November 24, 2004
Photos from Apolo's 1000m quarterfinal in Sweden
Click thumbnails below to enlarge:
Posted by noelle at 06:35 PM Comments (3)
April 03, 2004
Worlds on ABC
Reminder: World Championships from Sweden on TV
Per US Speedskating, ABC will show the March 19-21 World Short Track Championships from Gothenburg, Sweden, this Saturday, April 3, at 1pm EST. Be sure to check your local listings for the time and channel in your area.
Note: This appears to be a time change from previously announced broadcast schedules.
Posted by noelle at 12:23 PM Comments (136)
March 25, 2004
World Championships Epilogue, Part 2
World Championships Epilogue, Part 2
I know we're all about ready to move on, but there are just a couple more things that I want to say about Sweden. Luckily the FUBAR-ness of it all has been well summarized already in the comments!
Sweden's world champion synchronized skating team performs
First, I'd like to thank Jack Mortell for his efforts. Not only did he have his team to take care of, but he really went out of his way to look after all us Americans who made the trip to Sweden. No request was too trivial, no question too silly, and he made sure we had everything we needed, from transportation to banquet tickets to team postcards. Just try resisting his pitch to travel to Beijing next year for the Worlds! (Although personally, I think World Cups are more my speed.)
I'd also like to thank my fellow fans, Denise (aka Liz), Jennifer G, Julia, Ruthie, Sooz, Susan G and Torrie for putting up with me. I get in my own zone when I'm covering these things, almost everything comes second to doing my OZ 'job', and no doubt that makes me a moody biotch at times.
Sooz and Julia came armed with flags and banners!
Just to elaborate on a couple points, that others have mentioned also:
Gothenburg was awarded the World Short Track Championships on the basis of holding them at a nice, new, regulation-size ice facility. A hockey tournament scheduled for the same weekend took precedence, however, so the Frolundaborg arena was pressed into service instead. Why did no one verify the substitute venue's compliance with ISU size standards? The venue change was known for some months, so there was certainly time to investigate its suitability.
The most disturbing legacy of this World Championships, of course, are the number and severity of injuries, which are probably attributable in large part to the inadequate rink.
We heard that the ISU is unhappy with the Swedish federation and organizing committee for not putting on a first-class event, and is going to demand reimbursement from the Swedish federation for the money the ISU provided to stage this event. The organizing committee undoubtedly had many shortcomings. Nevertheless, it's the ISU that needs to accept responsibility for allowing this event to be contested in a sub-standard rink. I don't know if the ISU will ever publicly acknowledge what happened, but I hope skating federations are asking some hard questions of the powers that be.
The 'full' side of the rink. There was no crowd energy and next to no cheering at the World Championships.
I should say something about the races. For me, I don't really care who won or lost or who was DQ'ed, because the excitement of short track started to fade when Rusty got hurt, and it vanished altogether when I watched Jo Guilmette's body contorting in pain on the ice on Sunday. My feeling is that this was an invalid World Championships -- and certainly the 1000m men's final, the 3000m races and both relays cannot be considered totally legitimate races. Maybe I'm going overboard, but I hope lots of footnotes are entered in the record book for this event.
Yes, on one level it's disappointing that Apolo didn't make a single final -- that was the biggest surprise of the weekend -- and that the guys didn't get to skate their relay semi. It was a real shame about the bad luck Allison had this weekend. Caroline had some strong races, which I've been gently (and quite rightly) chided for not reporting on. Apolo, Caroline and Allison in particular all skated from the back of the pack at various times. This displeased their team leader and coaches, as the poor ice conditions made relying on passing to move into qualifying position too risky a strategy.
It seemed that Apolo skated somewhat tentatively all weekend, except for his 1000m races. The ice conditions were so bad for him there. And he had to have been affected by witnessing Rusty's accident right in front of him just moments before his own 500m quarter final. The refs thought so too. I overheard them saying as much while they were waiting for a ride to their hotel on Saturday. One of the refs added, 'Ohno is a really clean skater, though.' I wanted to kiss him for saying that in front of me!
