Surin’s sprinting career ended at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England, where the Canadian 4x100-metre relay team finished fourth. “I’m moving on to a normal life,” said the Montreal native, an Olympic and world championship medallist, who filled the void between Ben Johnson’s embarrassment and Donovan Bailey’s triumph. “I’m happy it’s all over.”

Boswell, of Brampton, Ont., continued to show he could be Canada’s best threat for a track medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics. He won the high-jump gold medal at the Commonwealth Games, finished second in the overall standings of the IAAF Grand Prix series, and equalled his Canadian record of 2.35 metres.

Catriona's victory lap after winning the gold in Salt Lake - an image we'll always remember. (CP/Frank Gunn Photo)

SCOTT WINS THIRD WORLD CUP BRONZE,
RENNER RACES TO PERSONAL BEST

LINZ, AUSTRIA (CCC Release) - It was an exciting day for the Canadian National Cross Country Ski Team as Beckie Scott added a third World Cup bronze medal to her collection and Sara Renner raced to a personal best 8th in the World Cup skating sprint event held this evening in Linz, Austria.

Scott, an established power-house sprinter with two other bronze medals in this event, is continuing to produce consistent top-10 results in almost every race this World Cup season. Coming off a few days of illness, Scott is more than pleased with today’s result.“I had no expectations for today, really,” explained Scott. “I just needed to get some intensity workouts in for the weekend race, but the day ended up a lot better than anticipated.”

Renner, who placed 9th in the sprint event at the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, is quickly joining Scott among the world’s best cross-country ski racers. “I am really excited to be back up there,” commented Renner. “It’s nice to be getting back into the top ranks again.”

CONGRATULATIONS TO CATRIONA LE MAY DOAN, NAMED THE LOU MARSH AWARD WINNER on Tuesday, narrowly defeating NBA star Steve Nash.
The award, decided by a selected panel of sports editors and broadcasters,
is given annually to Canada’s outstanding athlete by the Toronto Star.
A second vote was needed to determine Le May Doan as the winner after she
and Nash, a native of Victoria, were tied in the first round of voting. The other finalists were: Cross-country skier Beckie Scott, pairs figure skaters Jamie Sale and David Pelletier, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Eric Gagne, short-track speed skater Marc Gagnon, cyclist and speed skater Clara Hughes, Doubles tennis player Daniel Nestor and hockey players Jarome Iginla and Steve Yzerman.
“People talk about us being a small country in terms of population, but
look at all the great athletes we have,” Le May Doan told the Toronto Sun
from China, where she’s sightseeing following World Cup events in Japan and
China. “This is one of my greatest honours.”

Lueders and Zardo at the Salt Lake Olympics. (CP/Mike Ridewood Photo)

Lueders and Zardo continue to register strong push starts, posting the third fastest starts on Friday. After four World Cup races, Pierre Lueders and Canada 1 are in 4th place overall in the 2-man Individual World Cup bobsleigh standings with 122 points.

The Canada 2 sled of pilot Jayson Krause, 25, of Okotoks, Alberta and brakeman Florian Linder, 24, of Morrin, Alberta, finished 18th. Krause is in 14th place overall in the 2-man Individual World Cup bobsleigh standings, in a field of 26 crews from 14 nations.

The 4-man Bobsleigh World Cup saw a major upset today. The Germany 3 sled of pilot Ruben Feisthauer, Ronny Listner, Norman Dannauer and Daniel Hoch-Kraft, won the gold medal, in their first start this season on the World Bobsleigh Tour.

IN THE NEWS...
OLYMPIC AND PARALYMPIC ATHLETES UNITE TO OPEN
INSPIRATIONAL MUSEUM EXHIBIT FOR CANADIAN YOUTH

CALGARY, AB (CODA Release) - Calgary-Medal-winning Canadian Olympians celebrated their 2002 success on Wednesday when they officially opened a unique new exhibit at CODA’s Olympic Hall of Fame and Museum, designed to showcase a heritage of excellence and inspire future generations of athletes.

The “Blood, Sweat and Cheers” exhibit is a visual tribute to Canada’s most successful Olympic and Paralympic teams ever - athletes who inspired a nation while capturing a record 32 medals at Salt Lake City.

