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September 17, 2005
American Cup 1 Results - Day 1
The 1500m and 500m were skated today in Wausau with interesting and in some cases surprising results. Women's team veterans Caroline Hallisey and Amy Peterson are back. Peterson has unretired in a bid to make one final Olympic Games. J.P. Kepka is off to an extremely strong start and it's also nice to see Misi Toth make a strong comeback after his difficult season last year. Results so far:
1500m results
Men's A final
1. J.P. Kepka
2. Travis Jayner
3. Rusty Smith
4. Anthony Lobello
5. Eduardo Alvarez (newcomer from Miami)
6. Shani Davis DQ for impeding on Smith
Women's A final
1. Hyo-jung Kim
2. Kimberly Derrick
3. Jade Wheeler
4. Caroline Hallisey
5. Allison Baver - fell
6. Kristen Biondo - fell
500m results
Men's A final
1. Kepka
2. Misi Toth
3. Smith
4. Alex Izykowski
5. Jordan Malone
6. Davis
Men's B final
1. Jayner
2. Lobello
Women's A final
1. Baver
2. Biondo
3. Peterson
4. Kim
Women's B final
1. Maria Garcia
2. Derrick
3. Kira Fling
4. Cherise Wilkins
Overall standings after 2 distances
Men
1. Kepka.(2000 pts)
2. Smith (800)
3. Jayner (690)
4. Toth (619)
5. Lobello
Izykowski (tie - 330)
7. Davis (216)
8. Malone (215)
Women
1. Kim (1250 pts)
2. Baver (1175)
3. Derrick
Biondo (tie - 725)
5. Peterson (460)
Additional details available from US Speedskating.
[Update] - Click for complete day 1 results:
Points | Classification | Times
Posted by noelle at 5:26 PM | Comments (9)
September 16, 2005
American Cup 1
American Cup 1 gets underway tomorrow morning in Wausau, WI. Most of the national team members traveled to Wisconsin on Wednesday. This is an important competition since it will determine the World Cup team for all 4 World Cups this season, and should give a foretaste of what's to come at the Olympic Trials in Marquette!
Apolo has a bye onto the World Cup team, but all the other spots are up for grabs. Good luck to all the skaters competing this weekend in Wausau!
Posted by noelle at 10:04 AM | Comments (1)
September 15, 2005
Olympic Paintball!
Speed skaters like you've never seen them before! During the U.S. short track team's recent relay camp in Colorado Springs they took time out for some team paintball. Looks like they had fun out there!
Team shot with paintball staff
standing: Alex Izykowski, Brian (staff), Travis Jayner, Adam Duncan, Shani Davis, Apolo Ohno, Kyle Carr, Jordan Malone, staff member
front: Kristen Biondo, Tina Koenig, Carly Wilson, Jimmy Jang, Hyo-jung Kim, Richard (staff)
Players not pictured: Amy Peterson, Cherise Wilkins, Bridie Farrell, J.P. Kepka
Click thumbnails to enlarge; mouse over for captions
Your eyes aren't playing tricks with you - Apolo is wearing two different shirts. He borrowed Jimmy's later on for added protection from the paintball buckshot.
Posted by noelle at 8:39 PM | Comments (16)
September 12, 2005
KING5 Video Interview: Apolo Ohno talks training, skating and "girls"
Sonia recently came up with an amazing find! KING5-TV in Seattle has a 20-minute unedited video interview they did with Apolo this past August 3 while he was home in Seattle.
To watch the video, click here and scroll about 1/3 of the way down the page. The name of the video is Apolo Ohno talks training, skating and "girls".
Posted by noelle at 11:01 PM | Comments (26)
Presenting the Canadian Olympic team
[Update] Toronto Star | Skaters primed for Turin
"It's the toughest competition for these guys," said Guy Thibault. "Every four years, they have to compete with their friends like they are their fiercest rivals at a level of intensity that's even harder than the Olympic Games. They risked everything out there."
Happy, relieved skaters!
top: Mathieu Turcotte, Charles Hamelin, Eric Bedard, Jonathan Guilmette, F-L Tremblay
bottom: Alanna Kraus, Kalyna Roberge, Tania Vicent, Anouk Leblanc-Boucher, Amanda Overland
photo by Lori Bayne
Posted by noelle at 9:35 AM | Comments (8)
Canadian Trials Results - 1000m #3
The Canadian Olympic trials concluded tonight in Saguenay. Many thanks to short track reporter par excellence Stephen Gough for his tireless efforts in bringing us the race results and highlights over the past 11 days! His final report follows.
