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February 9, 2008
Day 1 observations from SusanG
Apolo Ohno glided onto the ice Friday as if he owned it... exuding relaxed confidence. I doubt anyone will forget a pass he made on Seung Lee of Korea. At the apex of the turn he seemed to create an opening by sheer will, sliding by on the inside and appearing in front of the skater, much to Lee's consternation. He was obviously rattled, his confidence and game plan derailed. He fell back a bit, seemed to be collecting his head and finished well behind Apolo.
In the VIP stands Apolo hung out with his Dad, skaters and other... smiling easily and again relaxed and obviously having a good time. Fashion sense has improved... Apolo was wearing a grey camo tee with matching bandana :)
Jeff Simon is skating amazing well. It's hard to believe this is his first World Cup year. He had a heartbreak moment Friday in the 500m final qualifying race, at the lead when he suddening fell at the apex of the last turn. Today, Saturday mornng, he easily won the 500m qualifying repechage and will skate tonight.
J-F Monette had a similar moment in the 1500m final qualifier... he was about 10 feet from the finish line, leading, and fell. It looked like a repeat of th 2002 Olmpic 1000m race. Lana Gehring also advanced from the repechage and I think Tina Koenig did as well.
There were few people Friday, other than some school groupss. However, we're told the Oval is sold out tonight and we plan to stake out the front door regardless of the temperature. Tony has a media pass to film the competition for USS. He and Nick (aka Flying African) are camped out at the turn and getting the goods. The newsheet they are handing out in lieu of something that resembles a program has a "Welcome Ohnozone Fans" ad/box :) So they know we are here!
Posted by noelle at 5:55 PM | Comments (3)
Photos from SLC
Check out Stepho's awesome photos from day 1!
Posted by noelle at 2:15 PM | Comments (7)
Salt Lake City day 1 press roundup
Apolo Anton Ohno and other skaters compete in a World Cup heat Friday at the Kearns Olympic Oval. (Scott G. Winterton, Deseret Morning News)
Deseret Morning News | Reutter advances to quarters
For Katherine Reutter, it was like a coming-of-age moment. The 19-year-old rising star of the U.S. short track speedskating team has not been skating in World Cup competition for long. But a week ago in Quebec she qualified for a final in one event and said some of her competitors didn't really know who she was or what to expect from her.This weekend, skating at the Utah Olympic Oval in front of a friendly audience and on familiar ice, Reutter was not only noticed, she was planned for. "They adjusted their strategy," she said. "They were more defensive. I think it's a compliment when another skater looks at you and says 'You're good.' "
"She's skating really well," Apolo Anton Ohno, himself a skater accustomed to being targeted by opponents as the person to beat. "It's really good to see her doing this."
Apolo Anton Ohno takes the lead in his 1,000-meters heat Friday at the Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns. (Douglas C. Pizac/The Associated Press)
Posted by noelle at 8:47 AM | Comments (3)
February 8, 2008
Salt Lake City, day 1
Looks like a very successful day for Team USA in their qualifying rounds at the Olympic Oval. Here's the rundown, courtesy of Stepho who's on the scene:
1500 Women
- Kimberly led most of her race, but ended up finishing third
- Allison finished 3rd ina super fast race behind the Korean and Chinese skaters she was with.
- Katherine finished her heat first with a commanding lead
1500 Men
- Charles finished first. There was also a fall in this race by the chinese skater
- Apolo started in last position, and in normal style passed up to the first spot with 2 laps to go.
- Jordan finished first. He had a stumble at lap 6, and the Australian went down at lap 4. There was quite a lot of back and forth passing and he got back to the front with 1 lap to go
500 (1) Women
First round
- Carly Wilson's heat had a fall before the first apex so they recallled the start. In the second start, Carly fell before the apex but didn't take anyone down with her - she finished last
- Jessica Gregg fell in her heat
- Lana Gering came in 2nd behind Korea - straightforward race
- Tina finished 3rd - also straightforward
Second Round
- Lana finished up 4th in a very fast heat where Meng Wang led. She tried but couldn't managed to get out of that last spot
- Tina came in fourth. She had a bit of a stumble with 2 laps to go
500 (1) Men
First Round
- Jeff - There were 2 false starts in his race. He came out in 4th position and was having a tough time getting to the front. He got pushed out trying to get around at the last apex
- Simon - There was a fall in his race with 2.5 laps to go but he managed to stay up and he finished up 2nd - this was an awesome race, but sadly, Simon got DQed.
