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October 23, 2004
Images from Harbin via the Chinese press
The following two photos are from Apolo's 500m quarterfinal:
Apolo Ohno skates in his 500m quarterfinal
Apolo Ohno, Seung-jae Lee (KOR), Takafumi Nishitani (JPN)
image courtesy sina.com
Posted by noelle at 10:45 AM | Comments (20)
Men's 500m final in Harbin
Ye Li of China skates in front of Americans Apolo Ohno and Rusty Smith
image courtesy sina.com
Also a brief AP article: Ohno Wins Second Gold in Speedskating
Posted by noelle at 10:42 AM | Comments (3)
Two Americans on the podium: Gold for Apolo, bronze for Rusty!
World Cup Harbin Day 2 -- 500m finals
A sight for sore eyes:
It's a happy day in fanland when TWO of our guys -- count 'em, TWO -- stand atop the medal stand. Congratulations to Apolo Ohno and Rusty Smith for their accomplishments today in Harbin. So far it's looking like the weekend of the American men.
Apolo started again from the lucky lane 1 (is his long string of drawing poor starting positions in the 500m finally broken?) -- but unfortunately it was Rusty who occupied the outside lane. With 3 laps to go, Apolo was in 3rd place and Rusty was last. A lap later, both skaters had moved up one position, to 2nd and 3rd respectively.
The chaos of a 500m finish made it hard to know for certain what the outcome was, but when the standings finally sorted themselves out, a rare and beautiful thing appeared: American names occupied 2 out of 3 medal spots!
500m final results - men
1. OHNO , Apolo Anton (USA) 43.663
2. LEE , Seung-Jae (KOR) 43.777
3. SMITH , Rusty (USA) 43.928
4. LI , Ye (CHN) 1:01.009
500m final results - women
1. WANG , Meng (CHN) 45.037
2. FU , Tianyu (CHN) 45.207
3. CAPURSO , Marta (ITA) 45.816
4. VICENT , Tania (CAN) 46.458
Complete results available at Cyberscoreboard.
(image and results courtesy Finishlynx)
Posted by noelle at 12:01 AM | Comments (16)
October 22, 2004
World Cup Harbin Day 2 -- 500m qualifying recap
Women:
Allison Baver as usual drew a very difficult 500m heat and did not advance to the quarterfinals. Nor did Maria Garcia, leaving Hyo-jung Kim as the only U.S. lady to move out of her heats. She was eliminated in her quarterfinal with a DQ for impeding on Italian Marta Capurso, who was advanced.
Men:
Quarterfinals: All three U.S. men advanced through the first two 500m rounds to the quarterfinals. Rusty Smith skated a tough first quarterfinal heat, in last for a couple laps. Ultimately he finished second behind Brit skater Jon Eley. Congrats to those two gentlemen on engineering an early exit from the 500m for World Champ Hyun-soo Ahn, who finished 3rd and did not advance.
Apolo Ohno has skated more nail-biting races, at least judging from the Live CSB results. He keeps pulling through though. In his quarterfinal, he went from 3rd with 3 laps to go to last with 2 laps to go. Things didn't look so good till suddenly at the last second he appeared in front. In fact, Apolo finished 2nd to advance to the semifinals.
Unfortunately, JP Kepka suffered some sort of mishap in his quarterfinal and fell, finishing last. The Chinese skater in his race was DQ'ed, but evidently not for impeding on J.P., who was not advanced to the semis.
Semifinals: It was great to have an American in each 500m semi. Due to some strong contenders being eliminated early on, both Rusty and Apolo faced solid but not overly intimidating skaters in their races, leaving them both in a good position to advance to the 500m final.
Both semis were a heart attack to watch... Rusty, starting from the dreaded lane 4, was in last for a few laps but managed to rally to finish 2nd and advance to the 500m final. Apolo, with the advantage of lane 1, appeared to lead for the whole race.
Two Americans in the 500m final -- when's the last time we saw that? At least one American is guaranteed to go home with some more hardware after today's final. What a great day this has been!
Posted by noelle at 11:44 PM | Comments (0)
1500m GOLD FOR APOLO!
World Cup Harbin Day 1 -- 1500m finals
I tell you what -- the deck was stacked against our American skaters in their 1500m finals today so hats off to Apolo Ohno in prevailing against 3 Koreans, including World Champ Hyun-soo Ahn and 2 Chinese, including China's favorite son, Jiajun Li.
Looked like Apolo skated a smart race today. As expected, there was a lot of passing, but he and the Chinese were able to split the Koreans. Apolo didn't hang back at the start, instead spending 2/3 of the race in 3rd, making his move to take the lead with 3 laps to go. He briefly fell back to 3rd but came back in the last lap to cross the finish line in first. Way to go, Apolo!
