May 13, 2008
Short track news
Marc Gagnon to be inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame:
Globe and Mail | Golden relay team leads inductees to Canadian Sports Hall
Gagnon was the dominant short track speed skater of the 1990s and into 2002. Until Cindy Klassen came along, he was Canada's most decorated Olympian with three gold medals and two bronze over three Games. His tour de force was Salt Lake City in 2002, where he earned gold in both 500 and 1,500 and helped the relay team to bronze. He'd earlier won a gold with the relay at Nagano in 1998 and a 1,000-metre solo bronze at Lillehammer in 1994.At the world championships, Gagnon shone from 1993 to 2001, collecting an incredible eight golds, seven silvers and three bronze.
Yang Yang A was given the honor of being the first torchbearer on Chinese soil for the Olympic torch relay:
AFP | China welcomes home Olympic flame
(Reuters via Yahoo News)
Posted by noelle at 6:09 PM | Comments (2)
May 5, 2008
Apolo returns to Dancing With the Stars
Apolo will be back dancing with Julianne once again on the big celebration show marking the 100th episode of DWTS. Tune in Tuesday night to find out how well Apolo has retained his dance training since he won the mirror ball trophy a year ago!
[update]
Former contestant Apolo Anton Ohno and professional dancing partner Julianne Hough pose at the "Dancing with the Stars" 100th show party in Hollywood, California May 6, 2008. REUTERS/Fred Prouser
Posted by noelle at 9:52 PM | Comments (32)
April 27, 2008
Introducing the Rocker Fund
In light of the recent discussion on athlete funding, this seems like a great opportunity to introduce a new fan-led fundraising initiative in support of America's short track speedskaters. Lori and Mtnme spearheaded this effort and their vision for the initiative follows, in their words.
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The Rocker Fund – Supporting America’s Short Track Athletes
“True dedication is representing a country, most of which only seriously acknowledges you every four years. Being your best even when networks won't give you airtime. Giving your all even when your victories are printed under 'other sports'. For them it has to be for the love of the game, and THAT is what creates champions.” -- A Fan
The Rocker Fund – is a small, grass-roots effort that has sprung up among Apolo and/or Short Track fans who wish to support individual skaters directly to help with the expenses inherent in competing at the National and Junior levels. Our goal is to appeal to the generosity of all the fans at all the fan sites, be they Apolo fans, Short Track fans or both.
Our very first Skaters of the Month: Lezleigh Jaworski and Barry Winslow
Click Leslie's and Barry's names for their stories and info on how to donate.
This endeavor is a way to give something back to the athletes who have brought us so much enjoyment and pleasure over the years, through their passion, hard work and dedication in pursuit of a dream. Our hope is that this will promote a greater connection between athletes and fans - inspiring more people to attend short track events, which will benefit the sport as a whole.
We know there will be plenty of questions, which will be too lengthy to address here. Most of them have been answered at GotApolo.com on TheRockerFund thread.
Continue reading "Introducing the Rocker Fund"
Posted by noelle at 4:20 PM | Comments (16)
April 19, 2008
USOC names Apolo, U.S. men its March athletes of the month
The nod for the men's award went to two-time Olympic gold medalist Ohno who won his first title, March 9, at the ISU World Short Track Speedskating Championships in Gangneung, Republic of South Korea. Ohno, who was disqualified during the men’s 1500m event, did not let the setback phase him and came back to win the men’s 500m and take silver in the men’s 1000m events.The U.S. Men's Short Track World Team made history when they won the overall World Championship in Harbin, China, March 7-9 and was awarded Team of the Month for March. In an overall race so close it came down to the final event, the American men beat the usually dominant Koreans, Chinese and Canadians to bring home the world championship title. The previous highest placing at a World Championship was third. Winning the World championship is the highest honor a team can win in short track speedskating during an off-Olympic year. The roster consisted of Apolo Anton Ohno (Seattle, Wash.), Jeff Simon (Long Beach, Calif.), Jordan Malone (Denton, Texas), Ryan Levielle (Memphis, Tenn.) and JP Kepka (St. Louis, Mo.).
Posted by noelle at 9:08 AM | Comments (16)
April 17, 2008
Announcing the Virginia Speeskating Elite Team
The Virginia Speedskating Elite Team is a new, free, year-round training program for skaters aspiring to elite-level performance. It's hoped that this team will be a combination of National Team as well as Development skaters of a wide range of ages. This program is based in Richmond, VA and is being announced at this weekend's US Speedskating spring board meeting in Bethlehem, PA.
Download the announcement here
In addition, the new program is seeking a Program Director. Download the position announcement here
Anyone who is interested or has questions should contact Steve Burton, Executive Director of Virginia Speedskating.
Posted by noelle at 6:38 PM | Comments (40)
April 13, 2008
Short track in Seattle?
Seattle Times | Seattle could bid for short-track speedskating trials
Apolo Ohno, America's biggest short-track speedskating star, has won five Olympic medals and danced with the stars.But there's one thing he hasn't done, remarkably: compete in his own hometown.
As Ohno's career winds down, that possibility is heating up. The Seattle Sports Commission is considering a bid to host short-track's Olympic trials or an international competition in 2009, before the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
No decision is expected until summer. Formal bids will be accepted following speedskating's board of directors meeting in Bethlehem, Pa., that starts Friday.
Board members will not only decide dates for the trials, but are looking to make substantial changes to the format, changing a do-or-die competition where only the top point-getters earn Olympic team berths to one where the best racers can still make the team if misfortune — illness, injury, crashes or disqualifications — befall them at trials.
Posted by noelle at 11:52 AM | Comments (17)
April 8, 2008
2008-2009 World Cup Short Track Schedule
17-19 October 2008 - Salt Lake City
24-26 October 2008 - Vancouver
28-30 November 2008 - Beijing
5-7 December 2008 - Nagano
6-8 February 2009 - Sofia, Bulgaria
13-15 February 2009 - Dresden, Germany
Posted by noelle at 6:48 PM | Comments (18)
