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January 12, 2006
Apolo ad in Sports Illustrated
Thanks to Sue for sharing this ad featuring Apolo from this week's Sports Illustrated magazine.
click to enlarge
Posted by noelle at 11:29 PM | Comments (6)
January 11, 2006
Get thee to a newsstand!
[1/14 update] Article scans are now in, thanks to Sue! Click links below.
A couple of feature articles on Apolo are out in magazines currently on the newsstands:
Esquire | One Thing Perfectly (February 2006)
"He fills the waiting mostly with routine. Every night, like tonight, he returns to his shared dorm room at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs (where he's now spent seven of his twenty-three years), stretches out on the floor's thin carpet, and works on his skates. Having once been in the hearts of millions, he seems surprisingly comfortable leading a life that's one part machinist, one part monk."
Skate-sharpening never sounded so romantic! This article is poetry... but it's also 'ghetto booty.' And yes, it's also the lingerie buying guide issue, to make you feel extra self-conscious while scanning the 'men's interest' section of the newsstand.
scan page 1 | page 2 | page 3
Sports Illustrated for Kids | On the Fast Track
I can't find an image online of the current issue, but you can't miss it since Apolo is the cover boy! It's the February 2006 Winter Olympics Preview issue. Not only is Apolo on the cover, but there is also a fold-out poster of him racing and a feature article on him.
scan page 1 | page 2 | page 3
Posted by noelle at 8:37 PM | Comments (33)
Apolo featured on McDonald's packaging
Many of you have written in or posted comments after discovering that McDonalds is currently using bags featuring Apolo on both sides, with pictures from the 2002 Olympics. Thanks to Sue who scanned the bags for us everyone can now see what they look like!
click thumbnails to enlarge
Posted by noelle at 9:47 AM | Comments (20)
January 10, 2006
NBC's Torino schedule
This came in today from the USOC and should be helpful in planning your must-see TV next month! Each day's schedule shows which athletes NBC expects to focus on in their highlights show. Short track athletes logically will be highlighted on the days that short track is contested in Torino. Download the schedule (MS Word doc).
Also, from NBCOlympics.com, confirmation that Dan Weinstein will indeed provide his Ivy-League short track commentary: "Ted Robinson provides play-by-play at short track speed skating with two-time U.S. Olympian Dan Weinstein as analyst and reporter Lesley Visser making her NBC debut in her fourth Olympic broadcast assignment."
Posted by noelle at 9:28 PM | Comments (8)
Media roundup
Bay City Times | Olympic dream carries big price
Al and Joann Izykowski would mortgage the farm, if they had one, to see their son compete next month in the XX Olympic Winter Games in Turin, Italy.The proud parents of Bay City Olympian Alex Izykowski have put their lives literally on ice, scrambling for resources to be at Olympic Stadium for the Game's opening ceremonies Feb. 10.
The Izykowskis have never seen Alex compete internationally, except through computer screens. They will be able to see Alex next month, in person, even if they have to pay for it the rest of their lives.
[Reminder] Visit Alex's web site for details on how to help.
Donga.com | Speed-Skating Medal Hopes Rest With Ahn
Hyun-soo Ahn’s biggest rival for the gold is America’s Apolo Ono [sic], who is still in his prime. MSNBC recently ranked him third among athletes most likely to win gold medals for U.S. team. Ono won the 500m and 1,000m events at the U.S. national championship last year and took home America’s top national ranking. He is tougher and more skilled than he was four years ago.“Ono is not the only one we have to worry about, however. Italians have the home-field advantage,†Ahn said. “I’m focusing my training on being able to handle different situations better.â€
People's Daily Online | S.Korea aims to reach top 10 in medal standings at Winter Olympic Games
South Korean skater Ahn Hyun-soo, top ranked in the recent World Cup rankings, is expected to win at least two golds in his best event: the 1,500-meter race, as well as the 500-meter and 1,000-meter ones.South Korea is also pinning hopes on up-and-coming female skater Jin Sun-yu, 18, who swept four disciplines in the World Cup in November 2005 to win the championship in the overall rankings.
Well known for their agility and quick reactions, South Korean short track skaters might earn more golds in men's and women's relay events.
Colorado Springs Gazette | Colorado Springs host to unveiling of 39-cent 2006 Olympics stamp
Colorado Springs post offices and the United States Olympic Committee have teamed up to [unveil the new stamp with a] free event featuring [American Idol finalist Vonzell] Solomon and Colorado Springs resident Caroline Hallisey, a member of the 2006 Winter Olympic U.S. Short Track Speedskating team.
