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October 4, 2007
Thanks so much to Tiggie for posting a link to this article the other day - it's an excellent one!
NWA World Traveler | Need for Speed
In his native Seattle, where he's a hometown hero, Ohno's friends say he's still the same down-to-earth young man, despite his athletic and Hollywood success - even if he does have a few more gadgets and toys these days."He's the most real celebrity, the most honest, good person with a head firmly on his shoulders," says Seattle entrepreneur and friend Yale Wong, 40. "Even if he's in a rush, he [is poised] and makes time to make [people] feel special, no matter who they are. We could all learn from that."
After practice at the Olympic Oval in Kearns, Utah, the new home for the U.S. short track team, Ohno obliges every autograph and photo request, even while conducting business on his iPhone. Through it all, he smiles calmly. When his fans are satisfied, Ohno sends a text message to his publicity agent about an upcoming photo shoot, where he'll sport one of his custom-made business suits. He jumps into his new toy, a sleek 1964 Cadillac DeVille convertible, waves to his fans and motors off.
Posted by noelle at 3:52 PM | Comments (44)
October 2, 2007
More photos from Midland
Thanks again to the Bedfords for sending in some more great shots from American Cup 1. Below are the 2 teams and we've also got some great racing shots from the weekend.
The U.S. World Cup team for World Cups 1-4
The team that will represent the USA in Calgary this month at the Conematic Invitational
Click below for more photos from American Cup 1:
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| 2007 American Cup 1 |
Posted by noelle at 9:43 PM | Comments (14)
More American Cup 1 press
Midland Daily News | Malone thrives in speed skating despite multiple injuries
Before transitioning from inline skating to short track about four years ago, Malone -- arguably the second-best U.S. short track skater behind Apolo Anton Ohno -- suffered a broken jaw during an inline meet."It was a pretty serious injury," said Malone. "I lost four teeth and broke the lower part of my jaw. The plates and screws don't have to be there, but I would have to go through surgery to pull them out. They are just a part of me."
Midland Daily News | Bedford says MSSC will host fewer events in future
"(The attendance) was what I expected without Apolo there," she said. "I think the people that came were speed skating enthusiasts who would have come whether or not Apolo was there. As far as the ones that might have come to watch Apolo for the celebrity side, there would have definitely been more people."She said the [Midland Speed Skating Club] won't be hosting competitions so frequently now that the club has proved to the U.S. Speedskating organization that it knows how to host a meet.
Posted by noelle at 2:12 PM | Comments (15)
October 1, 2007
Reminder
Apolo will be the celebrity guest tomorrow (Oct. 2) on Rachael Ray's show. You can check local listings and see a brief clip of Apolo on her website, rachaelrayshow.com.
Posted by noelle at 4:51 PM | Comments (21)
September 30, 2007
American Cup 1 overall results
[updated Monday]
Midland Daily News | World Cup team finalized at Civic Arena
Barry Winslow, from right, Jeff Simon and Ansis Robs compete in the 1000 Meters quarterfinal during the American Cup 1 at Midland Civic Arena Sunday.
Daily News/ALEX STAWINSKI
After earning a spot on the World Cup team Saturday, Ryan Bedford enjoyed himself Sunday on the final day of the 2007 Dow American Cup I Short Track Speedskating Championships at the Midland Civic Arena.Besides Bedford, Jeff Simon, Jordan Malone, Travis Jayner, Charles LeVeille and Shani Davis claimed spots for the men. For the women, Katherine Reutter, Kimberly Derrick, Lana Gehring, Maria Garcia, Mary Grace and Carly Wilson make up the World Cup team.
Skaters finishing in 7-12 positions earn spots to Calgary, Alberta for the Conematic International Short Track Challenge Oct. 4-15. The men's team going to Calgary will be J.P. Kepka, Kyle Carr, Simon Cho, Jonathan Sermeno, Trevor Marsicano and Joey Lindsey. Cherise Wilkins, Tina Koenig, Alyson Dudek, Lezleigh Jaworski, Jade Wheeler and Bay City's Rachel Skrocki earned spots on the women's team.