Allison Baver faced a very tough field in her final as well -- 3 Koreans, 2 Chinese and 1 Canadian. Unfortunately the North Americans were shut out, with Allison finishing 6th, ahead of Amelie Goulet-Nadon. Still, Allison skated a valiant effort, and was in medal contention throughout the race until the last lap, when she got passed. Great effort!
1500m final results - men
1. OHNO , Apolo Anton 2:22.270
2. AHN , Hyun-Soo 2:22.4143
3. LI , JiaJun 2:22.656
4. SONG , Kyung-Taek 2:23.579
5. LEE , Seung-Jae 2:25.472
6. LI , Ye 2:32.922
1500m final results - women
1. WANG , Meng 2:27.6192
2. CHOI , Eun-Kyung 2:27.621
3. KANG , Yun-Mi 2:27.694
4. WANG , Wei 2:27.696
5. JIN , Sun-Yu 2:27.743
6. BAVER , Allison 2:28.843
7. GOULET-NADON , Amelie 2:35.413
Complete results available at Cyberscoreboard.
(images and results courtesy Finishlynx)
Posted by noelle at 9:15 AM | Comments (20)
Men's 1500m final in Harbin
Apolo Ohno, Hyun-soo Ahn and Kyung-taek Song(?) - KOR, Ye Li (CHN)
images courtesy sina.com
Posted by noelle at 9:12 AM | Comments (1)
World Cup Harbin Day 1 -- relay heats
Both the U.S. men and women's relay teams finished second in their respective heats to qualify for tomorrow's semifinals.
The U.S. men finished second to China and ahead of the French and Ukrainian teams. The guys are up against Germany, Japan and Korea in tomorrow's semifinals.
The U.S. women also finished a close second to China in their relay heat, ahead of the Japanese team. They'll face off against China, Canada and Germany in their semi on Saturday.
Posted by noelle at 9:10 AM | Comments (0)
World Cup Harbin Day 1 -- 1500m semifinals
Whew! Some exciting races...
Women:
- Allison Baver had a tough race... she crossed the finish line in 5th after being bumped around during the race and was advanced to the 1500m final when Xiaoling Liu of China was DQ'ed. She faces a tough contest in the final, with a field of 3 Koreans, 2 Chinese and 1 Canadian.
- Hyo-jung Kim didn't fare as well. She appeared to skate a strong race but finished just out of the money behind perhaps the two strongest female skaters out there -- Eun-kyung Choi (KOR) and Meng Wang (CHN).
Men:
- Apolo Ohno subjected us to another yo-yo of a race -- guess he doesn't want us getting bored over here when we rise so early to watch the results online! As usual, he skated the first 4-5 laps in last or next-to-last place, then moved up to 3rd for a few laps. Then with 3 to go he appeared to briefly be in last place again, but this could be a timing error, as he quickly reappeared in the lead. Apolo won this heat, and for a few laps appeared to have eliminated archrival Ahn-hyun Soo, but this was too much to hope for as Ahn finished in second and also advances to the 1500m final.
- Rusty Smith also repeated his yo-yo performance from the heats, with less satisfactory results. He skated the first third of the race in last place and moved as high as 2nd with 1 lap to go, but ultimately faded to finsh last in his semifinal. Still, it's great to see Rusty back in the saddle after his accident last March at the Worlds.
Posted by noelle at 8:58 AM | Comments (3)
World Cup Harbin Day 1 -- 1500m heats
The heats passed with good results for the U.S. team as 4 out of 6 skaters advance to the semifinals.
Women:
- Allison Baver finshed a strong 2nd in her heat, behind Korean Kun-mi Kang and head of Amelie Goulet-Nadon.
- Maria Garcia didn't fare as well, finishing 5th and out of contention in her heat, which featured a very strong field of Korean, Chinese and Canadian skaters.
- Hyo-jung Kim qualified easily for the semis, in second behind China's Meng Wang.
Men:
- J.P. Kepka finished out of the running in his heat, which Jiajun Li won.
- Apolo Ohno came out on top in what was the fastest of the 1500m heats. The race was a bit of a yo-yo as seen on 
Live CSB: Apolo skated characteristically in next to last or last place for about the first 6 laps, then moved up to 3rd with 7 laps to go. With 6 laps to go, Apolo was in last place again. With 5 laps to go, he moved back into 3rd, with 4 laps to go, he was again last, with 3 laps to go Apolo was back in 3rd, and from there he moved up, winning his heat.
