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November 18, 2006
Canadian trials - day 2 results
From Calgary (complete results here):
Kalyna Roberge and Charles Hamelin are dominating so far. Both skaters earned their second victories today by winning the women's and men's 500m, respectively.
[update] Speed Skating Canada reports that Hamelin set a new Canadian record time of 41.151 in his 500m quarter final. However, the SSC web site lists the current 500m Canadian record as 41,035 (also held by Hamelin) -- so I'm a bit baffled, but anyway, the ice is fast!
Hamelin and Roberge repeat winners at national team trials in short track speed skating
Men 500m A final
1. Charles Hamelin
2. Francois-Louis Tremblay
3. Jeff Scholten
4. Mathieu Turcotte
Men 500m B final
1. Marc-Andre Monette
2. Liam McFarlane
3. Guillaume Blais-Dufour
4. Alex Boisvert-Lacroix
Women 500m A final
1. Kalyna Roberge
2. Jessica Gregg
3. Anne Maltais
4. Andrea Do-Duc
Women 500m B final
1. Anouk Leblanc-Boucher
2. Marianne St-Gelais
3. Melanie Gagnon
4. Valerie Gauthier.
Top 10 overall after 2 days:
Top 10 Women
1 ROBERGE, Kalyna 2 000 points
2 LEBLANC-BOUCHER, Anouk 986
3 MALTAIS, Anne 907
4 GREGG, Jessica 902
5 BLONDIN, Ivanie 862
6 OVERLAND, Amanda 846
7 DO-DUC, Andréa 562
8 ST-GELAIS, Marianne 558
9 PLAMONDON, Annik 549
10 AVRITH, Nita 386
Top 10 Men
1 HAMELIN, Charles 2 000 points
2 TREMBLAY, François-Louis 1 259
3 MONETTE, Marc-André 1 109
4 SCHOLTEN, Jeffrey 862
5 JEAN, Olivier 835
6 TURCOTTE, Mathieu 613
7 GUILMETTE, Jonathan 589
8 GILDAY, Michael 558
9 MCFARLANE, Liam 362
10 BOISVERT-LACROIX, Alex 347
Posted by noelle at 7:56 PM | Comments (25)
November 17, 2006
Canadian trials - day 1 results
Canada is selecting their team this weekend for the next World Cups. Competition got underway today in Calgary with the 1500m.
From what I've read, the top 3 male and female finishers will automatically get spots on the World Cup team. The remaining 3 men and women will be named based on discretion of the high performance committee, which is looking to expose up-and-coming 2010 Olympic hopefuls to international competition.
1500m Final A women
1. Kalyna Roberge
2. Amanda Overland
3. Ivanie Blondin
4. Anouk Leblanc-Boucher
5. Annik Plamondon
6. Nita Avrith
1500m Final A men
1. Charles Hamelin
2. Olivier Jean
3. Marc-André Monette
4. Jonathan Guilmette
5. Francois-Louis Tremblay
6. Michael Gilday
7. Nathaniel Therrien
Roberge and Hamelin strike first at short track speed skating national team trials
Plus: Very interesting article about Yellowknife's Michael Gilday:
Canada.com | Yellowknife's Gilday to test his mettle against Canada's best short-trackers
Thanks to Stephen Gough for the results!
Posted by noelle at 7:15 PM | Comments (17)
November 16, 2006
Web sites for World Cups 3 and 4
Speed Skating Canada has launched informational web sitse for the Saguenay and Montreal World Cups coming up next month. I know a lot of you have emailed asking for ticket info - you'll find info on prices and how to purchase tickets on both sites, as well as event schedules and more.
click image for web sites
or click these links to go directly to the individual English-language sites:
Posted by noelle at 5:52 PM | Comments (14)
November 15, 2006
Nick and Cassie at American Cup 2
Thanks to Trisha, who attended the event last weekend, for sending in some shots of Nick and Cassie in action!
Cassie Dins skating in her 1500m Super Final
Nick Ah Kun and Alex Izykowski on the exercise bikes
Two more photos (click for full size):
- Nick skating in his 1500m
- Cassie is skating in her 1500m (helmet # 46)
Posted by noelle at 10:24 PM | Comments (7)
Anthony Lobello update
Marquette Mining Journal | USOEC’s Lobello picked to participate in conference
United States Olympic Education Center speedskater and 2006 Olympian Anthony Lobello is traveling to New York City to participate in the Business Today International Conference Nov.18-21.Lobello is among the 150 students selected to attend from a pool of more than 1,000 applicants from around the world.