- JP - He came out in 2nd place and moved up to the first spot with 1 lap to go, and stayed there
I missed the second round races, but JP came in first in this round as well
500 (2) Women
First round
- Carly finished 2nd. She crossed the line in 3rd position, but the skater from Bulgaria was DQed for impeding
- Kalyna's race had a big fall after the 1st apex, and she wasn't involved, so she had no competition for this race
- Lana was DQed in her race - I think she didn't complete the inside pass before the corner
- Tina skated really well, and almost got the German skater. she finished in 3rd, but was advanced due to time
Second round
- Carly came in 3rd in a pretty straightforward race
- Tina came in fourth - there was a jumble in the 1st corner that seemed to throw her off a bit, and couldn't get back
500 (2) Men
First Round
- In Jean-Francois Monette's race, he must have stripped and edge at the start because he came out with not speed, and I think his skate didn't sound quite right as it went past
- Jeff had a tragic fall in the last corner before the finish - He was leading handily at that point. It looked like he clipped a block
- JP lead his whole race, but had a small wobble in the last lap that allowed the Chinese skater to get past him, but still finished up 2nd
- Simon finished his race in 2nd.
Second Round
- Simon Cho finished in 3rd and was advanced due to time
- JP came in 2nd
1000 Women
1st round
- Katherine came in 1st with a fabulous pass in her last lap
- Kimberly came in 3rd (right at the line) but was advanced due to time
- Allison - I don't actually know the whole story here, but I believe there was confusion over what heat she was actually in. She was supposed to skate in the 1st heat, but thought it was later I believe. There was a lot of discussion with coaches and officials, and people weren't happy all over the rink. I don't know the final outcome. I didn't want to bother her parents or her to ask since no one seemed happy
2nd Round
- Both Katherine and Kimberly came in 2nd in their respective races
1000 Men
1st round
- All three US guys, Charles, Apolo and Jordan won their race
2nd round
They did the same thing here - 1st in their heat for all 3 guys.
Relays
The US ladies started in the 4 position, and had a hard time getting into the 3rd spot, but once they did, the just kept moving forward, and with several passes still to go, they got to second. They stayed there behind the always blisteringly fast Canadian team. Allison, Kimberly, Lana and Carly skated
The US Men started in 3rd, but quickly made their way up. And pretty early on they lapped the team from the Netherlands, and not too long after lapped the Ukranian team. The Chinese team was holding on pretty well for a while, but had a fall that pulled them a fair bit back. The end of the race had the US team out by a wide margin. Jordan, Charles, Jeff and Apolo skated
Summary
1500m: Kimberly Derrick, Katherine Reutter and Allison Baver all qualified to move on directly to tomorrow's semifinals, as did Charles Ryan Leveille, Apolo Ohno and Jordan Malone on the men's side.
500m #1: Lana Gehring and Tina Koenig will skate tomorrow in the repechage in an effort to qualify for the medal-round quarter finals. Carly Wilson was eliminated earlier in her heat. The men had a rough round, with both Jeff Simon and Simon Cho eliminated in the early going (Cho was disqualified). Jeff will also skate in the repechage round tomorrow with hopes of joining teammate J.P. Kepka in the quarter finals.
500m #2: Carly goes directly to the medal-round quarter finals, while Tina will skate in the repechage round and Lana was dq'ed. Simon Cho and J.P. also qualified directly for the quarter finals; Jeff will skate the repechage round.
1000m: Allison is listed as DNS for her heat - hopefully someone in SLC will let us know why Allison didn't skate as scheduled. Katherine and Kimberly both qualified to move directly into the quarter finals on Sunday. On the men's side, Apolo, Jordan and Ryan Leveille all qualified as well.
Relays: Both teams qualified for tomorrow's semi finals. The women will skate against Korea, Russia and France, while the men face France, Korea and China.
Posted by noelle at 9:01 PM | Comments (11)
February 7, 2008
Pre-World Cup press roundup
The 'human taco' or the female Apolo?
WCSN.com | Reutter ready for final World Cup stop
[Katherine] Reutter suffered a disruption to her momentum last weekend in Quebec City, Canada, when she crashed in a semifinal of the 1,500 meters and strained a muscle in her back."I fell on the center of the corner, which offers the shortest amount of space to the wall," Reutter said of her first serious injury in the sport. "I tried not to hit feet first, that's most dangerous. The way I hit I crunched my back. My trainer called me the human taco. I curled right up like a taco."
