« November 28, 2004 - December 4, 2004 | Main | December 12, 2004 - December 18, 2004 »
December 11, 2004
Apolo says 'so long' after the Madison banquet
Thanks to Barb for this one!
Posted by noelle at 11:26 AM | Comments (16)
Apolo being introduced for the 500m final in Madison
image courtesy of Sue
Posted by noelle at 11:25 AM | Comments (1)
500m podium in Madison
Thanks to Sue for these shots!
Apolo Ohno (silver), Mathieu Turcotte (gold), Takafumi Nishitani (bronze)
Posted by noelle at 11:23 AM | Comments (2)
December 10, 2004
Apolo and Fabio in Madison
Two more Madison banquet photos. This one courtesy of SusanG:
And this one courtesy Sonia/SusanL:
We missed Fabio and the Italians in Saguenay!
I'm slowly working my way through Madison submissions that came in last week as I was heading up north. I'm trying to post roughly in the order received. More video is coming soon too, as well as additional coverage of the Saguenay World Cup.
In addition, I've begun a Madison photo gallery with the submissions received. There are some great photos there of the Canadian and Italian teams and others! All the Apolo photos from Madison will be posted on OZ first before they go into the gallery.
Thanks to all who have contributed!
Posted by noelle at 2:13 PM | Comments (11)
December 9, 2004
Sports Illustrated | Still on the Fast Track
(click image to download article)
Hot on the heels of last week's 2-page photo spread from the Madison World Cup comes the December 13 issue of SI, featuring a one-page article devoted to Apolo. The article by Brian Cazeneuve, SI's reporter in Saguenay, encapsulates Apolo's career and activities since the Salt Lake Games, from the Korean controversy to the taste of the high life that never went to Apolo's head or derailed his goals.
The article highlights all of Apolo's awesome achievements, concluding that he's having his best season ever this year, which sets him on a very strong path heading into the Torino Games next year. As if we needed any, this article is full of reminders of what made us all fall in love with Apolo in the first place.
Let the media frenzy begin (again!).
Thanks to Sue for scanning the article to share with us here!
Posted by noelle at 5:10 PM | Comments (8)
December 8, 2004
Video clip: Madison World Cup 1500m medal ceremony
Starring Apolo Anton Ohno, with supporting roles by Mathieu Turcotte and Charles Hamelin; and a cameo appearance (off camera) by Anna.
Video by Sonia; hosting by Maggie. Thanks, ladies!
Posted by noelle at 10:49 PM | Comments (9)
Madison Awards Banquet
Thanks to Sue for these shots!
Mathieu Turcotte, Charles Hamelin and Apolo Ohno
Posted by noelle at 12:23 PM | Comments (11)
Takafumi Nishitani, Apolo Ohno, Mathieu Turcotte
Posted by noelle at 12:19 PM | Comments (1)
December 7, 2004
'Around the track'
Coverage from Le Quotidien du Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean
This little blurb appeared yesterday:
The first thing that American Apolo Anton Ohno requested to eat after arriving in Saguenay was... poutine! He developed a taste for it during his first visit here in 2003. His request was fulfilled at the restaurant Quebec Resto...
Speaking of the 'American rocket' (referring to Apolo), he has an Internet site: www.ohnozone.net. Check it out to get an idea of his tremendous popularity...
Mathieu Turcotte, on the contact between him and Apolo in the men's 1000m final:
In the very last turn, [Turcotte and Ohno tangled] but there were no disqualifications. Disappointed, Turcotte said he didn't understand the judges' thinking. 'I think there should have been a decision by the referees, either in my favor or in Apolo's. I don't understand it. It's obvious that one of us impeded on the other and it's up to the officials to make that call.'
Photos of contact between AAO and Turcotte
Jonathan Guilmette was concerned about the potential for *gasp* American TEAM SKATING in his 1000m semifinal (the one featuring Guilmette, Alex Izykowski, Ohno and Turcotte):
Asked about the Canadians' strategy in the semifinal, [Guilmette] explained that he decided to take the lead because he feared the Americans would work together, even though it's not their usual practice.
'I skated my race and didn't want to risk leaving the Americans alone in front. I got beaten by the two best skaters on the planet so I have nothing to be disappointed about,' said Guilmette.
That said, two of the articles discuss Charles Hamelin's hard work to help out Turcotte in the 3000m final. Stephen Gough joked to me on Sunday, 'Are we going to be reading about the "Canadian wall" on Ohno Zone now?'
Heh heh. But really, I'd love it if one of our Canadian friends can give the definitive explanation of when it's okay to team skate and when it's not. The Canadians readily admit to helping one another out at times, but then express frustration when Chinese or Korean skaters do it.