Posted by noelle at 8:12 PM | Comments (8)
Derek Parra to head up inline transition program
I guess Speed Skating Canada isn't the only federation revamping to take on the challenges of 2010 and beyond. Today US Speedskating announced another new hire -- recently retired long tracker (and well-known inline-to-ice convert) Derek Parra will oversee a new 'inline transition' program for USS.
U.S.SPEEDSKATING ANNOUNCES THE HIRING OF OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALLIST DEREK PARRA TO MANAGE NEW PROGRAM
The newly created program is a collaborative effort with the USOC and in principle with the USA Roller Sports national governing body, to provide programs, which identify a select group of developmental and elite athletes from the inline speed skating community who are seeking to transition from the roads or track to ice. In most cases athletes will participate in both sports.There have been several athletes who have achieved great success in the long track and short track speedskating, such as Olympian KC Boutiette, 2006 Gold Medallist Joey Cheek, (2002 and) 2006 Gold Medallist Apolo Anton Ohno, 2002 Bronze Medallist Jennifer Rodriquez, 2006 Gold Medallist Chad Hedrick, 2006 Olympians, Anthony Lobello, Allison Baver, Kimberly Derrick and Kristin Holzer and 2006 World Cup athlete (and 2006 U.S. Champion) Jordan Malone, all have their roots in inline skating.
Posted by noelle at 5:22 PM | Comments (7)
November 14, 2006
Canadian news
Canada will have their team trials this coming weekend to pick their World Cup team. Here a couple of recent articles with Canada short track-related news.
'If we want to be No. 1 in the world we can never accept the status quo'
More on the changes Speed Skating Canada is going through as part of the Canadian Olympic Committee's mission to 'own the podium' at the 2010 Vancouver Games.
Canada.com | Winning really is long and short of it
"Instead of just sending our top racing team to World Cups we've identified athletes who have medal potential in 2010 and we're offering them opportunities to develop," says [SSC President] Jean Dupre, who operates his program on an annual budget of about $5.3 million, twice what it was immediately after the 2002 Olympics but nowhere near what Korea, China, Germany and Holland pour in.
Cambridge (ON) Times | All Overland, all night at sports awards
Olympic silver medalist for Canada Amanda Overland and her dad were both honored for their accomplishments and contributions to speed skating in their home province. Amanda received athlete of the year honors there. It's a pretty neat story... over the years her dad (longest serving speed skating coach in Ontario) coached people like former U.S. coach Derrick Campbell.
The Overlands became the first parent/child duo to win the contributor and athlete awards the same year since its inception in the 1970s. And that fact wasn't lost on Overland, who already watched daughter Cindy win the Turow award in 2002 and son Kevin cop team of the year honours with the Cambridge Speed Skating Club's senior men's short track relay team in 1990."It's a pretty neat thing, eh?," Overland said.
Spoken like a true Canadian!
Posted by noelle at 9:38 PM | Comments (7)
November 13, 2006
New USA World Cup team
Women: Tina Koenig, Kimberly Derrick, Cherise Wilkins, Lezleigh Jaworski, Sonia Milan, Sarah Lang
Men: J.P. Kepka, Travis Jayner, Alex Izykowski, Ryan Bedford, Jordan Malone (missing: Charles Ryan Leveille)
I love those penguins!
Update: Bay City Times | Derrick goes 2-for-2 on final day of Midland speed skating event
Midland Daily News | Bedford, Izykowski make World Cup team
This weekend's event also selected the team that will represent the USA at the World University Games in Torino in January. Those skaters are:
Men: Ryan Bedford, J.P. Kepka, Anthony Lobello, Derek Gray, Kyle Carr
Women: Kimberly Derrick, Cherise Wilkins, Sonia Milan, Katherine Reutter, Erica Lanser
Congratulations to all!