Mainly I'm just relieved that Apolo is safe. Had he made it to the 1000m final on Sunday, he would absolutely have been a marked man.
I was able to speak with Apolo at some length on Sunday night. He said that a lot of changes are in order for next season, and while he had many challenges and frustrations this season, he feels that this is the best time to be dealing with them. Next season is extremely important for him, and for all the skaters, as it's the last full season prior to Torino.
Apolo also agreed to do an off-season interview for OZ, time TBD, but it will be some time after April. I invite you to submit questions. I can't think them up all by myself!
Tony Goskowicz, Scott Koons, Apolo Ohno
Posted by noelle at 10:42 PM Comments (39)
March 24, 2004
notes from a Canadian fan
Notes from a Canadian fan
Yesterday I received the following letter from a long-time Canadian observer of short track. The letter is in response to OZ coverage of the World Championships and includes a lot of insight from a referee's point of view. It is printed with permission; personally identifying details have been omitted.
***
Saturday and Sunday morning I watched the races on Live CyberScoreboard. With many years of experience as a Canadian short track referee (over 10,000 races), I can see a lot in the tempo of the racing and the timing of the results posted. So, reading the spaces, I sensed that something extraordinary had happened in Jonathan Guilmette's 1000m final. And then all the DNS's of the Canadians in the 3000's -- if Alanna Kraus and Jo were hurt (saw the DNF's in the 1000's), then why weren't Anouk Leblanc-Boucher and Steve Robillard racing? And then where were the relay teams? Even with 2 men out, the Canadians could race a 3-man team like the Italians did. Something was amiss.
I spoke with someone close to the Canadian national team in Montreal, who had heard the Eurosport sportscaster describe Jo's horrific fall and collision with Seung-jae Lee over the Internet. This person said I should check out Ohno Zone, and endorsed your previous coverage of short track events.
The skaters' network is a lot more dynamic than the officials' network. To see the pattern of 'team skating' requires some continuity and networking among officials. They are so far flung, and have their own rivalries, that determining team skating is very difficult for them.
The road to becoming an ISU referee is filled with sport politics... and in the rarefied world of the ISU Council, the technical committees and officials are far below in the foothills. Each ISU member country names 3 referees, starters, etc each year. These nominations must be accepted by the ISU technical committee, and then the official must be selected to work at a particular ISU-sanctioned event. In my opinion, this process does not foster collaboration among the officials.
In addition, it is at the ISU Council level that competition venues are selected -- a political process too. What has happened to the skaters and the fans in this big picture? What was the size of the ice surface, why wasn't it noted in the announcement? Questions...
So why did the Canadian team really withdraw? I haven't heard anything yet. All that I've seen in the Canadian press mirrors the Speed Skate Canada press release. Although, one of the Montreal TV stations has posted a letter from Jo Guilmette's sister at its website, www.rds.ca.
Thanks for your insightful reporting of the events in Sweden. Keep up your candid reporting and be true to your journalistic standards!!
-- A Short Track Fan
Posted by noelle at 01:32 PM Comments (46)
March 22, 2004
World Championships Epilogue, Part 1
World Championships Epilogue, Part 1
I want to address some of the controversy arising from my reporting of the World Short Track Championships in Sweden. I don't mind it - these issues are controversial, after all. What bothers me is that I'm reporting these things, and nowhere do you see an AP report stating that the rink was too small or that Lee was given a yellow card. You do see a Korean press report mentioning that Apolo Ohno was DQ'ed for 'interrupting' Seung-jae Lee, but nowhere do they mention that Lee was later DQ'ed himself and then thrown out of the whole competition. I start thinking, 'They're the real media. Is the stuff about the rink not really an issue? Should I have just ignored it?'
I suspect that the 'real' media just didn't know about the rink or about Lee's ejection, and that's why they haven't reported it. I'm fortunate that people in the know let me know what was going on. Otherwise, I wouldn't have known about the rink failing to meet ISU size requirements.