“The Olympic Hall of Fame uniquely showcases Canadian sport excellence and serves as a spring board to future success,” said John Mills, president, CODA. “Blood, Sweat and Cheers allows Canadians to celebrate Olympic and Paralympic achievements, and offers an inspirational learning experience for future high-performance athletes.”

The exhibit showcases achievements, and displays personal memorabilia from athletes in every sport that Canada medalled in at the Games. Some highlights include:

TRIVIA: Archaeologists found this type of sporting equipment in an Egyptian child's grave dating back to 5200 B.C. Can you name the sport?
BONUS QUESTION: Which country was responsible for introducing the sport to North America? (See below for answers)

SCOTT IN GOOD STANDING AT WORLD CUP SPRINT

CLUSONE, ITALY (CCC Release) - Beckie Scott started her first World Cup sprint race of the season on a high note this morning when she placed 6th overall in the Women’s 1.4 km cross-country skate race held in Clusone, Italy.

Beckie Scott is in good shape to start the season after her phenomenal Olympic performance last year. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Photo)

Scott, who came fifth in the sprinting event at last winter’s Olympic Games, is pleased with her result. “I felt good in all the rounds,”says Scott. “It was a bit difficult to pass in some places though, because the snow was so sugary and I was getting boxed in.”

In the B-final, Scott came in second to Finnish sprinting specialist Pirjo Manninen from Finland. The A-final was won by Norwegian Marit Bjoergen, followed by Germany’s Claudia Kuenzel.

Other Canadian sprinters include Alberta’s Sara Renner in 25th place, narrowly missing the top-16 qualification cut-off, and Milaine Theriault, from New Brunswick, in 39th position.

The World Cup circuit moves to Cogne, Italy this weekend for the mass start
classical race on Saturday and another sprint event on Sunday.

Congratulations to the Canadian Freestyle Team for placing all moguls competitors in the finals at the World Cup in Italy this weekend. “That’s awesome,” says Canadian moguls coach Bob Aldighieri. “That means every single Canadian has made a final on this stop,” he says of the opening leg to the 2002-2003 season. “That’s really cool,” says team veteran Rochon, 28. “All the young guns coming on the team are making finals. That’s good for our sport in Canada.”

OLYMPIC UPDATE...
B.C. PREMIER AND UTAH GOVERNOR TOUT PAYOFFS
OF HOSTING OLYMPICS

VANCOUVER, B.C. (CP) - Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt says his state would host another Winter Olympics in a heartbeat, however, Vancouver city council voted Tuesday to hold a public vote on the issue in February.

Leavitt appeared at a leadership summit Tuesday as Premier Gordon Campbell continued to promote British Columbia's bid for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Leavitt said everything improved in Utah leading up to this year's Winter Games in Salt Lake City. He said the Games produced a net surplus of more than $100 million. "Traffic systems got better, our law enforcement learned to work together better, the service in our restaurants got better,'' he said.

" It was not an easy experience. It stretched us but in the final analysis I think Utans would overwhelmingly look for an opportunity to do it again at any point in their lifetime.'' Campbell said the federal government is putting $310 million towards the Games. But that money and a lot more won't be there if British Columbia loses the Winter Olympics, he said.

Meantime, Vancouver city council decided Tuesday that city residents will vote Feb. 22 on whether the city should play host to the 2010 Winter Olympics. Council voted 8-2 to spend $538,000 on a formal vote on the Olympic bid, although the wording of the ballot will not be decided until Thursday. Council also decided to spend an additional $35,000 on a two-page newspaper insert containing a questionnaire for people to mail, fax or e-mail to the city expressing their views.

The decision came after a long, detailed presentation from the 2010 bid corporation about the benefits of the Games, a report from city clerk Syd Baxter on council's options for soliciting public opinion and a lengthy debate on the merits of holding a vote at all. There was also a rehash of arguments raised during the recent civic election, with Mayor Larry Campbell and some councillors saying the vote is taking place because the majority Coalition of Progressive Electors campaigned on a promise to hold one. Baxter said the vote is timed to be completed before the International Olympic Committee visits Vancouver for a technical evaluation between March 2 and 5.

TRIVIA ANSWER: Bowling. Archaeologists have discovered bowling balls, pins and other equipment that was found to be ~7000 years old!
BONUS ANSWER: Bowling was recorded in England as early as the 1100s. In the Netherlands people took up a related game, and it was the Dutch who introduced the sport to America in the 1600s -- it was called Dutch pins.