Double standard, or subtlety that non-athletes like me don't grasp?
Posted by noelle at 10:01 AM | Comments (45)
December 6, 2004
Saguenay awards banquet
The banquet last night was, in keeping with the whole weekend, a fun and carefully planned event. It started with a cocktail hour, which we missed, and then a 4-course sitdown dinner.
There was somewhat more than the usual speechifying with Speed Skating Canada, the ISU, Quebec Skating Federation, Bosideng and the organizing committee all taking turns. The organizing committee in particular was rewarded with a thoroughly deserved standing ovation.
The awards presentation for the top 6 men and women was done quickly, and the skaters weren't eager to linger onstage a moment longer than necessary. I'm sure they wanted to hasten the food's arrival!
click images to enlarge
Top 6 men: Mathieu Turcotte (CAN), Apolo Ohno (USA), Jiajun Li (CHN), Charles Hamelin (CAN), Pieter Gysel (BEL), Haonan Li (CHN)
Top 6 women: Meng Wang (CHN), Allison Baver (USA), Yang Yang A (CHN), Annita Van Doorn (NED), Evgenia Radanova (BUL), Hyo-jung Kim (USA)
In between the courses, there was live entertainment, including a band and a magic show. Local college students put together over the course of the week a very entertaining 8-minute movie, and there was a fantastic slideshow of dozens of photos taken during the weekend by the official event photographer.
The magic show was hugely entertaining, featuring tricks assisted by audience members, notably Travis Jayner (volunteered for the occasion by his new teammates) and Jonathan Guilmette. I can no longer recall enough to tell you what the magic tricks were, but they involved some interesting props. The skaters did a great job playing along and had everyone laughing out loud.
It was all capped off by the presentation of the dessert -- lights were dimmed, and out came a waiter carrying aloft a huge, meringue-covered cake all lit up with sparklers.
Posted by noelle at 8:33 PM | Comments (10)
1000m medalists in Saguenay
Apolo Ohno (silver), Charles Hamelin (gold), Jiajun Li (bronze)
Wei Wang (silver), Yang Yang A (gold), Hyo-jung Kim (bronze)
Posted by noelle at 12:50 AM | Comments (10)
December 5, 2004
Reunion
In a sport full of top-notch, classy people, these two stand out for the top-notch classiness. It was great to see these two together again!
Sorry the photo didn't turn out. I guess I was too excited to finally get this photo opp after all these years!
Thank you Apolo and Stephen for all the support and inspiration!
Posted by noelle at 5:34 PM | Comments (16)
3000m in Saguenay - silver for Apolo
Apolo Ohno and Allison Baver finish 2nd overall!
Whoever said things are more interesting without the Koreans in attendance sure was right!
Netherlands skater Anita van Doorn set out to lap the pack in the women's 3000m. Hyo-jung and Allison led the pack for much of the race but Kim faded at the end and the Chinese women passed Allison in the final laps, leaving Allison to settle for 3rd.
The Ukrainian skater made an effort to get out in front and lap the pack in the men's 3000 but he was eventually reeled back in. As expected, it turned into a battle between Ohno and Turcotte, but all 4 North American skaters duked it out at the front, till first Shani Davis crashed with 4 laps to go, and then Charles Hamelin wiped out in the final lap. Turcotte got ahead of Ohno in the last lap. By winning this race, he also comes out ahead in the overall classification due to the tiebreaker function of the 3000m.
Ladies' Overall classification: 1. Meng Wang, 2. Allison Baver, 3. Yang Yang A, 6. Hyo-jung Kim, 21. Brigid Farrell
Men's overall classification: 1. Mathieu Turcotte, 2. Apolo Anton Ohno, 3. Jiajun Li, 7. Shani Davis, 12. Alex Izykowski
Congratulations to the U.S. team for their outstanding performances this weekend!
Posted by noelle at 4:06 PM | Comments (28)
Lookie who's here this weekend!
Marc Gagnon in Chicoutimi
He's such a rock star!
Posted by noelle at 4:02 PM | Comments (3)
1000m finals - silver for Apolo, bronze for Hyo-jung!
I'm limp from watching these races. There's only so many thrills and so much excitement a person can take!
Both Hyo-jung Kim and Apolo Ohno had great races. Yang Yang A paired with a teammate is an awfully tough competitor to beat, and the home crowd is carrying the Canadian men along as well. The men's final was another nail-biter in particular.
I can't tell you what happened anymore! It was oh-so-close and very tight racing though. Apolo and Turcotte had a tangle at one moment that was bit scary. Here's one snapshot of it:
This may have cost both of them -- Apolo the win, and Turcotte a medal.
