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September 22, 2007
Canadian trials day 2 results
Newcomer Alex Boisvert-Lacroix joins Kalyna Roberge and Mathieu Giroux who have now earned spots for themselves on Canada's World Cup team as a result of their victories in the individual distances raced so far.
In the best 'that's short track' fashion, there was a huge upset on the men's side today...
Men's A final results:
1. Alex Boisvert-Lacroix
2. Charles Hamelin
3. Steve Robillard
4. Jean-Francois Monette
Patinage de vitesse courte piste describes the race as 'spectacular' and reports that development team member Alex took the lead from the start. Charles passed him on the 3rd lap, but Alex took back the lead a little later with a very tight pass.
Women's A final results:
1. Kalyna Roberge
2. Anne Maltais
3. Tania Vicent
4. Valerie Lambert
Earlier, Charles Hamelin reportedly skated 40.95 in his 500m semi - well under world record time.
Earlier:
Skating gets underway today at noon in Calgary with 500m heats. Start lists are posted at patinagevitessecourtepiste.blogspot.com.
In the meantime, some links:
Vancouver Sun | Kraus off to slow start at short track nationals
The two-time Olympic medallist from Abbotsford, who sat out last season because of tendinitis in her right Achilles tendon, could do no better than 16th in the women's 1,500 metres at national team trials in Calgary. "Coming into this is a little bit scary," Kraus told reporters in Calgary. "The competition is so early and I don't really feel prepared and am just trying to get back to where I was."
La Tribune | Mathieu Turcotte revient à la compétition reposé
Mathieu discusses his 'sabbatical' year and says he's not expecting to earn a spot on the World Cup team at this event. Instead, he's taking the opportunity to get his feet wet in competition again.
Posted by noelle at 8:38 AM | Comments (7)
September 21, 2007
Canadian trials day 1 results
They're skating the 1500m today in Calgary. The patinage de vitesse - courte piste blog has the results of the women's and men's heats and sem--finals.
Men's A final results:
1. Mathieu Giroux - 2:10.93
2. Charles Hamelin - 2:10.98
3. Steve Robillard 2:11.08
4. Jonathan Guilmette
DQ Marc-Andre Monette
DQ Michael Gilday
Charles is mortal, after all...! Eliminated early on: Jean-Francois Monette fell in his heat and didn't advance while Mathieu Turcotte stripped an edge in his.
Women's A final results:
1. Kalyna Roberge
2. Anne Maltais
3. Valerie Lambert
4. Tania Vicent
5. Amanda Overland
6. Nita Avrith
Some bad luck struck, as Amanda and Nita fell in the straightaway with a lap and a half to go, while sitting 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
Women's B final results:
1. Andrea Do-Duc
2. Valerie Maltais
3. Jessica Hewitt
4. Jessica Gregg
5. Anne-Sophie Grenon
6. Ivanie Blondin (fell)
Posted by noelle at 3:51 PM | Comments (4)
Canadian trials #1 begin today in Calgary
They'll be skating the 1500m today. Francois-Louis Tremblay and Marianne St-Gelais join Olivier Jean on the injured list and won't be skating.
I'm hoping to get some periodic updates with results from the rink - in the meantime, there's great coverage over at patinagevitessecourtepiste.blogspot.com with the opening 1500m heats listed so you can see who's skating against whom. Also, check out the training photos from the past few days. Those athletes have been working hard!
It's all in French, but most things should be self-explanatory.
The guys are exhausted after a hard a training session:
photo courtesy patinagevitessecourtepiste.blogspot.com
Posted by noelle at 12:26 PM | Comments (9)
September 20, 2007
New Zealand skater to train in Korea
I don't know how many OZ readers these days will be familiar with his name, but Blake Skjellerup has represented New Zealand on the short track circuit since I've been following the sport (although at 22 he's still very much a young'un!). Blake is one of the friendliest guys you can meet and is often the only Kiwi on the ice at international meets.
As you'll see, being a short track speed skater in his home country isn't always easy. As a result, you won't see Blake on the podium very often, but the desire and motivation are clearly there and he's had some strong performances in recent seasons.
Press.co.nz | Skjellerup seeks ice time
When Blake Skjellerup, New Zealand's top short-track speed skater, starts an international competition, it is at a disadvantage. At home in Christchurch, Skjellerup can train a paltry four hours a week because of restricted rink time, a fraction of what the top international racers do. To narrow the gap, Skjellerup left yesterday to train for three months in Seoul, South Korea, with some of the world's best.The trip, which will cost $3000, has been organised by Skjellerup himself. He is not ranked high enough in the world to warrant Sparc funding, so he has knocked on the doors of businesses in Christchurch to obtain sponsorship and will be contacting other potential sponsors from Seoul by email and telephone.
During his stay in Korea he will start in a World Cup meeting in China. He wants to race in two other World Cup meetings – in the Netherlands and Italy – but has to find the money for those two competitions.
update: Blake has a blog now - you can follow along with him this season at blakeskjellerup.blogspot.com and he is also accepting donations to help fund his Olympic quest. (Thanks to Yt for the link!)
Posted by noelle at 8:18 PM | Comments (14)
September 19, 2007
How many Canadians fit in a Volkswagen?
Gosh, I just love it when I can't keep up with all the short track news. Here's the latest:
Canadian Press | There's a crowd at the top of Canada's short-track speedskating team
Four Olympic medallists who took last season off to rest or recuperate from injuries are back in the saddle, which should make for stiff competition at the national trials starting Friday at the Olympic Oval.Montreal's Jonathan Guilmette, Tania Vicent of Vercheres, Que., and Alanna Kraus of Abbotsford, B.C., sat out last season due to injuries while Mathieu Turcotte of Sherbrooke, Que., took time off to rest following the 2006 Olympics.
The winners of the 500, 1,000 and 1,500 metres as well as the overall male and female who don't win a race will be named to the teams. The remaining four will be determined by Speed Skating Canada's high-performance committee.
The men's team in particular is like a Volkswagen-stuffing contest as Guilmette and Turcotte return to a team that had international success in their absence.
Posted by noelle at 9:35 PM | Comments (6)
More on American Cup 1
Midland Daily News | No Apolo Ohno, but speed skating meet still first class
Midland natives Ryan Bedford and Barry Winslow, along with Olympians Kimberly Derrick and Maria Garcia are entered to race. Even though Bay City's Alex Izykowski is recovering from an injury, he still plans on competing.The top six men and women from the American Cup I meet will earn a spot on the U.S. World Cup Short Track Team which competes in the first four World Cup events in China, Japan, the Netherlands and Italy.
That's good news about Izy!
Posted by noelle at 12:51 PM | Comments (18)
September 16, 2007
Yay! Short track news!
Back to our regularly scheduled programming...
Bay City Times | Nation's best speedskaters to race this month in Midland
The top six men and women finishers at the Midland Civic Arena event will each earn a spot on the U.S. World Cup Short Track Team which will compete at World Cup events in China, Japan, the Netherlands and Italy.''If Apolo comes and skates, there will be a lot of fans coming to watch,'' Bedford said. ''There will be great skating if he skates or not, but he is the most famous U.S. short track speed skater.''
If you've always contemplated going to see short track in person, this is a great opportunity to see many of our USA skaters in person!
update: more info at the American Cup 1 web site
Posted by noelle at 8:23 AM | Comments (48)