Sportal.com.au | Speed skaters named
Posted by noelle at 9:30 AM | Comments (7)
January 9, 2006
U.S. Junior World Team and day 3 recap
I always love the team shots! For lots more great photos from the final day of competition, check the gallery. Many thanks to Beth and Phil Bedford for providing photos and updates - they really went above and beyond the call of duty, struggling with outdated computers in smoky Internet cafes to bring us the news from Romania!
by Phil Bedford
Posing at the end of the competition are (clockwise from top left) Jeff Simon, coach Tricia Stennes, team leader Adam Riedy, Ryan Bedford, trainer Peter Toohey, J.R. Celski, Lana Gehring, Katherine Reutter and Carly Wilson
Courtesy of Beth Bedford, here is a recap of the final day of competition in Romania:
In the 1000s Carly made it to the quarter finals, Katherine and Lana made it to the heats. They all skated well, but these are very hard heats at the Jr. Worlds. In the boys, Jeff fell in the heat and then fell through the blocks. He was dq'd for off track, which means that he didn't go back around the block when he got back up.In the quarter finals, JR and Nick Bean both fell when they got tripped up by another skater that fell. JR and Nick hurt their backs and they could not get up. They stopped the race and then restarted it. Nick and JR are OK, but were dq'd for not finishing the race. Ryan made it to the semis and was a close 3rd. Frank ended up 3rd in the final. Another medal for the Canadians.
In the relay, because Nick could hardly skate with his back, the Canadians ended up second, but they skated with everything they had, only getting past in the last couple of laps.
In the super 1500, JR competed with a sore back and skated really well. All of the races were exciting. The banquet was last night and the skaters had a great time dancing and trading their "skating clothes" with other skaters from other countries.It was an interesting crowd in that they really did cheer for the skaters from Hungary. The Romanian skaters didn't make it out of many prelims, so they really cheered for the Hungary skaters and the European skaters when skating against the Asian skaters. I guess it is universal that people cheer to beat the Koreans.
Posted by noelle at 5:43 PM | Comments (3)
January 8, 2006
Junior Worlds, day 2 (relays, super final and overall results)
J.R. Celski, Frank Hamelin and Jessica Gregg were all eligible to skate in the 1500m super finals today based on their performances this weekend. Frank and J.R. finished 4th and 6th, respectively, and Jessica was 6th. Congratulations to all three on their top-8 overall performances!
Congratulations also to the Canadian men, who took silver in the relay final behind France. Looked like an exciting race and France must have come from behind at the very end to snatch the gold! The Canadian women finished 4th in their relay final. Great effort by both teams!
Canadian and French men on the relay podium (l to r): Joel Mineau, Nick Bean, Frank Hamelin, Jeremy Masson, Xavier Charpentier, Maxime Chataignier
Men's overall classification
1. Sung-ju Lee (KOR) 76 pts
2. Maxime Chataignier (FRA) 47
3. Jae-han Kim (KOR) 42
4. Robert Seifert (GER) 39
5. Seung-hoon Lee (KOR) 34 - didn't skate the super final??
6. Dariusz Kulesza (POL) 23
7. Francois Hamelin (CAN) 21
8. J.R. Celski (USA) 16
10. Joel Mineau (CAN) 5
13. Nicholas Bean (CAN)
20. Ryan Bedford (USA)
23. Jeff Simon (USA)
Ladies' overall classification
1. Eun-ju Jung (KOR) 115 pts
2. Jung-won Choi (KOR) 63
3. Yang Zhou (CHN) 50
4. Arianna Fontana (ITA) 29
5. Jessica Gregg (CAN) 18
11. Valerie Maltais (CAN)
16. Carly Wilson (USA)
18. Andrea Do-Duc (CAN)
35. Katherine Reutter (USA)
40. Lana Gehring (USA)
US Speedskating | U.S. Boys Finish in Top 25 at Jr. World Championship
Posted by noelle at 9:41 AM | Comments (13)
Junior Worlds, day 2 - 1000m results
Men's 1000m podium: Sung-ju Lee (KOR) silver, Maxime Chataignier (FRA) gold, Frank Hamelin (CAN) bronze
Congratulations to Canada's Frank Hamelin on his bronze medal in the men's 1000m today in Romania! The men's medals were a majority-French affair, with Maxime Chataignier, who had a strong season on the World Cup circuit, taking gold for France. Silver went to Sung-ju Lee of Korea. The 4th skater, Jae-han Kim (KOR) was disqualified.
Ryan Bedford made it all the way to the 1000m semis today where he finished 3rd, just missing that spot in the final. Congrats, Ryan!
USA's J.R. Celski and Canada's Nick Bean, both skating in the same 1000m quarter final race ,are listed as DNF. Jeff Simon was eliminated after being disqualified in the heats in a bizarre race in which 3 of 5 skaters received DQs. [explanation from USS of J.R.'s and Jeff's races here] Canada's Joel Mineau was DQ'ed in the heats.
On the women's side, Carly Wilson made it as far as the quarter finals before being eliminated.Lana Gehring was eliminated in the heats and Katherine Reutter in the preliminaries. Among the Canadian women, Valerie Maltais had a strong day, making it to the 1000m semis, where she finished 4th. Andrea Do-Doc and Jessica Gregg were eliminated in their quarter finals.
The women's 1000m final was a race between the three Korean women and a long Chinese skater (Yang Zhou). Gold and silver both went to Korea with China earning bronze after the disqualification of the 3rd Korean.
Posted by noelle at 9:14 AM | Comments (0)