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CROSS COUNTRY SKIERS POST MORE 'BEST-EVERS' ON ROUTE TO SALT LAKE

ASIAGO, ITA--Beckie Scott skied to a bronze medal in a World Cup cross-country sprint race before Christmas to lead a strong Canadian contingent to their best-ever performance in the sport.

Beckie Scott in action -CP

"Things are going really well this season," said Scott. "This was what I was looking forward to and hoping for when I started the World Cup season, to open with really good results. And it's happening, so I know everything is on track. I'm just looking forward to more. For sure, this is a real boost going into the Olympics. My goal is to just perform the best I've ever performed, hopefully, and we'll see what the results bring." Milaine Theriault finished eighth, while Sara Renner was ninth.

COACH: Dave Wood

SKATERS POST NEW RECORDS AT OLYMPIC TRIALS

CALGARY, CAN--Cindy Klassen became only the third woman in the world to break the seven-minute barrier in the women's 5,000 metres at the Canadian single distance long track speed skating championships and Olympic trials held before Christmas. Meanwhile, Dustin Molicki lowered national records in the 1500, 5000 and 10,000.

Klassen won the 5,000 race in a blistering 6:59.24 to demolish the previous Canadian mark of 7:10.52 set last season by Kristina Groves. Clara Hughes skated the fourth fastest time ever with an eye-popping 7:00.10 while Groves was third in 7:05.23. "I was very surprised with the time," said Klassen, who has also qualified for the Games in the 1,000, 1,500 and 3,000. "I've never been that strong in this event because my shins usually start to flare up on me. But today I was much more comfortable."

Klassen in action last season(Reuters/Jerry Lampen)

Hughes, a bronze medal winner in cycling at the 1996 Olympics, continued her astonishing rise in speed skating since switching sports after the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney. In Salt Lake she will become one of the few Canadian athletes to compete in both a Summer and Winter Games. "When our opposition in Europe see these times they're going to go 'Oh my God'," said Hughes. "I mean this is our Olympic trials. I can't believe this has happened this early. My race felt so good that I know I can go faster. My goal is to peak for the Olympics."

Molicki skating to a World Cup silver earlier this season.

In the men's 10,000, Molicki clocked 13:34.58 to lower the 13:42.12 he skated last season. Arne Dankers was second at 13:44.11 and Jamie Ivey third at 13:45.01. Molicki won a World Cup silver in the 1,500 earlier this season and right now it's his best event. But he showed during these trials that he could be a force in the longer distances in the future. "I consider myself an all-round skater," said Molicki. "Right now I'm labelled as a 1,500 racer but my plan is to change all that." Canada's sprint team (the 500 and 1,000-metre events) is now set for the Olympics: for the men it's Patrick Bouchard, Mike Ireland and Jeremy Wotherspoon in both the 500 and 1,000-metres while Eric Brisson, qualified in the 500 and Kevin Marshall in the 1,000.

For the women, Catriona Le May Doan and Susan Auch will race both the 500 and 1,000 and Cindy Klassen the 1,000. Klassen is also qualified in the 1,500, 3,000 and 5,000. The longer distance entries will be finalized after the World Cup in Heerenveen, the Netherlands in January.

COACHES: Sean Ireland, Mike Marshall, Moira D'Andrea, Margo Fraser, Xiuli Wang.

HEIL WINS WORLD CUP BRONZE

OBERSTDORF, GER--The Canadian women mogullists overshadowed their traditionally stronger male counterparts on the World Cup freestyle ski circuit last Saturday.

Jennifer Heil, 18, turned in one of her best performances ever to produce a bronze medal and her third medal in less than two World Cup seasons. Heil collected one silver and one bronze medal in her rookie World Cup season a year ago, in addition to a seventh place at the world championships. However, this season had started uneventfully. "The first two contests hadn't gone very well. I hadn't made finals, but today I just got back to basics and everything came together, and felt great all day," said Heil, who placed third behind two Americans -- winner Shannon Bahrke of Tahoe City, Calif., and silver medallist Hannah Hardaway.

It seemed like the placing Heil was meant to have. With her mother Heather watching from the sidelines, several teammates noticed after the race the Alberta teenager was wearing a t-shirt bearing a large No. 3.

The final two pre-Olympic qualifying World Cups for the Canadian mogullists take place next weekend in France. The aerials team will compete in back-to-back World Cups at Mont Tremblant the same Jan. 12-13 weekend.

COACHES: Dominick Gauthier, Bob Aldighieri

GRANDI POSTS SECOND-BEST WORLD CUP RESULT

KRANJSKA GORA, SLO--Thomas Grandi came up with the second-best World Cup result of his career, placing sixth at a giant slalom race in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia before Christmas. Grandi put in two strong runs and finished with a two-run time of two minutes 2.46 seconds. Grandi went on to finish 17th in the giant slalom at Abeldon in Switzerland on January 4th.

Grandi, the only Canadian male to have scored a podium finish in a World Cup GS in December 1997 (3rd, Park City, Utah), started strongly this season with a top-15 finish in Val D'Isere, France but then slipped back to a disappointing 25th in Alta Badia, Italy. "I made a bad mistake in Badia, but my intermediate times were fine so I knew I was on the right track," said the Canmore, Alberta resident. "This time, I went for a more solid first run because I absolutely wanted to come through."

Grandi in Abeldon(ACA)

"I wasn't too satisfied with my 25th place so I gave it my best in the afternoon. I felt strong and I definitely wanted to improve my standings at the end of the day."

HEAD COACH: Luca Ribetti / Thierry Meynet

SIMARD GETS FINAL NOD FOR SALT LAKE CITY

ST. MORITZ, SUI--Genevieve Simard was Canada's top performer in the Super-G at St. Moritz on December 21, finishing 8th. The 21-year-old was the last racer of the day, wearing bib #64, but scorched the course in 1:27.44, just 1.26 seconds off the winners time. With the result, Simard has now met the team's criteria in Super-G for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games.