Could those people be putting their own spin on what they tell me? Sure. But I ask questions. I ask other people for their opinions. I weigh it against what I see with my own eyes. Nothing was made up here. Can it be proven that the small rink led to so many serious injuries? No, but it's reasonable to conclude it was a significant factor, and the Canadians' withdrawal Sunday speaks to that more eloquently than I ever could. I was glad at that point that the Americans had no such decision to make.
Similarly, can it be proven that Seung-Jae Lee set out to eliminate Ahn's main rivals on Sunday? Of course not. But his actions in the 1000m semi and final were consistent with such a strategy, and similar tactics have been employed by Korean skaters many times over the years, according to those in the know. One prominent short track skater told me Sunday night that Korean skaters have pulled far worse stunts than what Lee did to Guilmette yesterday - but they never resulted in such a serious crash and injury before. I am certain that Lee didn't set out to injure or maim Jonathan Guilmette. It's all fun and games until the strategy backfires, as it did on Sunday in Sweden.
You could say that it's a North American or European bias against Koreans, or a way of making excuses for 'our' skaters not beating Koreans. But what do you make of the Korean reporter, one who follows the Korean short track team, who said to me after the 1500m on Friday: 'You know what their strategy really was, right? It was to make sure Ahn wins.'
I followed up with him on Saturday, after Song beat Ahn to win the 500m final. I asked him why Song won instead of Ahn. 'Well, that race is too short to control who will be the winner, that's why Song won.' Ahn was DQ'ed in that race, not an unusual result for him in the 500m and a fact that isn't likely to show up in any Korean reporting of that event.
I'm doing my best here trying to uphold journalistic standards but I play the roles of reporter, photographer, editor and fact-checker. If I make mistakes I hope people let me know so I can correct them. I have no interest in being irrationally biased in the 'Apolo is always right and everyone else is always wrong' way because that shuts the door to learning and understanding this sport and I don't think it helps Apolo in any way. Nor do I have any intention of being neutral on controversial issues or rooting for all skaters equally. That's a task for the 'real' media. Ohno Zone will always be first and foremost pro-Apolo Ohno and pro-U.S./Canada.
Posted by noelle at 08:37 PM Comments (59)
March 21, 2004
Update on injured skaters
Update on injured skaters
Get well soon, Jonathan Guilmette!
Good news all around, I think.
+ Jonathan Guilmette has a compression fracture of the vertebra. According to what a Canadian coach explained to me, this means that Jo's major concern will be pain in the short term. He is expected to make a complete recovery and should be able to return to skating without problems. They still need to do additional tests on him tomorrow to make certain there are no other injuries, and Jo will remain hospitalized here in Sweden for a week or so.
Tonight at the awards banquet, when his name was read during the awards announcements, Jo received raucous and sustained applause. When I went to ask his coach how he was doing, I told him there were a lot of people in the U.S. rooting for Jo's recovery as well.
Click here to post your well wishes for Jonathan.
via JonathanGuilmette.com
+ Alanna Kraus emerged unscathed from a hard fall and she is just fine. She attended the awards banquet and came to the stage to receive her prize money. In her case, the trip to the hospital was strictly precautionary, thank goodness.
+ Rusty Smith was released from the hospital today at about noon and came back to the hotel. He also attended the banquet tonight and has something resembling a surgical mask covering his nose, but Rusty looks just like Rusty otherwise and seems to be doing very well. He'll fly home with the team tomorrow and Apolo speculated that he'll travel in first class to make him as comfortable as possible.
Click here to post your well wishes for Rusty on his web site.
I'm so relieved and thankful that they're all going to be okay! Now someone get me out of this place.
Posted by noelle at 06:01 PM Comments (71)
World Championship Horrorshow
World Championship Horrorshow
It's been confirmed that the dimensions of the Frolundaborg rink here in Gothenburg, Sweden are too small for international short track standards. This arena should never have been eligible to host an ISU event. The smaller size is also the primary cause, more than the bad ice conditions, of all the falls and injuries (with the exception of Rusty Smith's injury yesterday).