***
It's over! The last races were completed today and as usual there was plenty of drama, especially considering all the possibilities. The women had to sort out their overall ranking as well as the standings in the 1000m. On the men's side, the top 5 overall was set but the possibility existed that Steve Robillard or Mathieu Giroux could win today's race and place 1st overall in the 1000m, bumping Jonathan Guilmette or Charles Hamelin from the team. The 1000m ranking remained to be sorted out as well, with valuable Olympic start positions at stake.
Women's 1000m heats
heat A
1. Overland
2. Gregg
3. Gagnon
heat B
1. Leblanc-Boucher
2. Plamondon
3. Truchon
4. Ieropoli
heat C
1. Kraus
2. Avrith
3. Gauthier
4. Lemieux
Semi A
1. Overland
2. Gregg
3. Plamondon
4. Gauthier
Plamondon took the race out quickly. Mid-race, Gregg skated several corners on the outside trying to move around Gauthier into 3rd. With around 3 to go, Overland took the lead and opened up a gap on the other skaters. Gregg fought hard to catch up to Plamondon once she had taken 3rd place and made a nice inside pass on the last straight to make her first career A final in the 1000m.
Semi B
1. Kraus
2. Leblanc-Boucher
3. Avrith
4. Gagnon
A Final
1. Kraus 1:32.476
2. Overland 1:32.591
3. Leblanc-Boucher 1:32.665
4. Gregg 1:35.480
Off the start Kraus had the lead ahead of Overland, Leblanc-Boucher and Gregg. With 5 to go Overland took the lead by the inside. On the last straight, Kraus made an inside pass to take the lead and win the race.
B Final
1. Plamondon 1:36.016
2. Avrith 1:36.108
3. Gauthier 1:36.259
Gagnon DNS
C Final
1. Lemieux 1:42.663
2. Truchon 1:42.968
Ieropoli DNS
Women's 1000m Final Standings
1. Vicent 2000
2. Kraus 1815
2. Overland 1815
4. Leblanc-Boucher 1704
5. Gregg 948
6. Lemieux 903
7. Plamondon 886
8. Roberge 816
9. Gagnon 580
10. Avrith 557
11. Gauthier 520
12. Ieropoli 502
13. Truchon 295
14. Lambert 130
15. Maltais 106
16. Sevigny 0
Women's Overall Final Standings
1. Kraus 5290
2. Overland 5210
3. Leblanc-Boucher 4990
4. Vicent 4543
5. Roberge 3374
6. Gagnon 3032
7. Plamondon 2860
8. Gregg 2764
9. Lemieux 2061
10. Avrith 1896
11. Ieropoli 1443
12. Gauthier 1254
13. Sevigny 712
14. Truchon 669
15. Maltais 588
16. Lambert 539
Roberge earns her spot on the team despite only competing in 5 of 9 events. It remains to be seen whether or not she will be given the opportunity to race any of the distances.
Men's 1000m
Heat A
Tremblay
MA Monette
JF Monette
JF has been skating with a brace on his right forearm the last 3 days due to a broken bone in his hand. At the start of this race, he toed in and fell forwards. In doing so, he dislocated his left shoulder. He moved to the inside of the track in obvious pain. The race continued slowly as Tremblay and MA Monette were assured of qualifying. With 5 to go, the referee blew the whistle stopping the race so that JF get receive medical attention.
Heat B
1. Bedard
2. Jean
3. Hamelin
Hamelin had the lead late in the race, followed by Jean and Bedard. As they approached the bell lap he stumbled exiting the corner and fell, causing Jean to go down as well. Jean was able to pop to his feet quickly however while Bedard had been trailing enough to avoid the skaters. Hamelin's chances at locking down his place in the 1000m were over and the door opened a little wider for Giroux and Robillard.
Heat C
1. Turcotte
2. Beaulieu
3. Giroux
4. Shoebridge
Turcotte was able to get away and open up a large gap with 2.5 to go. Giroux had been sitting 4th most of the race and began his charge. In 3rd behind Beaulieu, he had a major slip with 1.5 to go. But as he had done all competition he was able to re-accelerate and close the gap on Beaulieu. He set up the last corner wide to make his move at the finish but stumbled and fell, ending his chances of qualifying for the semi and making the Olympic team.
