KNABE BREAKS DAVIS' LAST REMAINING CANADIAN RECORD

WINNIPEG, CAN--Morgan Knabe broke Victor Davis' last remaining Canadian record Sunday as he lowered the national mark in the men's 200-metre breaststroke at the 2002 Commonwealth trials in Winnipeg.

Morgan Knabe(Reuters)

Knabe, who led a group of 45 Canadian swimmers that qualified for the Games July 25-August 4 in Manchester, England, clocked two minutes and 13.29 seconds to eclipse the 2:13.34 Davis swam in his gold medal performance at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. Knabe now holds all six Canadian men's breaststroke records in both the short course and long course pools, after rewriting the 100m Canadian and Commonwealth records earlier in the weekend. "It's very special to get that record," said Knabe, who was also named the Swimming Canada OMEGA swimmer of the year for 2001. "Victor was one of my idols and to now have all the breaststroke records feels kind of weird. But I was happy with my swim tonight because it shows my 200 is starting to develop quite nicely. I'm learning how to finish the race properly."

Meanwhile, Erin Gammel appeared to be back on track following an impressive win in the women's 100 backstroke in 1:02.84, her best time in two years. Gammel was among Canada's top-two backstrokers between 1998 and 2000 reaching a peak with a bronze medal in the 100 backstroke at the 1999 world short course championships. But she failed to make the Olympic team in 2000 and has struggled since then.

"I haven't been this happy about a swim in over two years," said the 22-year-old. "I think I proved that if you continue to believe in yourself it really works. I'm just happy that I'm back."

In an exciting men's 200 freestyle, Rick Say took the gold in 1:48.88 edging Mark Johnston who clocked 1:48.96. "I was really worried about that last 100 because I knew it wasn't going to feel good, said Say, the Canadian record holder in the event. "But I'm happy I made the standard and achieved my goal for this competition." It was the first time in Canadian swimming that two men had gone under 1:49 in a 200 freestyle.

Rick Say

The final team roster for the Games includes established stars such Knabe, Marianne Limpert of Montreal and Mike Mintenko of Vancouver as well as some young promising talent such 16-year-old Tobias Oriwol of Toronto, the youngest member on the team, and Jennifer Fratesi, 17, of Waterloo, Ont. The team also includes five swimmers with a disability marking the first time a major Games will include official events for athletes with a disability. Nominated to the Commonwealth Games team from Calgary were Knabe, Curtis Myden, Say, Kristy Cameron, Dena Durand, and Gammel.

SHEWFELT EARNS TWO BRONZE AT GYMNASTICS WORLD CUP

COTTBUS, GER--Kyle Shewfelt earned a second bronze medal Sunday at a World Cup gymnastics competition in Germany, placing third in the men's vault. He won his first bronze in the floor event on Saturday.

Shewfelt made small mistakes on both his final vaults, taking a step forward each time. He missed a berth in the super final and an opportunity to go for gold by a mere 0.031 points. "Kyle's been competing against the top guys in the worlds the past couple of years and he showed this weekend that he fits in," said Shewfelt's coach Kelly Manjak. "Actually he was a bit disappointed because he didn't quite stick the vaults. He's a perfectionist."

Shewfelt, 19, was ranked eighth on floor during the 2000 World Cup season in which he also competed at the Sydney Olympics and placed an impressive 12th. The next World Cup event is in October in Paris.

MORGAN WINS BRONZE AT JUDO GRAND PRIX

ROME, ITA--Keith Morgan won a bronze medal Sunday in men's 90 kilo class action at a judo Grand Prix in Rome.

Morgan won his opening bout but then lost to David Bouzouklian of France in a match where he felt the referees made a questionable call on the winning point. He fought his way back in the repechage to win his next three bouts to place third. In the bronze medal match Morgan defeated Timothy Pedus of Belgium to earn his second bronze medal this season. "It wasn't my best ever tournament," said Morgan, who was fifth at the 2000 Olympics. "I struggled through some of my matches. I managed to come through but it wasn't easy. I was behind Pedus early because he had some new techniques he caught me off guard with."

Morgan in action last year.