Today two Canadian skaters were injured in bad falls -- Alanna Kraus and Jonathan Guilmette. Alanna fell in her 1000m quarter final while attempting to pass Tatiana Borodulina (RUS) on the outside and went hard into the boards. Borodulina was later DQ'ed. Alanna was taken off the ice in a stretcher and went to the hospital for x-rays, but preliminary reports are that she is expected to make a full recovery.
Jonathan was taken down by Seung-Jae Lee (KOR) in the last lap of the 1000m final. Lee probably cross-tracked Jo as Jo attempted to pass on the outside -- in any case, Lee definitely caused the collision. Both skaters fell, and Jo went headfirst into the boards, absorbing the full impact of Lee crashing into him as well. This occurred near the end of the day so it's too early to know what his condition is, but it is thought to be quite serious.
Not a good weekend for North American short track.
I've also just learned that Italian skater Evelina Rodigari was injured in a training session earlier in the week and has been hospitalized with broken vertebrae ever since -- in all probability this is a career-ending injury for her.
The ISU should do the right thing and call off this competition now. Canada has already withdrawn its teams from the relay in protest, and the eligible Canadian skaters did not participate in the 3000m either. In my opinion, the arena's failure to comply with ISU standards renders this World Championships invalid.
I never thought I would live to see the day I'd say that I'm happy that Apolo Ohno was disqualified. But I'm glad he didn't make it to the 1000m final and that we have no more skaters competing today and risking their safety.
The second scandal emerging from today's events: Seung-Jae Lee was given a yellow card and ejected from the World Championships after causing Guilmette's terrible crash in today's 1000m final. Lee also interfered with Apolo during his 1000m semifinal, though it was Apolo who was DQ'ed for impeding on Lee later in the race. Lee was then advanced to the 1000m final, where he is accused of inflicting grave damage. Lee's role in this competition was evidently to eliminate teammate Ahn Hyun-soo's main competitors. He appears to have succeeded brilliantly.
As a result of his ejection, Lee was not permitted to skate in the 3000m and won't be eligible to skate the relay for Korea as a result. Canadians Steve Robillard, and Amelie Goulet-Nadon, eligible to skate in the 3000m, did not skate their respective 3000m races due to Canada's withdrawal.
Jack Mortell, US Speedskating's Short Track Program Director on the ejection of Lee: "They threw out the right guy, but they threw him out a race too late."
***
More from US Speedskating: Ohno Finishes 8th in 1000 Meters and 9th Overall at World Short Track Championships
See also Ahn, Choi defend overall titles to lead South Korea
Posted by noelle at 11:05 AM Comments (126)
USS press release
from US Speedskating: "[Rusty] was more bummed with the injury and with not being able to continue on," said U.S. Short Track Program Director Jack Mortell. "But Rusty's got a sunny character and he handled this as well as you can expect anyone to handle it. He's tough as nails."
Read more: Ohno 9th in 500 Meters at World Short Track Championships; Smith Suffers Injury
Posted by noelle at 04:43 AM Comments (21)
March 20, 2004
World Championships, Day 2
World Championships, Day 2 - 500m
Rusty Smith skates in his 500m heat 3/20/04
Sorry for the delay in posting. I know many of you are wondering what happened to Rusty Smith today, but I waited to post until I could learn more about his condition and also be assured that his family knows he was injured.
Rusty received a skate blade to the face today at the very start of his 500m quarter final. He sustained a fairly deep laceration to his nose and was taken to the hospital, where he's having surgery and will spend the night. He is even talking about racing tomorrow - not sure that's realistic, but it's a good sign! It was the scariest few moments in short track that I've experienced to date, and I'm relieved to report that Rusty is doing well and will be fine.
