Last year, Apolo Anton Ohno stole the 500m World Champion title from Charles Hamelin (Ste-Julie, QC), but the Canadian skater was able to take it back today, in Vienna. All three Canadians were in the final, and Olivier Jean (Lachenaie, QC) joined Hamelin on the podium, as he won the bronze medal. Jessica Gregg (Edmonton, AB) added another bronze medal for Canada in the women’s 500m. It’s a first individual World Championship medal in career for both Jean and Gregg.
Salt Lake City, USA –- As she recovers from a fall on the ice that left her with four stitches, Canada’s Christine Nesbitt (London, ON) was still able to win the 1000m World Cup title with a bronze medal performance and be part of Canadian bronze triplets, with teammates Denny Morrison (Fort St. John, BC) and Kristina Groves (Ottawa, ON) also taking third place medals in the 1000m and 3000m at the World Cup Final in Salt Lake City, U.S.A today.
How do you look back in general on this second half of the season?
“I look back in many different areas. I first see if I have improved from last year and how much I have improved from the beginning of the season. I have improved from last season by a tremendous amount. It isn’t even comparable. And from the beginning of the season until now I have been on a nice progression. Every week I have been improving. I am very satisfied with my results! I don’t think I could ask for more right now.”
But I just don’t care— well, that’s a lie, I do care, but that part of me is very small & buried under an avalanche of vastly more important things. I’d gladly put every skate I’ve ever owned under a sledgehammer if it would bring her health back.
Canada’s Charles Hamelin & Olivier Jean finished first and third in the 500-meter race earlier today at the ISU Short Track Speed Skating World Championships inVienna, Austria.
Pressure was high, as typically, the 1500m is not the strongest event for Canada at the World Championships. But with a lot at stake – including a chance to pre-qualify for next year’s Olympic Winter Games – skaters were ready to give their best.
When speed skater Jennifer Rodriguez labored home far off the winning pace in her final race at the 2006 Turin Olympics, she had no intention of ever returning to her sport. She took off her skates and retired home to Miami, opening a bike shop with her husband and looking forward to the next phase of her life.
Click here to view pictures on Daylife of this weekend’s ISU Short Track Speed Skating World Championships. The racing is taking place in Vienna, Austria.
‘Canada’s Charles Hamelin (front) and compatriot Jean Olivier skate during the final of the men’s 500 metres World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Vienna March 7, 2009‘- photo and caption from here
The 2nd stage of the Asianic Inline Cup Stage took place earlier today in the midst of a tropical downpour at the F1 track in Singapore, Indonesia. You can read Bill Begg’s report here- Italy,Indonesia, Hong Kong & India Victors.
As the Marathons were about to get underway the rain stopped, but the rain drenched track remained a bit on the slippery side. In the ladies Eri Marina Yo from Kalimantan Indonesia made very short work of her opponents, by winning the 500 meters, plus the 3 sprint primes & lapping the field to take maximum points, she is definately one skater wo could pick up points in full WIC races & hopefully she can get to Incheon Korea & Suzhou China to fully rest herself.
The mens day started off with the straightline 500 meters with 3 heats & the first 4 Qualifyers going through to the finals. Hong Kong man Doon Yuen from Checker sport Bont was the suprise winner from Michelle Cicognani Italy & Daniel Chew Wee team Revo Shankel Singapore Santinder Pal Singh was 4th with Lai Yongquan ( Fast Boy ) Revo Singapre 5th, with Jack Ko Wan Hang provisionally 6th.
Seven years after his disqualification in the 1500-meter Olympic short track speed skating race, South Korea’s Kim Dong-Sung is now coaching in the USA- Speedskater Finds Career Where He Least Expected–
Kim was in the middle of celebrating what he assumed was his gold medal victory in the 1,500 meters when he learned he had been disqualified for interfering with U.S. star Apolo Anton Ohno, who ended up receiving the first-place medal. Kim was so upset he needed oxygen in his hotel room that night. The South Korean delegation challenged the result, then threatened to boycott the Closing Ceremonies. Some 16,000 angry e-mails from South Korea crashed the U.S. Olympic Committee’s computer system.
He delayed an answer until after the birth of Marvin, now almost 2. But the more he considered it, the more he became sure this unexpected offer represented another stroke of good fortune. In June 2007, he began coaching with the now-defunct Wheaton Speedskating Club, which evolved into the Potomac Speedskating Club last year. Short-track speedskating, in which skaters race against each other in hockey-sized rinks, is known for far more mayhem than the long-track version of the sport in which skaters race individually against a clock.
Training is a long hard road and on some days, I feel overwhelmed at the prospect of continuing this lifestyle day in and day out for the next few years. However, with every milestone that I reach and every small achievements along the way, I know that I am getting ever closer to my goals. In a way, this is not unlike climbing. As long as I keep up my momentum and maintain my cadence, I will crest that hill sooner or later.
Speed Skate World- By Peter Doucet- Online Since 1999 