Heat D
1. Robillard
2. Guilmette
3. C. Rasmussen
4. D. Rasmussen DQ
Guilmette and Robillard sat 3rd and 4th most of the race before attacking the lead with 3.5 to go. Guilmette went around by the outside while Robillard took the inside route. There was a little contact between D. Rasmussen and Robillard with both skaters stumbling. Robillard was able to hold on to the lead and win the race, keeping his slim hopes alive.
Semi A
1. Turcotte
2. MA Monette
3. Tremblay
4. Beaulieu
Tremblay's failure to qualify for the A final meant that Robillard could win the 1000m overall by winning the A final.
Semi B
1. Bedard
2. Jean
3. Robillard
4. Guilmette
This semi was controlled from the front by Jean. As the laps wound down, he was trailed by Robillard, Bedard and Guilmette who were building speed and waiting for an opportunity to pass. Robillard looked like he was going to make a move by the outside but stayed in 2nd. Bedard was able exit the 2nd to last corner tightly and move from 3rd to 1st. Robillard's chance to make the team ended and all that remained to be sorted out was the 1000m ranking, with both Turcotte and Bedard needing a top 3 finish to pass Hamelin in the 1000m standings.
A Final
1. Bedard 1:26.833
2. Turcotte 1:26.898
3. MA Monette 1:26.961
4. Jean 1:27.268
Off the start Bedard had the lead followed by Jean, Turcotte and Monette. With 7.5 to go, Turcotte took the lead by the inside. With 6.5 to go, Bedard took the lead by the inside. The next straight, Jean went from 3rd to 1st by the inside. With 4.5 to go, Bedard seized the lead and Turcotte moved into 2nd. Turcotte looked like he was ready to take the lead but stumbled, providing Bedard with enough breathing room to maintain his lead to the end and win his 2nd consecutive race.
B Final
1. Tremblay 1:24.298
2. Beaulieu 1:25.107
3. Robillard 1:28.391
4. Guilmette 1:34.813
With everything decided, the skaters in this race put on a show for the crowd. Guilmette took the lead off the start, accelerating as if he were in a 500m. Robillard was in 2nd, Tremblay 3rd and Beaulieu 4th. Mid-race, Guilmette exited the corner wide and dropped out of the pack. Robillard had the lead until 2 to go when he did the same, allowing Tremblay to take the lead. Tremblay powered on and crossed the line in a new Canadian record and unofficial world record.
C Final
1. Hamelin 1:27.220
2. Giroux 1:27.409
3. C. Rasmussen 1:29.015
4. D. Rasmussen 1:46.668
D Final
Shoebridge DNS
JF Monette DNS
Men's 1000m Final Standings
1. Tremblay 1888
2. Bedard 1691
3. Turcotte 1540
4. Hamelin 1339
5. Guilmette 1230
6. Robillard 1209
7. Giroux 1191
8. MA Monette 1108
9. Jean 864
10. JF Monette 674
11. Beaulieu 535
12. C. Rasmussen 289
13. D. Rasmussen 265
14. Shoebridge 169
15. Therrien 156
16. Scholten 0
Men's Overall Final Standings
1. Tremblay 5548
2. Turcotte 5454
3. Bedard 4514
4. Hamelin 4389
5. Guilmette 3978
6. Robillard 2839
7. Giroux 2680
8. MA Monette 2360
9. Jean 2283
10. JF Monette 2219
11. D. Rasmussen 1827
12. Beaulieu 1342
13. Shoebridge 1108
14. C. Rasmussen 888
15. Therrien 517
16. Scholten 326
Canada's Olympic Team
Women: Alanna Kraus, Amanda Overland, Anouk Leblanc-Boucher, Tania Vicent, Kalyna Roberge
Men: Francois-Louis Tremblay, Mathieu Turcotte, Eric Bedard, Charles Hamelin, Jonathan Guilmette
Canada.com | Six Olympic medallists named to Canadian short-track speed skating squad
Posted by noelle at 12:02 AM | Comments (6)
September 11, 2005
Canadian Trials Results - 500m #3
Two more skaters nailed down their positions on the Canadian Olympic team tonight in Saguenay – Alanna Kraus and Eric Bedard. Compared to the 2nd set of 500m races, tonight was quite tame. But it was still a night of dramatic races and some controversy.