So what happened? From what I can gather, the ice is soft and that's causing a lot of problems. It makes conditions especially dangerous in a race like the 500m. In the case of Rusty's quarterfinal, the skaters had just made it to the first turn when Jean-Charles Mattei (FRA) slipped, causing his leg to kick out behind him - and his blade to hit Rusty in the face. Rusty threw his arms in the air and stopped racing. At the same time, I heard the starter fire his pistol to stop the race, and Rusty skated over to his coaches, flung off his helmet and gloves, and paramedics were at his side within seconds to attend to him.
Apolo Ohno chases Seung-Jae Lee in their 500m quarterfinal in Sweden
Fabio Carta later said that after the first 2 laps of his 500m quarterfinal, he stopped trying to move up in his race because he felt that the ice conditions were too dangerous to risk a bad crash. I overheard one ref say later to another that he thought Apolo may have made a similar calculation in his quarterfinal. Witnessing Rusty's mishap from the heatbox moments before his own quarterfinal can't have helped Apolo.
Apolo leads Fabio Carta and the pack in their 500m prelim
Working backwards...
Prelims: Allison Baver got a bad break twice in a row in her 500m prelim. Liesbeth Mau Asam (NED) fell in the first turn, taking Allison down with her, and the starter recalled the race. After the re-start, Allison again found herself in 3rd, to the outside of Mau Asam heading into the turn. Just past the apex, the Dutch skater slipped again, and took Allison out in the process. Because the second crash happened beyond the apex of the 1st turn, the race wasn't recalled, and because Allison was not in qualifying position when she fell, she wasn't advanced to the next round. I guess that's short track.
In the very next heat, Amelie Goulet-Nadon (CAN) fell in the same corner, all on her own, and very dramatically sat on the ice for a good 15 seconds, imploring the refs to recall the race. That fall also took place past the apex of the turn and didn't involve another skater, and the race was not restarted. Amelie has had a bit of a tough time of it this season.
Amelie Goulet-Nadon pleads for her race to be restarted
Heats: Apolo's 500m heat was brilliant. After false-starting a second time today, Apolo, starting from lane 4, settled quickly into 2nd place. Within the first lap or so, he was slightly impeded by Jean-Charles Mattei -- who had quite the eventful day today himself -- and Apolo fell to fifth and last. Apolo didn't have a lot of time to recover, but by the 3rd lap he was back in the lead again, and won his heat.
I can scarcely remember anything else after the 500m quarterfinals. The U.S. ladies skated their relay in a tough heat against Korea, Canada and Russia and unfortunately won't qualify for the final tomorrow. The men, needless to say, were unable to skate their relay semifinal today. A USS official asked me rhetorically on Wednesday night what purpose it would have served to have Mike Kooreman travel all the way to Sweden this weekend. Unfortunately, we got that answer today.
Here's wishing Rusty all the best for a speedy and complete recovery -- Rusty, we need you back lighting up the ice!
More information:
Song gives South Korea third gold; Smith cuts nose in quarterfinals
Posted by noelle at 03:48 PM Comments (44)
March 19, 2004
1500m quarterfinal
Apolo Ohno skates in his 1500m quarterfinal race
Posted by noelle at 05:29 PM Comments (14)
1500 semi 1
1500m semifinal at the World Short Track Championships: Seung-Jae Lee (KOR), Nicola Rodigari (ITA), Jean-Francois Monette (CAN), Apolo Anton Ohno (USA), Jiajun Li (CHN)
Posted by noelle at 05:27 PM Comments (2)
1500 semi 2
Apolo looks for running room in his 1500m semifinal
Posted by noelle at 05:24 PM Comments (0)
Relay
Apolo Ohno prepares to exchange to J.P. Kepka as China's Jiajun Li also sets up an exchange during the men's 5000m relay heat in Gothenburg.