- Rusty Smith's heat was similar to Apolo's. Rusty was 1st with 9 laps to go, moved up to 4th one lap later, then to second. By 6 laps to go, Rusty was last, but he worked his way forward, crossing the finish line in 3rd. With the disqualification of a Japanese skater, Rusty moved up to 2nd behind Seung-jae Lee.
Posted by noelle at 8:10 AM | Comments (0)
October 21, 2004
Schedule for ISU World Cup #1 - Harbin
[Update: The heat lists are ready. Info is below the schedule info.]
Okay, short track fans! A day that seemed awfully long in coming is finally upon us. World Cup #1 in Harbin, China begins tomorrow and as usual, you can follow your favorite skater(s) along in real time on Live Cyberscoreboard to see how their races go.
Here's the schedule as posted on Live CSB. Keep in mind that China is 12 hours ahead of the U.S. east coast, 15 hours ahead of the west coast:
Day 1 -- Friday, Oct 22 2004
Action begins at 7-10PM local time. That's 7-10AM ET and 4-7AM PT.
Day 2 -- Saturday, Oct 23 2004
10AM-4PM local time, which is a bit tricky. U.S. dates/times are:
- 10PM ET Friday 10/22 - 4AM ET Saturday 10/23
- 7PM PT Friday 10/22-1AM PT Saturday 10/23
Day 3 -- Sunday, Oct 24 2004
4-9PM local time, which is 4-9AM ET and 1-6AM PT
Start lists for 1500m heats -- men
- J.P. Kepka skates in heat 2 against hometown favorite Jiajun Li and Nicola Franceschina (ITA), along with a bunch of other Europeans.
- In heat 4, only Aussie Mark McNee appears to be any sort of competition for Apolo Ohno, though I believe the Japanese skater, Eitoku Ike is new, and therefore an unknown quantity.
- Rusty Smith skates in the 7th and final heat, against former 1500m world record holder Steve Robillard (CAN) and the villain from last year's Worlds, Seung-jae Lee (KOR).
- Canada's Jonathan Guilmette makes his comeback in heat 6, and I wish him all the best this weekend.
Start lists for 1500m heats -- women
- Allison Baver skates in heat 2, drawing a tough field as usual! She faces Amelie Goulet-Nadon (CAN) and Yun-mi Kang (KOR), among others.
- Maria Garcia, skating in heat 4, also faces stiff competition from the likes of Alanna Kraus (CAN) and none other than world champ Eun-kyung Choi (KOR).
- Hyo-jung Kim skates in heat 8 against fellow ex-Korean Min-kyung Choi (FRA) and Chinese powerhouse Meng Wang.
(Note: Returning uber-goddess of short track Yang Yang A will not skate individual distances in Harbin.)
Start lists for relay heats
Men: The U.S. men face France, Ukraine and China in the second heat and are a good bet to advance to the semifinals.
Women: The U.S. women also skate in heat 2 with Japan and China, and they too should advance.
Posted by noelle at 5:15 PM | Comments (15)
2002 Ohno-Kim decision influences Paul Hamm gold medal case
The Court of Arbitration for Sport, in the only sane outcome possible, ruled today that Olympic gold medalist and men's all-around gymnastics champion Paul Hamm will keep the gold medal he won during the Athens Games. Among other things, CAS arbitrators cited the disputed men's 1500m race from the Salt Lake Games in 2002 as precedent for its decision:
It was the second straight Olympics in which South Korea protested the awarding of a gold medal to an American athlete, only to have CAS uphold a ruling, keeping the gold in U.S. hands. At the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, American short-track speed skating star Apolo Anton Ohno was awarded the gold in the men's 1,500-meter race, when a judge determined that Kim Dong-sung interfered with Ohno's attempt to pass the South Korean on the final lap.
USOC General Counsel Jeff Benz said the Ohno case was a big factor in determining the ruling in Hamm's case.
"The USOC successfully defended that medal using similar arguments we used here," Benz said. "The court relied heavily upon the Ohno decision for its upholding in this case."
That Apolo, always blazing trails...
Posted by noelle at 3:18 PM | Comments (5)
October 20, 2004
Big tests await Canadian short track speed skaters at upcoming World Cups
Some of Canada’s top short track speed skaters are on the mend from injuries and face their first competitive test at the season opening World Cup event scheduled for Harbin, China this Friday to Sunday (October 22-24, 2004).
The most serious injury occurred to double Olympic medallist Jonathan Guilmette of Montreal. He hurt his back in a crash at the season-ending world championships last March.
"Technically on the ice you’d never know that Jonathan was injured," said Canadian national team coach Guy Thibault following a recent practice. "He’s still underweight and doesn’t have his usual strength but within a month or two that should become normal. The question is how he’ll react mentally in the heat of competition."