[Update] Canada.com | Kraus and Bedard assure nominations at short-track speed skating trials
Women’s Heats
Heat A
1. Kraus 45.137
2. Leblanc-Boucher 45.211
3. Plamondon 45.329
Heat B
1. Gagnon 45.012
2. Lemieux 46.076
3. Avrith 46.095
4. Truchon 46.405
Avrith passed Truchon by the outside on the last lap but both went wide opening the door for Lemieux to move from 4th to 2nd on the last straight.
Heat C
1. Gregg 45.142
2. Overland 45.204
3. Gauthier 46.405
4. Ieropoli 1:10.054
Vicent did not skate due to a muscle injury so qualifying was 1st two places plus 2 fastest 3rd places.
Semi A
1. Overland 45.308
2. Plamondon 45.390
3. Gagnon 45.492
4. Avrith
Overland won the start from start position #1 and led the whole way.
Semi B
1. Kraus 44.820
2. Leblanc-Boucher 44.825
3. Gregg
4. Lemieux
Gregg almost won the start from position #3 but was nudged wide entering the 1st corner by Leblanc-Boucher. She and Kraus then fought for 2nd place for about a lap before Kraus was able to get ahead and settle in behind Leblanc-Boucher.
A Final (a real A final)
1. Alanna 44.990
2. Anouk 45.049
3. Annik 45.164
4. Amanda 45.262
Kraus started 2nd on the line, Leblanc-Boucher to her left and Plamondon to her right. She won the start and led the whole race with no changes in placing behind her.
B Final
1. Gregg 45.018
2. Gagnon 45.052
3. Avrith 45.861
4. Lemieux 46.228
C Final
1. Gauthier 46.741
2. Truchon 46.808
3. Ieropoli DNF (finished 3rd but was too far inside the track)
Women’s 500m Final Standings (best 2 results + ½ of worst result)
1. Kraus 2408
2. Leblanc-Boucher 1439
3. Gagnon 1326
4. Overland 1308
5. Gregg 1290
6. Roberge 1196
7. Plamondon 1093
8. Avrith 996
9. Vicent 639
10. Lemieux 579
11. Ieropoli 424
12. Gauthier 379
13. Truchon 259
14. Lambert 246
15. Maltais 241
16. Sevigny 46
Women’s Overall Standings after 8 events
1. Overland 4727
2. Kraus 4561
3. Leblanc-Boucher 4545
4. Vicent 4543
5. Roberge 3374
6. Gagnon 2889
7. Plamondon 2564
8. Gregg 2264
9. Lemieux 1963
10. Avrith 1569
11. Ieropoli 1378
12. Gauthier 1024
13. Sevigny 712
14. Maltais 588
15. Lambert 539
16. Truchon 538
Women’s 1000m heats (VERY unofficial)
A
Overland
Gregg
Gagnon
B
Leblanc-Boucher
Plamondon
Ieropoli
Truchon
C
Kraus
Lemieux
Gauthier
Avrith
Men’s 500m heats
Heat A
1. Tremblay 41.903
2. D. Rasmussen 42.089
3. MA Monette 42.140
Tremblay passed Rasmussen by the inside with 2 to go to take the lead.
Heat B
1. Bedard 41.613
2. Guilmette 42.248
3. Robillard DQ
The 3 skaters were together in the above order for the whole race. Robillard made a last-ditch effort on the last straight but there was no space.
Heat C
1. Turcotte 41.448
2. Hamelin 41.523
3. Giroux 41.614
4. Jean 41.642
Hamelin went past Turcotte on the first straight by the outside. With 2.5 to go, Turcotte retook the lead by the inside. Giroux moved into 3rd on the last corner but he wasn’t able to get close enough to grab a qualifying position at the finish line.
Heat D
1. C. Rasmussen 42.449
2. JF Monette 42.475
3. Shoebridge 42.520
4. Beaulieu 42.591
Off the start, Monette toed in and fell to the ice. At the first block, Rasmussen did the same. There was no contact in either case but the starter recalled the race after Rasmussen went down. Granted a 2nd chance, both skaters took advantage and qualified for the semi finals.