Posted by noelle at 05:22 PM Comments (0)
Korean strategy
The Korean strategy
Ahn Hyun-soo and Song Suk-woo came in for a press conference and a Korean journalist translated. I was totally unprepared, but I asked what was their strategy for the 1500m final today. When the question was translated, Ahn just kind of smiled and looked helplessly at his coach for an answer. The journalist just said something to them, supplying an answer, and they nodded in agreement. The journalist then said that their strategy was to finish the 1500m 1-2-3. However, the ice being soft led them to make some mistakes, he said, allowing Guilmette to pass Lee and Song and take silver.
After they left, the Korean journalist turned to me and said, 'You know what their real strategy was, right? It was to make sure Ahn won the race.' They want him to successfully defend his World Championship title this weekend. They are cute kids, though. Ahn's hair is orange again and he and Song both have multiple ear piercings in his ear. Ahn is kind of shy and Song is still a clown.
AP article: Koreans sweep opening 1,500 at short track worlds
Posted by noelle at 03:08 PM Comments (9)
World Championships, Day 1 -
World Championships, Day 1 - 1500m
The 1500m heats and quarters passed pretty smoothly, with Apolo, Rusty and Allison all advancing to the semis. The most remarkable thing that happened all day so far was the 1500m heat with Jean-Francois Monette that had to be stopped midway through and restarted when the coaches and refs realized the track was laid out incorrectly on one end. The coaches became apoplectic yelling for the race to be stopped, and the starter fired his gun a few times to signal to the confused skaters to stop racing. After they fixed the track, the skaters lined up again to more confusion. Monette looked thoroughly disgusted as he went through the process all over again.
Allison had a great race in her semi, skating strong from start to finish. She was a factor throughout the race and finished a solid fourth in a tough field. I think she was satisfied with her performance today. Obviously, Apolo's race was a disappointment. So much passing was going on constantly throughout the race. Apolo held the lead briefly but got passed too many times and in the end ran out of time to get around the big guns ahead of him. Scott Koons described the ice here as 'worker' ice, saying it doesn't have much glide, making passing more difficult - especially passing guys like Jiajun Li, Seung-Jae Lee and Monette. To add insult to injury, Apolo was DQ'ed -- I think for impeding against Monette, although apparently the ref didn't specify who it was against.
Rusty raced a solid race, leading or in second for about 11 out of 13 1/2 laps. It looked like he just ran out of gas enough at the end to allow others to pass him and he finished 4th.
The men's final was an amazing race - 3 Koreans, 2 Canadians, 1 Chinese. When the 3 Koreans got to the front early on, I heard a collective groan rise up from the rest of the Canadian team standing behind me. It was nice to see Jonathan Guilmette punch through for silver.
For more information, see Baver Earns Top-10 Finish in 1500 Meters at World Short Track Championships
Next up: relays! Since 8 of 9 teams competing in tonight's heats will advance to tomorrow's semifinals, the men's heat against China and France should be a good warmup for tomorrow.
Posted by noelle at 01:42 PM Comments (26)
March 18, 2004
3/18 Gothenburg Report
Report from Gothenburg - Thursday, March 18
Apolo Ohno skates in Gothenburg, Sweden, 3/18/04
The U.S. team had the last training slot of the day today, sharing the ice from 6-7pm with the British team. Today was a lower-key day - the team did a lot of skating, but it seemed less intense than yesterday. Shani Davis was absent from practice today, with a fever of 103 degrees. Best wishes to Shani for a speedy recovery!
Today we caught the last half of the Canadian team's practice - they look as sharp as ever, and we told Amanda Overland that we were the North American cheering section for this weekend (of course, the U.S. comes first!). She seems to know many of the OZ fans by now.
Some of us met the ABC producers who are here coordinating the network's coverage of this event. They will cover the relay this year due to Shani's involvement. It sounds as though his story may be the focus of their coverage this year, and deservedly so.
To my shock, the producers knew of OZ as well. They were really friendly and seem enthusiastic about this event and hope to get footage of the small band of American fans who are here to cheer on the team this weekend! So look for some familiar faces in the stands as well as on the ice on April 3. This is ABC's last year to cover the World ST Championships. Apparently their contract with the ISU ends with this season, but they thought ESPN would pick it up next year and may even provide 2 hours of coverage instead of ABC's single hour.
