« March 1, 2009 - March 7, 2009 | Main | March 15, 2009 - March 21, 2009 »
March 12, 2009
Further thoughts from Vienna
Joyce sends some additional reflections along with some Team USA practice photos. Thanks for sharing this bounty with us!
Still in the afterglow of this great and exciting competition, I was privileged to be able to attend. It will be the yardstick from which I will judge all future competitions. While no large international event is ever problem-free, it was so graciously and expertly executed with a high degree of European sensibility and attention to detail. ASSA deserves high praise.Venue - While seating was not within "ice chip" range, it did not deter my total enjoyment nor hinder my visual field. The running track that separated the rink from seating actually provided a second "stage" to the rink itself. It was a beehive of activity before and during the races, with athletes, former athletes, coaches, trainers, media and ISU officials engaged in their various activities. The athletes particularly enjoyed this "space" as they could jog, stretch, work out, relax, socialize and still be in the "thick of things" by watching the races live. They had their own athletes section below the rink but seemed to favor this upper level.
We could easily view the 2 heat boxes. There was even an area set up with stationary bikes. Armed with a pair of binoculars, you had a glimpse of the backstage world of short track and international competition, and of your favorite athletes. This only enhanced my SST experience.
Athletes - More than any other event, I was impressed by the respect and friendliness the athletes demonstrated with each other, particularly the US and Korean teams. Only shared humor, smiles and easy exchanges whenever they met. The same can be said of all the athletes and coaches who intermingled easily with each other. There is a global lesson to be learned here.
US Team - Personally speaking and in no way speaking for the athletes, I did not think the race results reflected the high abilities of our team. They skated strong and clean, looked really good on the ice. It's just the nature of the sport that not everyone can come in top 3 all the time. While some athletes are always harder on themselves than others (and this goes for all athletes everywhere), they all know how to move on. Many had obtained a personal best and skated their best lap times.
Here are some photos from the practice sessions - Team huddle around the coaches and Apolo choosing an appropriate squeegie for his requisite ice maintenance duty! (top)
Posted by noelle at 4:59 PM | Comments (0)
March 10, 2009
OZ operative reports on Vienna!
Joyce just got home from what sounds like an amazing trip to Vienna where she attended the World Championships in person. Here's her report:
Vienna is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever been in!! March is the rainy season and it was cloudy and overcast, but this in no way detracted from the beauty around us. Temperatures were comfortable although changeable throughout the course of the day. The US team arrived early enough to do some sight-seeing and although most places are closed on Sunday - you can see all the beautiful churches. AND they did find a Prada store that was open. Most indulged in the famous Sacher torte at the Hotel Sacher. Internet access [at the host hotel] is expensive - 22 Euros/24hrs. The athletes were given a number of access codes to bypass this expense, so you can imagine the difficulty of logging in during the peak evening hours!The Albert-Schultz-Hall was the original venue chosen for Worlds; however, Austria's hockey team had advanced further than expected and this necessitated the need to revert the venue back to the hockey team. I believe both events were scheduled for the same weekend. The Ferry Dusika Hallenstadion was the new venue - it is in fact a velodrome used to host cycling, handball, and volleyball championships. They have also hosted Davis Cups. For short track they brought in a portable rink. I am not familiar with portable rinks, but if I had not known it was portable I don't know if I would have realized it. The athletes seemed very satisfied.
The stadium is beautiful and huge. The seating was not "up close" but I had no complaints about the viewing - I was able to see everything. The Austrian Speedskating Association did a tremendous job and I felt it was probably the best competition I have been to. All of the ASSA members and volunteers were exceedingly gracious and eager to help in any way. The skaters said that the "ice was really good." I believe it did get softer during the afternoon of the first practice session on Wed. (the skaters practiced at the Albert-Schultz-Hall on Mon/Tues). ASSA was very attentive in remedying any of these technical problems. The USS officials were particularly kind and generous to the American fans and appreciated our presence there.
The host hotel was a very easy 5 minute walk away from the stadium and shuttle buses were available every 30 minutes. It was nice to have this proximity and choose walking or riding as it suited us. There was also a very nice shopping mall built right alongside the stadium and an U-bahn station. The set-up could not have been more convenient or pleasant, and allowed so much flexibility.
I was able to attend the US teams' practice session on Weds/Thurs right up by the pads and also saw the athlete's facilities - they were all first-rate. Had my first "ice chips" experience with the ice flying right at me - that was thrilling!!
Jim Hewish was the chief referee and has the reputation of being one of the best. Again I thought the officiating was extremely fair and perhaps the best to date. It was rumored that they were mindful of the large percentage of DQ's during the European WC's and took extra care to examine all video footage carefully. They did a superb job.
While there was not a full house, you would not have realized it for all the enthusiasm and energy in the air. Korea and China had the largest fan bases. The Chinese ambassador attended and participated in one of the medal ceremonies. Every country had a fan base that enthusiastically supported their skaters. There were no patriotic divisions as spectators applauded and cheered for ALL winners. There was always respectful applause for all athletes who fell and were able to stand and for athletes who needed to be "carried" out. All in all, it was a most enthusiastic and respectful crowd!!
Here are pictures of the stadium - the huge "blue" portions of the interior are actually huge expanses of blue tarp to cover the curved sides of the velodrome. Also a photo of state of the art zamboni!
