweight vests, or thermo blazers, are filled with a gel that is chilled in a freezer. The vests are worn over an athlete's upper body during warmup prior to their event to lower their core body temperature, said Sleivert.

"If you wear that for up to an hour before your event, it keeps the skin cool and conserves fluid by reducing sweat rate," he said in a telephone interview from Penticton, B.C., where Olympic triathletes are participating in heat endurance training. "When athletes warm up with the thermo blazer on, it attenuates the rise that was see in deep body core temperatures. They start an event cooler than they normally would be. "That translates into performance enhancements and is safer for the athletes because they are not as hot."

Think of standing in a walk-in freezer to cool down before mowing the lawn on a blistering hot day. "That's one method people have used to pre-cool athletes," Sleivert chuckled. "Unfortunately, there's not a lot of walk-in freezers at the Olympics."

The Canadian Olympic Committee has ordered about 110 of the cooling vests for Athens. Besides triathletes, members of Canada's rowing team have used the vests in a training camp. Sleivert said mountain bikers, race walkers, softball players, marathon runners and canoe-kayak racers would also benefit from the vests. "Anybody that has to hang around in a hot environment before an event, even the swimmers that are in a venue that is uncovered, can keep themselves cool by wearing these things," he said.

The concept of cooling vests isn't new. As far back as the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Australian athletes used ice jackets. Sleivert spent a decade working in New Zealand, where he helped develop a cooling vest Kiwi athletes used at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur. He returned to Canada in 2000 to work at the University of New Brunswick.

U.S. college football teams have used cooling vests while clubs in the Australian Football League use them to battle heat stress. Australian cricketers will wear specially made ice vests and neckties to overcome the sub-continental heat during an October Test series against India.

Athletes from other countries will have cooling vests at the Games, but Sleivert thinks the Canadian design is superior. "We think we have the best cooling vest in the world," he said confidently. "Certainly our research would back up the fact it enhances performance in extreme environments."
The vests are comparable in cost "to a pair of running shoes," said Sleivert.
They weigh less than two kilograms, are form fitting and very flexible. "These don't get in the way of athletes performing their warmups," he said.