Simard in Maribor (ACA)

The Val Morin, QC native first recorded an 11th-place finish in a Super-G at Lake Louise and now has two top-13 results in that discipline, enabling her to visit Salt Lake City this February. The result also earned her the Winterthur Newcomer of the race award for the second time this season. The $1,000 award goes to the racer with the highest bib number (above 45) that cracks the top-15.

Simard was ecstatic following the race, happy to have changed the emphasis of her season. "It's hard to explain," said Simard. "It's definitely a dream come true. As a child, I always dreamt of making it and it's always been something I've wanted to do. Entering this season, I knew that it would be a big task for me to qualify. Looking at my results from last year, I knew it would be a big step but also knew it was possible. It's been a great motivator for me this season."

Simard also led the way for the Canadian contingent on January 5th. Simard placed 18th with a combined time of 1:41.86. The result marked the first time Simard qualified and earned points in a slalom event.

COACH: Mark Sharp

PODIVINSKY & MCBEATH OFF THE PACE IN BORMIO

BORMIO, ITA--Edi Podivinsky placed 29th in the downhill on December 28 in Bormio, Italy in a time of 1:57.11. The 31-year-old was 2.78 seconds off the pace. For Podivinsky, who has three top-5 finishes and a podium (3rd, 1995), the result was definitely a disappointment. The Toronto, Ontario resident claimed he didn't have the right feeling on his skis today and was expecting much more from his run.

A technically demanding course, with very narrow turns, saw Canada's other racer, Darin McBeath slide off the course. He was not injured.

HEAD COACH: Peter Bosinger

TEAM CANADA FALLS TO USA

DETROIT, USA--Team Canada fell to Team USA 7-3 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan on Sunday afternoon. Canada remains winless vs. Team USA this season (0-7) but still have the upper hand on the all-time record vs. Team USA (27-21-0).

Canada jumped out to an early lead after Dana Antal stole the puck from USA player Julie Chu and scored shorthanded on a breakaway at the 5:27 mark of the first period. Team USA replied with five straight goals to take a 5-1 lead into the dressing room after period one. In the second period, Canada closed the gap to 5-3 with two goals in a 53 second span. Kelly Bechard's fourth goal of the season and Cassie Campbell's third made the score 5-3.

Natalie Darwitz, after coming out of the penalty box, scored a breakaway goal to give the Americans a 6-3 lead heading into the third period. Team USA added a final goal in the third period to make the final score 7-3. Tammy Lee Shewchuk was named Canada's player-of-the-game, while Shelley Looney took the honours for Team USA.

Sami Jo Small, who was pulled at the 16:45 mark of the first period, took the loss for Canada, stopping 13 of 17 shots. Kim St-Pierre, who replaced Small stopped 15 of 18 shots she faced. Today's game was Lori Dupuis' 100th all-time game as a member of Canada's National Women' s Team.

Both teams will now travel to Vancouver, BC for the "Final Faceoff" at 7:30pm PT/10:30pm ET on Tuesday, January 8, 2002 when they will face each other for the last time before the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah. Tuesday's game will be a 7:30pm (Pacific Time) start at General Motors Place, and will be broadcast LIVE in Canada on TSN/RDS

TOTH PLACES FIFTH AT SHORT TRACK WORLD JUNIORS

CHUNCHEON, KOR--Kylee Toth surprised herself with a fifth place finish in the 500-metre races Saturday at the world junior short track speed skating championships in South Korea.

In the women's 500, Meng Wang of China was the winner in 46.221, Soo-Yeon Yeo of South Korea second at 46.257 and Mile Zhu of China third at 46.432. Toth, 17, placed fifth at 46.600.

"I never expected to make a final this weekend," said Toth, 17, at her first international competition. "I'm pretty excited. I tried to skate smooth and stay as relaxed as possible just like any other race. But it wasn't just any other race." Wang is first overall while Toth stands eighth. Canada also advanced to the finals in both the men's and women's relays. Competition ends Sunday with the men's and women's 1,000, 1,500 and relays.

COACH: Yvon Deblois

ATHLETE PROFILE
Stacy Kohut - Disabled Alpine Skiing
By CSCC Practicum student - Kristie Pletsch

According to Stacy Kohut, our time on this planet is short, and each of us has a choice of how to spend that time. Kohut - Canadian, World, and Olympic disabled alpine ski champion, chooses to live in the now.

"When I ride, I'm in the now - and its real - its so real." Kohut is also a downhill mountain bike racer. "If I don't ride, I die," he says. "I die mentally, spiritually, physically, emotionally. I guess I just need that adrenaline to remind me why it's good to be here on this planet." Stacy says that sport balances his life, and gives it both structure and meaning. Not only does he compete at the world level in both alpine skiing and mountain biking, he also helped design the SITSKI for disabled skiers, is an advocate for the disabled, does public speaking, ran the skate park in Banff, and coaches 14-16 year old skiers. Kohut currently lives in Canmore, with his girlfriend of 10 years, Sara.

While he is always as independent as possible, Stacy says that he never feels like he has to prove himself to others. Sometimes he does get frustrated at the level of support for disabled athletes, but he says it's really all about perspective. "You know, life could be a lot worse right now. I'm up here in the mountains doing what I love - in the fresh air and the trees and the new snow. I'm just here, living in the now." "Flying down a mountain - on my ski or my bike - gives me wings. It lets me be totally free. Sometimes I think that people who can just ski down regularly miss out on this absolute freedom. Maybe I appreciate it more than regular people."

Kohut brought home gold from Lillehammer in 1994. He hopes to do the same in Salt Lake City.