Posted by noelle at 6:09 PM | Comments (0)
March 8, 2009
Worlds News Roundup
Seattle Times/AP | Federal Way's J. R. Celski collects 2 gold medals
Speedskating Canada | Hamelin will be in Vancouver for the 2010 Olympic Games
"Charles Hamelin is now officially qualified to represent Canada in short track speed skating at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Hamelin managed to keep his 3rd position in the overall rankings of the World Championships in Vienna, Austria, to secure his spot on the 2010 team."
AP | South Korea, China dominate at short track worlds
Posted by noelle at 4:36 PM | Comments (0)
2009 World Short Track Championships Day 3 Results
Congratulations to Team USA - men's relay world champions. Way to go! And congrats to JR Celski and Apolo Ohno on their individual medals today - 3000m gold and 1000m silver for Apolo; 1000m bronze for JR. What a breakout Worlds for JR - he finishes his first ever senior worlds ranked #2 in the world!! How thrilled is he right now!? Lots of American skaters reaching finals all weekend. Go USA!! (complete results)
Men's Relay Final
1. UNITED STATES 6:51.400
2. CHINA 6:51.957
3. JAPAN 6:52.433
4. GERMANY 6:58.365
DQ ITALY
Women's Relay Final
1. CHINA 4:10.531
2. KOREA 4:11.837
3. CANADA 4:12.506
4. UNITED STATES 4:12.572
Overall classification - men
1. LEE Ho-Suk KOR 89 points
2. CELSKI J.R. USA 65
3. HAMELIN Charles CAN 47
4. KWAK Yoon-Gy KOR 47
5. OHNO Apolo Anton USA 37
6. JEAN Olivier CAN 15
7. TREMBLAY Francois-Louis CAN 11
8. SUI Bao Ku CHN 6
9. TAKAMIDO Yuzo JPN 3 6 2:19.829
10. SIMON Jeff USA 2
Overall classification - women
1. WANG Meng CHN 81 points
2. KIM Min-Jung KOR 76
3. ZHOU Yang CHN 63
4. SHIN Sae-Bom KOR 39
5. LIU Qiuhong CHN 31
6. GREGG Jessica CAN 16
7. REUTTER Katherine USA 8
8. DERRICK Kimberly USA
9. NOVOTNA Katerina CZE
10. ROBERGE Kalyna CAN
15. SMITH Jessica USA
Men's 3000m superfinal
1. CELSKI J.R. USA 4:48.444
2. LEE Ho-Suk KOR 4:50.114
3. HAMELIN Charles CAN 4:50.833
4. OHNO Apolo Anton USA 4:57.104
5. KWAK Yoon-Gy KOR 4:58.670
6. TREMBLAY Francois-Louis CAN 4:59.723
7. JEAN Olivier CAN 5:01.258
8. SUI Bao Ku CHN 5:02.246
Women's 3000m superfinal
1. ZHOU Yang CHN 4:58.955
2. KIM Min-Jung KOR 4:59.332
3. SHIN Sae-Bom KOR 4:59.935
4. WANG Meng CHN 5:08.972
5. LIU Qiuhong CHN 5:12.689
6. GREGG Jessica CAN 5:24.063
DQ REUTTER Katherine USA
Men's 1000m A final
1. LEE Ho-Suk KOR 1:33.060
2. OHNO Apolo Anton USA 1:33.262
3. CELSKI J.R. USA 1:33.478
DQ KWAK Yoon-Gy KOR
Women's 1000m A final
1. WANG Meng CHN 1:29.878
2. KIM Min-Jung KOR 1:29.988
3. SHIN Sae-Bom KOR 1:30.901
DQ ZHOU Yang CHN
Posted by noelle at 4:19 PM | Comments (0)
New York Times profiles Apolo
There's a nice big feature on AAO in today's New York Times, coinciding with the final day of the World Championships but mainly looking ahead to next year's Vancouver Games.
New York Times | Picking Up a Career in Perfect Stride
Ohno, talking with students, trained last month at Utah Olympic Oval. Ohno will compete this weekend at the world championships in Vienna. (Jeffrey D. Allred for The New York Times)
“I know that I was meant to skate,” Ohno said. “Whether it’s to stand on the podium again or deliver a different message, I don’t know. I’ve won everything that I can possibly win. I’ve been consistent. I’ve had amazing races. I’ve had the perfect race.“And I really, honestly, in my heart believe there’s a reason why I’m still skating. There’s a reason I’m still healthy, a reason I’m still winning, a reason I’m still here.”
Ohno’s elite training started in Vancouver, the same place it is likely to end next February. Whether it is fate or destiny or simply the act of coming full circle, Ohno appreciates the symmetry.
To the perfect race he skated in Italy, he hopes to add the perfect ending.
Also: Short Track to Ballroom, Ohno Covers All Ground
ON HIS ACTING It’s not something I can say I truly, 100 percent dedicated myself to yet. I’ll have to gain the true respect of the art of acting before I can really call myself an actor in any sense of the word. Because that’s the last thing I want to do is go out there and be some flop who considers himself an actor. It would be shameful. So until I can truly go out there and do something that’s considered professional and legitimate, I don’t think I would call myself an actor. If I can apply the same mentality I have toward sport, hopefully I can gain some success.
Posted by noelle at 8:24 AM | Comments (0)