GILL LEADS CANADIAN JUDOKAS BACK TO COMMONWEALTH GAMES

OTTAWA-Double Olympic medallist Nicolas Gill of Montreal leads an experienced nine-member Canadian judo team announced for the 2002 Commonwealth Games July 25-August 4 in Manchester, England.

Keith Morgan of Calgary will be on the Canadian Judo team to compete in the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England.

Joining Gill on the men's side are Daniel-Guillaume Simard of Alma, Que., in 60 kilos, Jean-Francois Marceau of Sept-Iles, Que., in 73 kilos and two-time Olympian Keith Morgan of Calgary in 90 kilos. Gill competes in 100 kilos. Gill, a bronze medallist at the 1992 Olympics and silver medallist in 2000, enjoyed a banner 2001 season winning several major titles including the Grand Prix crown and the Francophone Games. "Having judo back at the Commonwealth Games is great for the sport," said Gill, a 10-time national champion."For the athletes it's always an exceptional experience at major games to meet other athletes in different sports. Plus it gives our sport some additional exposure."

On the women's side, it's Carolyne Lepage of Varennes, Que., in 48 kilos, Aminata Sall of Montreal in 52 kilos, Luce Baillargeon of Montreal in 57 kilos, Marie-Helene Chisholm of Port-Cartier, Que., in 70 kilos and Jacynthe Maloney of Port-Cartier in 78 kilos.

Chisholm has been one the hottest Canadian judokas lately. She won gold at the Francophone Games last year and added international victories at the U.S., Open, Rendez-Vous Canada and most recently the Bulgarian Open.

"All the hard work I've put into the sport is starting to pay off," said the four-time national champion. "And the experience I've gained over the years is also playing a big role. I'm just getting better."

Andrzej Sadej, the high performance director for Judo Canada, expects Canada will do very well at the Games.

"All of our athletes have strong medal hopes with Gill and Morgan the top contenders for gold for the men and Marie-Helene and Luce for the women," he said. "The women's competition will be especially tough since the British team is one of the strongest in the world when we compete at the Olympics and world championships"

Marg McGregor, Canada's Chef de Mission, is thrilled to have judo back in the Commonwealth fold."

Judo was in the Commonwealth Games once before, in 1990, when the Games were held in Auckland, New Zealand . It's great news for Canada to have judo in the Games again," said McGregor.

"We hope to take home several more medals with this very seasoned team. At the 1990 Games, Canada won 10 medals in judo."

MYDEN RETURNS, CANADIAN WOMEN SWEEP GOLD AT MEL ZAJAC INTERNATIONAL

VANCOUVER(Canadian Sports News) - Triple Olympic medallist Curtis Myden of Calgary raced for the first time in 10 months Friday and placed third in the men's 400-metre individual medley at the Mel Zajac Jr. International Swim Meet.

Myden, who's been out of action due to a back injury, faced a tough field in his return. American star Tom Wilkens, the 200 IM Olympic bronze medallist in Sydney, won the race in four minutes and 21.97 seconds while Brian Johns of Vancouver, one of Canada's fastest rising stars, was second in 4:23.99. Myden followed in 4:26.52.

Curtis Myden returned from back injuries and perform well enough to place third in his specialty - to 400m Individual Medley.

"It went pretty well but I got a little tired in the last 100-metres," said Myden, 29, who had a bulged disc which kept him out of the pool for nearly four months. "I've got some work to do over the next two months to get ready for the Commonwealth Games. It wasn't an easy way to start with Tom and Brian, two of the top IM'ers in the world."

Johns, the Canadian university male athlete of the year this season and a silver medallist at the world championships in April, is currently the top-ranked IM swimmer in the Commonwealth.

"This meet for me is like step number-one in a 10-step process towards the Commonwealth Games," said Johns, 19. "To swim at the level I did tonight is very pleasing at this point in my training. I'm continually working on my breaststroke to bring it up to a better international level and continuing to develop my endurance."