Also from WCSN: Ohno, Baver to compete in Salt Lake City
Deseret News | Oval last stop of short track speedskating World Cup
Having started the season as a training "rabbit" for the women, short-track speedskater Simon Cho never imagined he would be making his World Cup debut just a few months later. "It's definitely a huge leap in my career," he said.
Denton Record Chronicle | Denton's Malone looks to finish strong
Last weekend in Quebec, the U.S. relay team, which included Malone and Olympic gold medalist Apolo Anton Ohno, passed the Canadians to finish second behind Korea.“There’s always been a Korean-Canadian battle in the relay, and no one else has challenged them,” Malone said. “Now we’re a contender. This really is the strongest team we’ve ever had.”
Salt Lake Tribune | Cho takes short track to success
Posted by noelle at 10:25 PM | Comments (3)
Live webcast of Salt Lake City World Cup
NBCOLYMPICS.COM and WCSN TO PROVIDE LIVE WEBCAST OF ISU SPEED SKATING WORLD CUP
LIVE, Free Webcast of World Cup Short Track from Salt Lake City on Feb. 9-10
NBCOlympics.com, in conjunction with the World Championship Sports Network (WCSN), will provide LIVE coverage for the Samsung ISU World Cup Short Track event being held in Salt Lake City at the Utah Olympic Oval February 9-10. NBCOlympics.com will serve as the only place fans can watch over 160 athletes from 24 countries - including two-time Olympic gold medalist Apolo Anton Ohno - compete.
NBCOlympics.com and WCSN will be there to capture all the events for the last stop of the ISU World Cup series. The free webcast starts at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday Feb. 9 with ladies and men's 500m, 1500m and Relay Sem-Finals. Coverage continues on Sunday Feb. 10 (5 p.m. ET), with the ladies and men's 500m, 1000m and Relay Finals.
Tom Kirkland will handle play-by-play duties with Olympic speed skating champion Andy Gabel serving as color commentator.
Anticipated upcoming speed skating broadcasts on WCSN TV and WCSN.com include ISU World All-round Speed Skating Championships from Berlin, Germany; ISU World Cup Speed Skating from Inzell, Germany and ISU Short Track World Championships from Gangneung, Korea. Please visit www.wcsn.com for updated schedule and more information.
WHAT: Samsung ISU World Cup Short Track from Salt Lake City, Utah
WHEN: February 9 (8 - 11p.m. ET)
February 10 (5 - 8:30 p.m. ET)
ONLINE: www.NBCOlympics.com
Posted by noelle at 10:19 PM | Comments (4)
More Quebec City photos
From Simon P!
http://picasaweb.google.com/canon1dmark2/ISUQuBecWorldCup
Posted by noelle at 9:56 PM | Comments (2)
February 6, 2008
Deseret News | Speedskaters glad to be home
Making their first World Cup appearance on American ice in more than a year has the U.S. short track speedskating team excited.Not only are this weekend's races the final ones of the season before next month's world championships in China, they are a rare opportunity to perform in front of family and friends all while sleeping in their own beds and skating on a familiar surface.
Teammates Jeff Simon and Apolo Anton Ohno share a laugh at Tuesday's news conference. (Mike Terry, Deseret Morning News)
Posted by noelle at 8:53 AM | Comments (23)
February 4, 2008
Photos from Quebec City
Many thanks to Peter Doucet for sending these in! He's got tons more phtoos, commentary and videos from Quebec City up on his site as well - check it out.
photos courtesy Peter Doucet www.speedskateworld.com
Posted by noelle at 5:27 PM | Comments (15)
Press roundup on World Cup #5
Radio-Canada| Le retour d'Apolo (in French) click for English translation
Kalyna Roberge: "[Apolo] is someone who keeps to himself. He really stays in his bubble during competitions. I think it's normal. I'm the same way."
Watch video profile of AAO by Radio-Canada
Denton Record Chronicle | Malone places fourth in 1,500 at World Cup event
Korea Times | Korea Extends Short Track Gold Streak
Korea Times | Sung, Lee Grab Golds at Short Track Cup
Canadian Press | Roberge wins 1,000-metre event at World Cup short track speedskating meet
Canadian Press | Canadians rake in medals at world cup short track speedskating event
Kalyna Roberge started off with the silver in the women's 500-metre race. Meng Wang was leading at great speed from start to finish, and she established a new world record when she crossed the finish line in 43.286. Roberge also established a new record in the race, her finish time of 43.681 being faster than the 43.839 established by Alanna Kraus in 2005.