Posted by noelle at 10:01 AM | Comments (47)
Great come from behind for Izy
Detroit Free Press | Skater on U.S. team
He was in seventh place overall in the point standings, which wasn't bad considering Izykowski was returning to competition after a summer of hardship, having missed months of training with a leg injury suffered in a cycling accident. But for Izykowski, the Olympic relay bronze medalist from Bay City, seventh just wasn't going to cut it -- not if he wanted to make the U.S. World Cup team. Only the top six qualify.And that's what Izykowski got. He powered his way to the front, stayed there for most of the race and won. And this was his reward: Izykowski grabbed the third spot on the six-man World Cup team...
Way to go, Izy!
Midland's Ryan Bedford also had an outstanding meet on his home ice, finishing 2nd overall at American Cup 2:
For Bedford, a former three-time U.S. junior world team member, his performance Sunday was especially gratifying. He grew up in Midland and was a product of the Midland Speedskating Club, which hosted the event. But his ties are deeper than that. His mother, Beth Bedford, was meet director of the American Cup II and, as a former masters short track and long track speedskating champion, was her son's first coach."Speedskating was what we did as a family," said Ryan Bedford, whose younger sister, Kristin, is also a speedskater. "What I got from my mom was the importance of a good training base -- to always train hard. I was the kid who could always push through the finish line."
Posted by noelle at 9:27 AM | Comments (5)
November 12, 2006
American Cup 2, day 2
Congratulations to the new World Cup team members who will represent the USA in Saguenay, Montreal, Heerenveen and Budapest!
Men: Jordan Malone, Ryan Bedford, Alex Izykowski, Travis Jayner, J.P. Kepka, Charles Ryan Leveille
Women: Tina Koenig, Kimberly Derrick, Cherise Wilkins, Sonia Milan, Lezleigh Jaworski, Sarah Lang (Lana Gehring qualified but declined her spot)
Men's 3000m A Final
1. Alex Izykowski
2. Ryan Bedford
3. Jordan Malone
4. Charles Ryan Leveille
5. Travis Jayner
6. Anthony Lobello
7. Derek Gray
8. J.P. Kepka
Women's 3000m A Final
1. Kimberly Derrick
2. Tina Koenig
3. Sonya Milan
4. Lezleigh Jaworski
5. Sarah Lang
6. Lana Gehring
7. Mary Grace
8. Cherise Wilkins
Men's 1000m A final:
1. Jordan Malone
2. Travis Jayner
3. Ryan Bedford
4. J.P. Kepka
B Final
1. Derek Gray
2. Charles Leveille
3. Jeff Simon
DQ Anthony Lobello
Women's 1000m A final:
1. Kimberly Derrick
2. Tina Koenig
3. Cherise Wilkins
4. Sonia Milan
5. Sarah Lang
Detailed results available here.
Laurent (Larry) Daignault is there coaching the Colorado skaters and he's getting rave reviews already!
Midland Daily News | Bedford in second place at American Cup II
Posted by noelle at 4:48 PM | Comments (23)
American Cup 2, day 1
Ryan Bedford won the 1500m and J.P. Kepka won the 500m, while Tina Koenig won both distances on the ladies' side.
Men overall standings after day 1:
1. JP Kepka - 1,125 points
2. Ryan Bedford - 1,040
3. Jordan Malone - 775
4. Travis Jayner - 691
5. Anthony Lobello - 490
6. Charles Leveille - 480]
7. Alex Izykowski - 425
8. Kyle Carr - 295
9. Levi Kirkpatrick - 165
10. Derek Gray - 140
11. Jeff Simon - 127
[correction:] Anthony Lobello and Charles Leveille's results were initially posted in the wrong order - now corrected above.
Women overall standings after day 1:
1. Tina Koenig - 2,000 points
2. Kimberly Derrick - 1,000
3. Cherise Wilkins - 670
4. Lana Gehring - 575
5. Lezleigh Jaworski - 500
6. Sonia Milan - 205
7. (tie) Katherine Reutter & Alyson Dudek - 171
9. Mary Grace - 150
10. Sarah Lang - 131
Full results aren't currently available.
Alex Izykowski had some rough luck yesterday with a couple falls in the 1500m - he finished 5th in the 1500m final and 4th in the 500m final.
Bay City Times | Izykowski has tough time on Midland track
Saginaw News | 'It hasn't changed a bit,' Olympian Izykowski says
Posted by noelle at 8:30 AM | Comments (10)