Morgan Knabe of Calgary took the 100m breaststroke

Canadian women swept the gold in all six races: the winners were Alison Sheppard of Duncan, B.C., in the 50 butterfly; Erin Gammel of Calgary in the 200 backstroke; Jessica Deglau of Vancouver in the 200 freestyle; Rhiannon Leier of Winnipeg in the 200 breaststroke; Annamay Pierse of Edmonton in the 400 IM and the UBC Pacific Dolphins in the 4X100 freestyle relay. Canadian male winners were Mike Mintenko of Vancouver in the 50 butterfly; Morgan Knabe of Calgary in the 100 breaststroke; Brent Hayden of Vancouver in the 200 freestyle and the Pacific Dolphins in the relay.

COMMONWEALTH MEMBERS ANNOUNCED AT GYMNASTICS NATIONALS

WINNIPEG (Canadian Sports News) - Vanessa Meloche of Montreal won gold on uneven bars, placed second on vault and assured herself a berth on the Commonwealth Games team Saturday at the Canadian gymnastics championships.

In the senior women's event finals Saturday, Meloche placed first on uneven bars with a 9.225. Heather Purnell of Metcalfe, Ont., second all around on Thursday, was second and Amanda Gering of Edmonton third.

On vault, Jholeen Ponce of Winnipeg was the winner with a 9.150 while Meloche and Lydia Williams of Toronto tied for second. Danielle Hicks of Oshawa, Ont., the all around champion, also added two more medals. She posted a 9.275, the best score of the day, to win on floor. Teri Gibson of Burlington, Ont., was second and Breanna King of Vancouver third.

Kylie Stone of Calgary is in contention for he final spot on the Canadian Gymnastics team

Ashley Peckett of Mississauga took the beam event with a 9.025 followed by Jennifer Simbhudas of Toronto and Hicks. Hicks and Purnell had qualified for the Commonwealth Games team placing 1-2 all around on Thursday. Meloche and Kate Richardson of Vancouver were added to the team by a selection committee Saturday based on performances at the nationals and previous competitions. The fifth and final spot is still to be determined between Kylie Stone of Calgary and Jennifer Simbhudas of Toronto.

On the men's side, Richard Ikeda of Abbotsford, B.C., David Kikuchi, Halifax and Kyle Shewfelt, Calgary guaranteed themselves a berth Friday placing 1-2-3 all around. Added Saturday by the selection committee were Grant Golding of Calgary and Brandon O'Neill of Edmonton. Alexander Jeltkov, Montreal is the alternate.

JOHNS BEATS OLYMPIC BRONZE MEDALLIST AT INTERNATIONAL MEET

VANCOUVER- Brian Johns of Vancouver beat Olympic bronze medallist Tom Wilkens of the U.S., Saturday for the gold medal in the men's 200-metre individual medley at the Mel Zajac International Swim Meet.

Johns, who grabbed the lead for good at the 100-metre mark, clocked two minutes and 04.54 seconds. Markus Rogan of the US, was second in 2:04.90 and Wilkens, the 400 IM winner Friday, was third in 2:05.00.

Meanwhile Johns continues to deliver strong performances. He was the Canadian university male athlete of the year this season and in April won a silver medal at the world short course swimming championships.

"We're in training stage right now and I'm feeling pretty tired," said Johns, 19. I really had to go out there and get after it. After the backstroke leg I pretty much held on for dear life. At the start of the year I put extremely high expectations on myself and I continue to do that today."

Other Canadian winners in men's competition were Morgan Knabe of Calgary in the 200 breaststroke, Mike Mintenko of Vancouver in the 100 butterfly and Riley Janes of Toronto in the 50 backstroke.

Kristy Cameron took the 200m Individual Medley

The Canadian women remained unbeaten after two days of competition. Jessica Deglau of Vancouver added her second and third victories of the meet placing first in the 100 butterfly and 400 freestyle. On Friday she won the 200 freestyle. "I try to go as fast as I can all the time," said Leier, a finalist at the world championships last year. "It's certainly the best time I've posted while in training so I'm happy about that."

Other Canadian winners in women's competition were Alison Sheppard of Duncan, BC, in the 50 freestyle, Michelle Lischinsky of Winnipeg in the 50 backstroke and Kristy Cameron of Calgary in the 200 IM.