The next stop on the Grand Prix is next weekend in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

CANADA WINS OPENING MATCH AT COMMONWEALTH
WATER POLO CHAMPIONSHIPS

MANCHESTER, UK-- Joanne Begin of Ste-Foy, Que., scored three goals to lead Canada to a harder than expected 4-2 win over England in its opening round robin match in women's play Sunday at the inaugural Commonwealth Water Polo Championships.

"We were a little bit rusty considering it's been awhile since we played," said Canadian coach Ahmed El-Awadi. "The game was challenging because of the number of take outs against us but that is to be expected when we're in the opposition's home pool. Our defence was extremely strong."

England, which trailed 3-1 at the half, scored only once in 11 power play opportunities. The women's tournament is comprised of five countries. It's a round robin format with the top-four teams advancing to the semifinals. Canada is the top-ranked team after winning the bronze last year at the world championships. The next match is Monday against world number-five Australia then March 26 against Northern Ireland and March 27 against South Africa. The semifinals are March 30 and the final March 31. Cora Campbell is the only team member from Calgary

Canadian team members for the men are Garrett Head of Hamilton, Robin Randall of Regina, Dusan Lazeravic and Adam Deffett of Toronto, Kevin Mitchell, Iain Lark and Thomas Marks of Vancouver, Kent Hardisty of Calgary, Ted Bader of Guelph, Ont., Vladimir Cosic of Calgary, Mike Gordon and Nathaniel Miller of Dollard-des-Ormeaux, and Mikael Sabo of Laval, Que. The men's national team is based in Calgary and will play their first game Tuesday against Northern Ireland.

"This is the major event for the men's national team for 2002," said Heather Kaulbach, Chief Executive Officer for Water Polo Canada. "We had some disappointing results last year at the world championships and the World University Games but we feel the men are ready to challenge for the medal podium. The team is a excellent mix of veterans and young players. Garrett Head is a world class netminder who has been playing professionally in Italy and Australia the last few years. Team Canada could certainly be the surprise team of this event."

CANADIAN NORDIC TEAM FINISHES STRONG IN WORLD CUP FINAL

LILLEHAMMER, NOR--The Canadian Nordic women's team wrapped up their historic best-ever season at the final World Cup event, the Norwegian Birkebeiner over the weekend.

The historic race, which attracted over 9,000 participants, proved to be a great way for the dynamic women's team to finish. "It felt good to have solid results today to finish off a year that has been so great," said Amanda Fortier. Fortier and her sister Jaime led a strong Canadian presence at the world-renowned event finishing 26th and 28th respectively, followed by Milaine Theriault in 29th, and Sara Renner in 31st. The Birkebeiner covers 58km from Rena to Lillehammer. It is run each year in commemoration of the epic journey of two Birkebeiner warriors who carried two-year old Prince Hakon Hakonsson over the mountains to safety in 1206 during a Norwegian civil war. The race is considered by many cross-country ski enthusiasts to be the pinnacle event of Nordic skiing, and it attracts thousands of Norwegian and international participants each year.

Enacting the historic Birkebeiner journey

Beckie Scott did not race as she returned to Canada last week. The remaining women's team returns to Canada on Monday for some well-deserved rest. They resume training for next season in approximately one month.

JOHNSON RETIRES FROM FREESTYLE COMPETITION

CORNER BROOK, NFLD--Ryan Johnson announced his retirement following his bronze medal performance in the dual moguls competition at the Canadian Championships competition in Corner Brook over the weekend.

"It's going to be hard to retire because I just had the best season of my life," said Johnson, who won a World Cup this season in addition to placing seventh at last month's Olympics.

Ryan Johnson

Jennifer Heil fell short in her bid for a third straight women's national dual moguls title after losing her semi-final to Sylvia Kerfoot. Kerfoot emerged second, while Heil won the bronze-medal match against Stephanie St-Pierre. "It would have been nice," said Heil, 18, of a possible third straight duals crown."Three of my four runs were amazing and my coach (Dominick Gauthier) says one of them would have won a World Cup. I was disappointed I wasn't in the final, but there was some great skiing,"added Heil, admitting she's emotionally and mentally exhausted after a season that included a World Cup win and fourth at the Olympics.