Haven't laid eyes on a single Korean skater yet. They are staying at another hotel and have had completely different practice times. The ABC crew mentioned that they had interviewed the Korean coaches about the animosity towards Apolo, and the coaches stated that they and the team have complete respect for him and didn't share the feelings expressed over the Internet.
To answer a couple questions, the U.S. coaches here are Scott Koons and Tony Goskowicz. Visa problems or red tape of some sort have prevented Li Yan from traveling with the team to overseas competitions this year. Also, Mike Kooreman is not here. Don't know how he wound up listed with the final entries for this event. However, USS says next season, with Torino drawing nearer, they will resume the practice of sending 5 ladies and men to ISU competitions.
That's pretty much all the news from Gothenburg. I don't really have any updates on Apolo but he seems to be in great spirits and is ready to go tomorrow. Yuki arrived last night but I haven't yet had a chance to speak with him.
Posted by noelle at 06:00 PM Comments (17)
Apolo and Horsepool
The British coach was really bending Apolo's ear today at practice.
Posted by noelle at 05:54 PM Comments (10)
March 17, 2004
sharing a laugh
Sharing a laugh in Gothenburg prior to the World Short Track Speed Skating Championships: Allison Baver, Apolo Anton Ohno and Shani Davis
Posted by noelle at 05:21 PM Comments (37)
Report from Gothenburg 3/17/04
Report from Gothenburg - Wednesday, March 17, 2004
U.S. men led by Apolo Ohno and Rusty Smith train in Gothenburg
I arrived here today more dead than alive and ran into Susan G, Ruthie, Jennifer G and Sooz a block from the hotel as I arrived by taxi, after failing to mooch a ride with the Dutch team (no room for this reporter!). Liz had already arrived yesterday, and Julia and her husband arrived later in the day. The U.S. team was scheduled to practice with the Hungarians today at 3:30, so we all hopped on the bus and went to the arena an hour ahead of time, taking in the tail end of the Chinese team practice after arriving.
With all due respect, the Frolundaborg arena is probably the most unattractive venue I've seen to date. There is no natural lighting or decoration of any type. Swedish minimalism at its worst! The seating runs entirely around the ice sheet, but is quite removed from the ice itself. The organizing committee unfortunately isn't expecting too large a turnout, since short track isn't well known or popular in Sweden, but they are excited to have both EuroSport and ABC here.
The U.S. team had one of the most serious practices in my memory, doggedly practicing the relay in particular for an hour or so. With the addition of Shani Davis to the World team this year, hopes and confidence are high. A USS official indicated that due to a nagging hamstring injury, J.P. Kepka may skate one less turn in the relay, with Shani taking up the slack, allowing Apolo Ohno and Rusty Smith to be fresh for their share of the last 1000 meters of the relay.
There are 9 men's relay teams in this World Championships rather than the normal 8. This means that the men will skate relay heats on Friday prior to the semifinals on Saturday. Assuming all goes well in their relay heat, this gives the U.S. men the opportunity to make any necessary adjustments before heading into the semifinal on Saturday. The USS source also expressed confidence that the U.S. ladies can beat the Canadian ladies in the relay this weekend. I raised my eyebrows at that, but given the weekend the Canadian women had at World Teams, and the new American relay record the ladies recently set in Bormio, anything is possible.
Will they beat the Canadian women? U.S. women at practice Wednesday: Allison Baver, Caroline Hallisey, Maria Garcia, Kristen Biondo
I had a chance to speak to a lot of the U.S. skaters today and they seem to be in good health and good spirits. Apolo continues to experience some equipment issues. After battling problems with new blades in Cleveland 3 weeks ago (he said they were too thick), Apolo is skating on yet another pair of new blades here in Sweden. Overall he seems happy with the ice here, although he and Scott Koons noted it was in worse shape today than earlier in the week.