Ladies Overall
1. Katherine Reutter
2. Kimberly Derrick
3. Lana Gehring
4. Maria Garcia
5. Mary Grace
6. Carly Wilson
7. Cherise Wilkins
8. Tina Koenig
9. Alyson Dudek
10. Lezleigh Jaworski
11. Jade Wheeler
12. Rachel Skrocki
Mens Overall
1. Jeff Simon
2. Jordan Malone
3. Ryan Bedford
4. Travis Jayner
5. Charles LeVeille
6. Shani Davis
7. JP Kepka
8. Kyle Carr
9. Simon Cho
10. Jonathan Sermeno
11. Trevor Marsicano
12. Joey Lindsey
Complete results available at the American Cup 1 website
Posted by noelle at 4:52 PM | Comments (31)
American Cup 1 day 2 results
Ladies 1500M Superfinal
1. Katherine Reutter
2. Maria Garcia
3. Carly Wilson
4. Cherise Wilkins
5. Tina Koenig
DQ Kimberly Derrick
Mens 1500M Superfinal
1. Jordan Malone
2. Ryan Bedford
3. Jeff Simon
4. Shani Davis
5. Kyle Carr
6. Jonathan Sermeno
DQ Travis Jayner
Ladies 1000M Final
1. Kimberly Derrick
2. Lana Gehring
3. Mary Grace
4. Katherine Reutter
Mens 1000M Final
1. Travis Jayner
2. Jeff Simon
3. Charles LeVeille
4. Ryan Bedford
5. Simon Cho
DQ Jordan Malone
Way to go, Travis!! And congratulations to Kimberly on her second win of the weekend. Travis has now assured himself of a spot on the World Cup team this season. Jordan Malone has been struggling uncharacteristically; I believe he's got some issues with new blades that he received right before the competition began. We haven't seen Tina Koenig's name in the A finals but she certainly merits a big round of applause for going for it while still recovering from surgery on her ankle.
I'm not sure how the remaining slots on the World Cup team will be determined, and we've still got results from the 1500m superfinal (? - not sure what this is) to come to determine the weekend's overall standings, plus the relays.
I apologize for not being on top of the format to know exactly what this final individual race is. I haven't been able to keep track of the new racing rules in effect this season. Bad webmistress!!
Posted by noelle at 3:40 PM | Comments (8)
After the first day of racing, Ryan Bedford, Kimberly Derrick, Katherine Reutter and Jeff Simon have all clinched spots on the World Cup team as a result of their victories yesterday in the 1500m and 500m races. Congratulations all!!
Midland Daily News | Midland's Bedford clinches spot on World Cup team
"The stress is gone," said Bedford. "I was in the same position last year and I didn’t sleep at all (the night before the meet). But, this year I feel more relaxed."Before Saturday’s race, Bedford planned to come out in the first race and perform well to set the tone for the rest of the meet. "I think that my strength in the 1500 is to go out and, if the pace is fast, hold on," said Bedford. "If it was a sprint, it would have been a little different."
With two laps to go, Bedford passed Jordan Malone for the lead and held on for the win. "That was not my strategy (to pass him)," said Bedford. "As long as I stayed right on him, I knew that I could get second and that is what I was hoping for. But, he was slipping a little bit coming out of the corners so I decided I had enough gas to take advantage of it," added Bedford.
Reutter, who went wire to wire [in the 500m], was surprised to learn that she had earned a spot on the World Cup team. "Oh my gosh, you’re right. I didn’t even realize that if you win a distance you are automatically on. It feels great! That is a really good feeling. My heart just kind of slowed up a little bit there."
Daily News/KEVIN BENEDICT
Posted by noelle at 9:41 AM | Comments (3)