The aerials finals were postponed from Saturday to Sunday, due to high winds. But high winds still prevailed, gusting up to 80 kilometres per hour, forcing cancellation of the men's aerials. The women's final went ahead, but some aerialists chose not to jump.

Melissa Prefontaine did compete, and was second upon returning to the nationals, after two years' absence due to major injuries. "This was my have-fun, and see-how-it-goes season," said Prefontaine, 22. "It means more (than the silver medal) that I made it back here and I'm walking away healthy," said Prefontaine, who suffered a lacerated liver two seasons ago, and broke her femur in competition last season. Olympic bronze medallist Deidra Dionne was fourth.

ROY SCORES HAT TRICK

WHISTLER, BC--Jean-Philippe Roy won his third consecutive giant slalom title last Wednesday at the Pontiac GMC Canadian Championships.

Roy, 23, finished first in a two-run time of two minutes, 42.08 seconds. Ryan Oughtred, was second, 69-hundredths of a second behind. "I was going for my third title in GS so I'm pretty happy," said Roy, "It's a long course and you get pretty tired. It makes you work hard all the way down." The GS course dropped 440 metres on the Dave Murray Downhill track and conditions were ideal in cold temperatures under bright blue skies. Oughtred, the 1997 super-G champion, was celebrating his return to the podium at nationals.

Roy

"Today was pretty satisfying. I didn't have a lot of confidence coming in, but I just skied solid and tried not to make too many mistakes," Oughtred said, with a trademark grin on his face. "I've been smiling most of the year and I've been skiing pretty slow. Going faster and smiling feels a lot better."

Michael Janyk cruised home as top junior, placing fourth overall in 2:46.10 to win his third Canadian junior title this year and fourth of his young career. Janyk, 19, repeated as junior slalom champion and also won the super-G and GS titles during this competition. He's the first Canadian male to win three junior titles in the same year.

IN THE NEWS.....

CONNOR UP FOR WORLD SPORT AWARD

CALGARY, AB-Paralympic sprinter Earle Connor has been nominated for a Laureus World Sport Award - the Oscar of the sporting world.

Earle Connor in action.

"It's huge," says Connor - the current world record holder in the 100m, 200m and 400m for above-knee amputees. "It is the largest sports show in the world. It's the Oscars and Grammy's of sports. I'm going to have to rent a nice tuxedo." Connor is nominated for World Sportsperson of the year with a disability alongside Heidi Andreasen (Faroe Islands - swimming), Gerd Schonfelder (Germany - alpine skiing), Beat Schwarzenbach (Switzerland - cycling), and Esther Vergeer (Netherlands - wheelchair tennis). The awards show will take place on May 14 at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco under the high patronage of HSH Prince Albert of Monaco. It will be broadcast to over one billion homes in 170 countries.

Connor will be joined by the likes of cyclist Lance Armstrong, golfer Tiger Woods, fellow Canadian and hockey player Mario Lemieux, tennis players Jennifer Capriati and Venus Williams, and sprinter Maurice Greene among others. More info.....

PETER LOUGHEED AND BILL WARREN TO RECEIVE
CANADIAN OLYMPIC ORDER

EDMONTON, CAN--Two distinguished and accomplished Canadians who have made outstanding contributions to the Olympic Movement and to Olympic ideals will receive the COA Canadian Olympic Order next month in Edmonton.

Former Alberta Premier Peter Lougheed has been involved in the Olympic movement for more than three decades. He began as chair of the Calgary bid committee vying for the 1968 Winter Games and was the honourary chair of Calgary's XV Olympic Games Organizing Committee. In 1999, Mr. Lougheed was named to the IOC 2000 Commission - the influential 82 member committee which provided 50 recommendations to reform the International Olympic Committee.

Bill Warren was President of the Canadian Olympic Association for two terms - from 1994 to 2001. Strong leadership, clear direction and a focus on clear goals characterized his terms in office. Mr. Warren was also a key figure in Calgary's successful bid to host the 1988 Olympic Winter Games, and is the past chairman of the Calgary Olympic Development Association. Throughout his involvement with the Olympic Movement, Mr. Warren has always focused on the Canadian athlete and led the change for greater distribution of COA funds to athletes and their coaches.