Apolo mentioned that he was really happy to have people here for the World Championships, and he expects it to be a great competition. I also passed on the many greetings and well wishes you all have expressed and let Apolo know that many of you at home will also be following along in real time on Live CyberScoreboard. Whether you're here in person or in spirit, Apolo expressed that he appreciates your support so much.
Fresh off another World Championship victory last weekend in long track, Shani looks very sharp. He, like the other skaters, looks forward to the end of the season, but Shani's not resting on his laurels at all and is eager to compete here in the relay. What Shani has achieved this season in both disciplines is simply awesome, but he shrugs it off, saying he's just having fun with his skating and trying to perform the best he can in both long track and short track. He's very satisfied with the training program in Calgary and his results certainly speak for themselves. Shani expects to return to Marquette to participate in the summer program and take classes there prior to returning to Calgary next season.
One other thing I was extremely pleased to hear: It is now apparently USS policy that the short track team will not set foot inside South Korea for any competitions, including next year's World Team Championships, until and unless progress is made in identifying and dealing with those behind the death threats. This lifts the burden off Apolo and his teammates from having to grapple with this decision again on his/their own.
Happy St. Patrick's Day from Sweden!
Posted by noelle at 05:19 PM Comments (16)
Apolo reviews tape
Apolo reviews training tape, 3/17/04
Posted by noelle at 04:58 PM Comments (5)
March 16, 2004
World Ch. Resources
World Championships Web Resources
The World Short Track Speed Skating Championships begin Friday in Göteborg, Sweden. Here is the schedule for this weekend:
Day 1: 1500m, Relay Prelims
Göteborg: Friday, March 19, 2004 - 3:00 PM
Eastern Time: 09:00 AM
Central Time: 08:00 AM
Mountain Time: 07:00 AM
Pacific Time: 06:00 AM
Day 2: 500m, Relay Semifinals
Göteborg: Saturday, March 20, 2004 - 12:00 PM
Eastern Time: 06:00 AM
Central Time: 05:00 AM
Mountain Time: 04:00 AM
Pacific Time: 03:00 AM
Day 3: 1000m, Relay Finals, 3000m
Göteborg: Sunday, March 21, 2004 - 12:00 PM
Eastern Time: 06:00 AM
Central Time: 05:00 AM
Mountain Time: 04:00 AM
Pacific Time: 03:00 AM
As always, Live CyberScoreboard will carry the races in real time. Detailed results can be found at Cyberscoreboard.
If anyone happens to get EuroSport on satellite, they are supposed to have 7 hours of live coverage this weekend. (Scheduled coverage: Friday - 16:15-19:00; Saturday - 11:30-13:30 and 14:45-16:30; Sunday - 15:30-17:00. All times Central European Time (GMT+1), which is 6 hours ahead of EST)
More info: 2004 World Short Track Championships Official Site
Good luck, Apolo and Team USA!!
Posted by noelle at 01:35 PM Comments (14)
March 12, 2004
World Teams
World Teams
That mysterious competition known as the World Team Championships takes place this weekend (March 13-14) in St Petersburg, Russia. For more information, see World Short Track's World Team Ch. primer.
While the U.S. won't be in attendance, all the other big guns will be there and Live Cyberscoreboard will cover the action if you crave a short track fix before next weekend (and can handle the times).
Saturday 3/13 Schedule
Bracket One start time: 1AM ET Saturday/10PM PT Friday
Bracket Two start time: 5AM ET Saturday/2AM PT Saturday
Repechage start time: 10AM ET Saturday/7AM ET Saturday
Sunday 3/14 Schedule
Finals start time: 7AM ET Sunday/4AM PT Sunday
World Teams Press Coverage
via Korea Times:
"Head coaches Kim Ki-hoon and Kim So-hee plan to use the [World Team Championships] to help pick the skaters who will compete at the World Championships, which is expected to motivate and accelerate the competition within the teams." full article
Posted by noelle at 05:01 PM Comments (16)