If Apolo couldn't win it, it was nice to see Hamelin come out on top this time because he's been skating great all weekend, won the recent Canadian trials in a very big way and he was ripe for a win. Apolo looked disappointed for not winning, but I think he is doing an amazing job this weekend!
My one quibble with the way this meet is being run is that they aren't telling us the outcomes! I had to come check cyberscoreboard to find out if Alex made it to the semi for sure, and although it was obvious that Yang Yang A and Charles Hamelin won the finals, I had no way to know for sure if Hyo-jung and Apolo had medaled. It's strange that they never even announced it or even flashed the results on the scoreboard here in the arena!
Posted by noelle at 3:31 PM | Comments (21)
All North-American semifinal heat 2
More to come!
Posted by noelle at 3:12 PM | Comments (3)
1000m quarterfinals
What unbelievable races these were!
All three American men make it to the semis. Very excited in particular for Alex Izykowski making his first World Cup semifinal. In his quarter, Guilmette made a great move from 3rd to take the lead in the race's closing laps. Alex also got around the Chinese and Japanese skaters to move on to the semis.
Shani Davis also skated a fantastic quarterfinal. He was in qualifying position for the entire race and took the lead in the last lap, with Germany's Arian Nachbar sneaking in ahead of the Chinese skater.
Apolo -- who always seems to be skating in the very last heats! -- was paired with Mathieu Turcotte, so this race had extra tension and excitement. The crowd roared when Turcotte took the lead. It was so close and exciting between these two!
Allison Baver's quarterfinal was another thrill. She had tried maybe halfway through the race to move up with a big outside pass. It seems that Allison still needs to work on timing When she made her move at the end to move up, it was clear she would wind up with a DQ, but the fact that she's attempting moves like that and never giving up on finding a way to the front is awesome to see.
Not to give Hyo-jung Kim short shrift, but I can't recall details of her race any longer -- she had a pretty straight path to finish 2nd behind Meng Wang.
How about that semifinal coming up, an all-North American affair of Apolo, Alex, Jonathan and Mathieu!? What an amazing weekend this is!
Posted by noelle at 2:33 PM | Comments (6)
Apolo 1000m heat sequence
starting an outside pass around Sebastian Praus
tucking in behind Jon Eley
Posted by noelle at 1:41 PM | Comments (5)
1000m qualifying heats
It was pretty smooth sailing for almost all the U.S. skaters out there today as all three men made it through their prelims and heats to advance to the quarterfinals. Allison Baver and Hyo-jung Kim also move on to the next round. Unfortunately Bridie Farrell didn't quite make it. She skated a really strong race in her heat but wasn't able to hang on to finish in qualifying position.
When Canadian skaters aren't on the ice, the crowd here really cheers on Apolo. Although not at the same level as for Turcotte, Hamelin or Guilmette, still you can hear the cheers and claps for Apolo, and when he makes a move in a race the audience gets really into it!
The announcer is doing a superb job in French and English of calling the races and giving interesting background info about the various skaters. Whenever Shani Davis skates he mentions that he's the current 1500m World Champion in long track and the audience is enjoying watching Shani skate also.
Above it all, you can hear Tiggie cheering her heart out for the U.S. skaters!
Marc Gagnon, Jean-Francois Monette and Eric Bedard can all be seen in the stands and around the venue.
Posted by noelle at 1:25 PM | Comments (2)
Exciting conclusion in store for day 3 in Saguenay
Today promises to be full of thrills and suspense as well as we wait to see not only who wins the 1000m, 3000m and relay finals, but as the battle for the overall titles shakes out.
At the moment, Allison Baver stands atop the women's rankings for the weekend, with Hyo-jung Kim in 4th overall. Allison has a narrow lead of 8 points over China's Meng Wang, which she'll be looking to extend in the 1000m. There is room for Kim to move farther up as well. It's really been an amazing breakout season for the U.S. women. Can't wait to see what they do today!
The men's overall race is shaping up as a repeat of what we saw last weekend in Madison, with Apolo Ohno and Mathieu Turcotte tied at 55 points apiece after each skater won one gold and one silver. Will it all come down to the 3000m once again? Shani Davis is looking to improve his overall finish as well, which he's on track to do as he currently sits in 4th overall.
The men's relay final will no doubt be the final thrill of the weekend as the U.S. faces off against Canada, China and Japan. Will anyone be able to unseat Canada this weekend? After the disappointment of not being able to compete in Madison, they'll be gunning for that podium more than ever! Can't wait to see how it all plays out...
Posted by noelle at 8:54 AM | Comments (3)