"Both of these great Canadians are sportsmen in the truest sense of the word", notes Canadian Olympic Association CEO Jim Thompson. "They are men of dignity, honour and dedication. We're very proud to present them with the Canadian Olympic Order."

The Canadian Olympic Order is accorded to those individuals who have made the Olympic Movement their life's work and have served it with distinction. It has only been given to 17 other Canadians, including Richard Pound, Silken Laumann, Frank King and the late Carol Anne Letheren and Père Marcel de la Sablonnière.

Mr. Warren and Mr. Lougheed will be presented with the Canadian Olympic Order in Edmonton on Friday, April 19th at the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame Induction Dinner. For more information on obtaining tickets to this gala event, contact the Champions Together office at 780-420-4054. All proceeds of the dinner will benefit Canadian Olympians.

ALBERTA SPORT HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES ANNOUNCED

CALGARY, AB--The Alberta Sports Hall of Fame, located in Red Deer, AB, announced their 2002 Inductees last week at the Olympic Oval in Calgary. The group of sport movers and shakers will be officially inducted at a dinner to be held on May 24 in Red Deer.

Including on the list were diver Eryn Bulmer who is a two time Olympian, 12 time National Champion and has won 21 international medals, and Diane Jones Konihowski who is the former Vice-President of Marketing and Director of Public Relations at the CSCC, and who was the Chef de Mission of the 2000 Sydney Olympic team.

Also to be inducted are Tony Anselmo, Barry House, Frank W. King, Cody Snyder, the University of Alberta Panda's volleyball team(1994-95 to 1999-2000), E.B. "Ole" Olson, Terry Jones (Bell Memorial Award), and Jason John Zuback (Achievement Award).

ATHLETE IN PROFILE:
Chris Rodway - Paralympic standing Volleyball
By CSCC Practicum student - Kristy Brown

On a warm spring day in Sydney, Australia at the 2000 Summer Paralympic Games, Chris Rodway and his team proudly accepted their silver medals for men's standing volleyball. What's so difficult to believe is that he hadn't even tried the sport less than one year earlier.

While playing soccer for the Mount Royal College Cougars, Chris was approached by Team Canada Paralympic Volleyball coach Calvin Aubin about giving the sport a try. The next thing he knew, he had flown to Toronto for a training camp and was off to Europe to play in exhibition games and finally to Sydney to cap off a whirlwind 9-month long tour. "It all happened pretty much out of the blue," he says. Not bad for a 19 year-old accounting major from Calgary.

Although he was born without his left arm below the elbow, Chris participated in many sports, with hockey and soccer his favourites. He played soccer for Mount Royal for 2 years. He's managed to never let his disability "manage" him. He can drive a car, play hockey and he even has a mean spike.

In the paralympics, there are two types of volleyball: standing and sitting. Sitting volleyball is played with players seated on the floor and using a lower net. Standing volleyball encompasses the rules of able-bodied volleyball. With a couple of exceptions: Since there are varying levels of disability, players are classified as either A, B, or C. An 'A' player has minimal disability, such as missing fingers on a hand. A 'B' player is one who has a prosthesis below the elbow or knee, and a 'C' player has a prosthesis above the elbow or knee. At all times, a team must have at least one C player, but only one A player on the court. Chris is a B player.

The Canadian team had an excellent paralympics - losing only twice, on both occasions to 4-time defending champion Germany. In fact, they became the most successful Canadian volleyball team (able-bodied included) in history. Still, silver was a bit of a disappointment. "We were the strongest, we hit the hardest - they (the Germans) were just more consistent. They didn't make any mistakes," says Chris. Unfortunately, there were other challenges that arose in Sydney - this time off the court.

The International Paralympic Committee decided to discontinue standing volleyball in future Paralympics - opting instead to add a women's sitting volleyball tournament to the program in Athens in 2004. Although the decision was appealed, the appeal was turned down last December. Chris now has some decisions of his own to make. Does he continue to play a sport whose highest award is a world title and not a paralympic one? The answer seems simple enough. Chris loves to compete. "I just want to play as many sports as I can at a high level. I would love to compete in both the summer and the winter Paralympics."