This is a pre-Olympic season on paper, but for Thibault the Games preparations are underway. The Olympic team trials are next September, less than a year away.
"The athletes are in Olympic mode," said Thibault, who guided Canada to six medals at the 2002 Olympics. "Our training and preparations are based on an 18-month plan to make us the best at the Olympics. The last sprint for the Games has started since this summer."
Also battling injuries are Jean-Francois Monette of Pointe-aux-Trembles, Que., (back), Amélie Goulet-Nadon of Laval, Que.,(back) and world championship medallist Alanna Kraus of Abbotsford, B.C., (neck). But all will be on the ice for the first World Cup.
On the men’s team with Guilmette and Monette for the first two World Cups are Mathieu Turcotte of Sherbrooke, Que., Charles Hamelin of Ste-Julie, Que., and Steve Robillard of Montreal. On the women’s side it’s Goulet-Nadon, Kraus, Tania Vicent and Anouk Leblanc-Boucher, both of Montreal, and Amanda Overland of Cambridge, Ont.
Posted by noelle at 8:25 PM | Comments (2)
Xinhuanet | Olympic champion Yang Yang to make World Cup comeback
Yang Yang A is managing expectations for her return to international competition:
HA'ERBIN, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- China's first winter Olympic champion Yang Yang said here on Wednesday that she will compete in the season's opening stage of the World Cup short-course speed skating series on Friday.
Yang called it quits after the 2002 Salt Lake City Games in 2002, where she made history by winning China's first winter Olympic gold medal in the 500m event and added a second with teammates in the relay.
"There will be no pressure for me," said Yang. "That will be my first international competition coming out of retirement. I just want to see how my opponents will perform."
Crossing fingers and toes that she's happy enough with her performance to make the trip to North America later this fall!
Posted by noelle at 10:41 AM | Comments (3)
October 19, 2004
Here is the final set of 1000m preliminary photos from Sweden
l-r: Mark Jackson (NZL), Jon Eley (GBR), Pieter Gysel (BEL), Apolo Ohno
Posted by noelle at 8:00 PM | Comments (2)
1000m prelim - 18
Posted by noelle at 7:59 PM | Comments (0)
1000m prelim - 17
Apolo Ohno, Jon Eley, Pieter Gysel
Posted by noelle at 7:58 PM | Comments (3)
1000m prelim - 16
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1000m prelim - 15
Posted by noelle at 7:57 PM | Comments (0)
Heh
via USA Today
EVENTS TO WATCH
Oct. 22-24: Strap on your helmet and get ready to argue with the referees — short-track speedskating's World Cup season starts in Harbin, China.
Posted by noelle at 1:36 PM | Comments (3)
October 18, 2004
Calgary Olympic Oval Invitational #1 - Day 3 Results
Real quick, 'cause I don't have much time today... the Calgary Oval Invitational concluded yesterday with good results for the American skaters. In the women's overall standings, Bridie Farrell took the top spot, with Cherise Wilkins second overall and Marin Austin 4th.
Canadian men took the first and second overall with Mike Kooreman finished 3rd and Anthony Lobello in 5th.
Congrats to all the skaters on their performances, in particular to Bridie, who has been out of commission for nearly a year as she rehabbed her knee injury from last season. This win should be a nice confidence and morale booster for her!
As ever, detailed results are available at the Calgary Oval web site.
Up next -- World Cup #1 in Harbin!
Posted by noelle at 9:25 AM | Comments (3)
October 17, 2004
Calgary Olympic Oval Invitational #1 - Day 2 Results
After the second full day of competition, the U.S. women seem to be fully in command in Calgary, as they occupy the top three spots overall. Bridie Farrell still leads the standings, having finished second in all of her 500m races.
On the men's side, Canadians are 1-2-3, but newcomer Anthony Lobello is coming on strong in 4th overall.
Overall results after Day 2:
Men after Day 2
1. Richard Shoebridge (CAN) -- 1666 pts.
2. Cory Rasmussen (CAN) -- 1632 pts.
3. Michael Friesen (CAN) -- 1046 pts.
4. Anthony Lobello -- 1028 pts.
5. Mike Kooreman -- 986 pts.
6. Derek Gray -- 784 pts.
7. Adam Duncan -- 738 pts.
9. Ryan Cox -- 408 pts.
Alex Izykowski didn't skate yesterday.
Women after Day 2
1. Brigid Farrell -- 1816 pts.
2. Cherise Wilkins -- 1482 pts.
3. Marin Austin -- 1209 pts.
5. Tina Koenig -- 738 pts.
Complete results are available at Calgary Oval web site.
Posted by noelle at 10:50 AM | Comments (10)