Posted by noelle at 2:44 PM | Comments (3)
World Cup #5 day 3 results
Way to go, USA men on your relay silver yesterday in Quebec City! With many strong performances at World Cup 5, I can't wait to see what happens next weekend at the World Cup finale in Salt Lake City!
Men's 5000m relay final
1. KOREA 6:49.098
2. UNITED STATES 6:49.544
3. CANADA 6:49.951
4. CHINA 6:51.495
Women's 3000m relay A final
1. CHINA 4:12.160
2. CANADA 4:12.443
3. BULGARIA 4:19.157
DQ KOREA
The U.S. women skated in the B final, but the results aren't posted on the results site, so not sure how they finished.
Men's 500m A final
1. KWAK Yoon-Gy KOR 41.403
2. HAMELIN Charles CAN 41.509
3. ELEY Jon GBR 41.879
4. HAN Jialiang CHN 42.845
5. SUNG Si-Bak KOR 44.608
J.P. Kepka finished 3rd in his quarter final heat and did not advance.
Women's 500m A final
1. WANG Meng CHN 43.286
2. ROBERGE Kalyna CAN 43.681
3. ZHAO Nannan CHN 44.053
4. GREGG Jessica CAN 44.134
Men's 1000m #2 A final
1. ZHANG Zhiqiang CHN 1:26.409
2. MONETTE Marc-Andre CAN 1:26.483
3. BASTILLE Guillaume CAN 1:26.535
4. CHATAIGNIER Maxime FRA 1:26.566
Men's 1000m #2 B final
1. OHNO Apolo Anton USA 1:56.515
2. LEE Ho-Suk KOR 2:00.330
A commenter noted earlier that Apolo fell on his own in the 1000m semi on an aborted pass attempt and that Lee was dq'ed for cross tracking at the finish line in the his semi, landing both skaters in the B final. Charles Ryan Leveille was disqualified in the semfinals, while Jordan Malone didn't advance out of the quarter finals.
Women's 1000m #2 A final
1. ZHOU Yang CHN 1:30.971
2. JIN Sun-Yu KOR 1:31.117
3. LIU Qiuhong CHN 1:32.393
4. BOUVIER Stephanie FRA 1:33.764
5. YANG Shin-Young KOR 1:35.035
DQ BAVER Allison USA
Posted by noelle at 7:41 AM | Comments (8)
February 3, 2008
World Cup #5 day 2 results
Congratulations to Allison Baver on reaching the podium in her first international competition after a long layoff! She earned bronze in the 1500m on yesterday. Congrats to the rest of team USA for a strong showing.
Women's 1500m A final
1. JIN Sun-Yu KOR 2:21.105
2. YANG Shin-Young KOR 2:21.416
3. BAVER Allison USA 2:22.063
4. MENG Xiaoxue CHN 2:24.337
5. OZAWA Mika JPN 2:25.431
6. ZHOU Yang CHN 2:50.873
DQ JUNG Eun-Ju KOR DQ
Carly Wilson finished 6th in her 1500m semi; Katherine Reutter was disqualified in her semi.
Men's 1500m A final
1. LEE Ho-Suk KOR 2:18.089
2. LEE Seung-Hoon KOR 2:18.247
3. HAMELIN Charles CAN 2:18.461
4. MALONE Jordan USA 2:18.885
5. CHATAIGNIER Maxime FRA 2:18.978
6. ROBILLARD Steve CAN 2:19.853
Jeff Simon finished second in the men's B final.
Women's 1000m #1 A final
1. ROBERGE Kalyna CAN 1:34.509
2. RADANOVA Evgenia BUL 1:34.523
3. PARK Seung-Hi KOR 1:34.669
DQ SHIN Sae-Bom KOR
Men's 1000m #1 A final
1. SUNG Si-Bak KOR 1:26.445
2. LI Ye CHN 1:26.722
3. BASTILLE Guillaume CAN 1:27.421
DQ KWAK Yoon-Gy KOR
DQ LEVEILLE Charles Ryan USA
Relays: The women finished 4th in their semi and will skate in Sunday's B final. The U.S. men fface Korea, Canada and China in what is sure to be a thrilling wrapup today in Quebec City.
Posted by noelle at 2:21 PM | Comments (40)