Semi A – 1st try
Start positions
1. C. Rasmussen
2. Turcotte
3. D. Rasmussen
4. JF Monette
Cory Rasmussen, sporting his spiderman skin suit tonight, grabbed the lead off the start with his brother Daryl in 2nd, Turcotte 3rd and Monette 4th. There was no sign of Cory's other brother Daryl. Turcotte was building speed by the outside and looking for an opening behind the two brothers. He cut inside sharply heading down the straight with 1 lap to go and passed into 2nd but was unable to hold the corner and Daryl passed him back immediately. Exiting the final turn, Cory stumbled and fell forward while the other skaters scrambled for the line. In doing so, Turcotte wound up risking another DQ at the line for kicking out. The referee reviewed the race video and there was a lengthy delay. Once he finished, there was some discussion with his assistant followed by a brief discussion with the head of the SSC High Performance Short Track Committee as well as the SSC High Performance Director. It was then announced that the race would be rerun because blocks (two?) were out of place on the corner where Turcotte had attempted to pass Rasmussen.
Semi A 2nd try
1. Turcotte 41.666
2. D. Rasmussen 41.841
3. JF Monette 41.918
4. C. Rasmussen 43.277
An uneventful race compared to the first go-round. Turcotte won the start ahead of Daryl, Cory and Monette. With 1.5 to go, Cory tried moving up the inside of his brother but had to back off, costing him speed and 3rd place.
Semi B
1. Bedard 41.943
2. Hamelin 41.982
3. Tremblay 42.103
4. Guilmette 42.294
Hamelin and Tremblay went back and forth between 2nd and 3rd mid-race. Bedard’s fast start in the 500m continued to serve him well as he led the whole race.
A Final
1. Bedard 42.255
2. Hamelin 42.271
3. D. Rasmussen 42.506
4. Turcotte DQ
A thrilling race as Bedard fought from behind to win his place on the Olympic team. Off the start Rasmussen was in the lead ahead of Bedard, Hamelin and Turcotte. Turcotte tried to move from 4th to 2nd with 2.5 laps to go on the inside. There was some contact however with Bedard and both stumbled, enabling Hamelin to move ahead into 2nd behind Rasmussen. Incredibly, Bedard was able to recover and on the bell he passed both Rasmussen and Hamelin to seize 1st place. Hamelin had been setting up an outside pass on Rasmussen at the same time and went past him on the last lap. At the finish he continued to the outside of Bedard but was unable to get his skate to the line first.
B Final
1. Guilmette 41.823
2. Tremblay 41.899
3. JF Monette 42.014
4. C. Rasmussen 43.014
Rasmussen won the start ahead of the 3 other skaters but was unable to hold them off as each passed on consecutive straights midway through the race.
C Final
1. Giroux 42.289
2. Jean 42.332
3. MA Monette 42.515
4. Robillard
Robillard fell with one to go after leading the race from the start.
D Final
1. Beaulieu 43.144
2. Shoebridge 43.554
Men’s 500m Final Standings
1. Bedard 2149
2. Tremblay 1997
3. Turcotte 1765
4. Hamelin 1359
5. JF Monette 1109
6. Guilmette 1029
7. D. Rasmussen 1028
8. Shoebridge 773
9. MA Monette 708
10. Robillard 429
11. Jean 385
12. C. Rasmussen 370
13. Giroux 282
14. Beaulieu 245
15. Scholten 196
16. Therrien 156
Men’s Overall Standings after 8 events
1. Tremblay 5326
2. Turcotte 4819
3. Hamelin 4291
4. Guilmette 3857
5. Bedard 3661
6. Robillard 2642
7. Giroux 2600
8. JF Monette 2184
9. Jean 1820
10. MA Monette 1774
11. D. Rasmussen 1750
12. Shoebridge 1066
13. Beaulieu 1023
14. C. Rasmussen 811
15. Therrien 517
16. Scholten 326
Men’s 1000m Heats (Unofficial)
Heat A
Tremblay
Monette
Monette
Heat B
Hamelin
Bedard
Jean
Heat C
Giroux
Turcotte
Beaulieu
Shoebridge
Heat D
Guilmette
Robillard
Rasmussen
Rasmussen
Robillard and Giroux still have a chance to win the 1000m and make the team, despite being out of the top 5 overall. The top 5 overall cannot change.
Posted by noelle at 12:29 AM | Comments (2)