Day 3 at the Canadian trials saw things a bit more back to normal. Here are 500 results and race highlights:

LADIES 500 A FINAL (with times and points)
1  Goulet-Nadon, Amelie    45.86  [1000]
2  Vicent, Tania  46.00  [816]
3  Gagnon, Melanie  46.01  [666]
4  Kraus, Alanna  46.04  [543]

MEN 500 A FINAL (with times and points)
1  Monette, Jeff  42.62  [1000]
2  Rasmussen, Daryl      42.63  [816]
3  Robillard, Steve    42.77  [666]
4  Tremblay, F-L        42.82  [543]
5  Guilmette, Jonathan  43.02  [443]

LADIES
+ Amelie Goulet-Nadon had the fastest time of the day for the ladies: 45.56 in her semifinal
+ Chantale Sevigny and Anne Maltais both fell in their heats; Maltais skated in the E final

MEN
+ Francois-Louis Tremblay skated the fastest time of the day: 42.49 in his quarter final
+ Eric Bedard had yet another DQ when he tangled with Tremblay in their semifinal. Bedard tried to pass Flou at the end; both skaters fell and FLT was advanced to the A final. Bedard skated the B final.
+ Bedard won the B final and Charles Hamelin took 2nd. Jeff Scholten was DQ'ed for kicking out.
Side note: In Canadian rules, a DQ'ed skater receives last-place points within his or her heat, rather than 0 points as in the US system. Therefore, Scholten was awarded 241 points despite his DQ; good enough for 8th in the 500.
+ Mathieu Turcotte was DQ'ed in his heat; he finished ranked 17th in the 500.

Overall rankings after the 1500 and 500:

Ladies overall standings, with cumulative points
1  Tania Vicent  [1816]
2  Amelie Goulet-Nadon  [1443]
3  Raphaele Lemieux  [946]
4  Alanna Kraus  [905]
5  Emilie Nadeau-Benoit  [784]
6  Melanie Gagnon  [696]
7  Chantale Sevigny  [690]
8  Amanda Overland  [684]
9  Anouk Leblanc-Boucher  [491]
10  Jo-Anne MacLean  [408]

Men overall standings, with cumulative points
1  Jo Guilmette  [1443]
2  Jeff Monette  [1241]
3  Steve Robillard  [1209]
4  Daryl Rasmussen  [1012]
5  Charles Hamelin  [961]
6  Mathieu Turcotte  [853]
7  Francois-Louis Tremblay  [613]
8  Fred Blackburn  [489]
9  Mathieu Giroux  [448]
10  Mathias Archambault  [425]
11  Eric Bedard  [386]
13  Jeff Scholten  [260]

Many thanks to LK, our reporter on the scene!

LADIES 1500 A FINAL (with times and points)
1  Vicent, Tania    2:32.41  [1000]
2  Lemieux, Raphaele  2:32.48  [816]
3  Sevigny, Chantale  2:32.51  [666]
4  Nadeau-Benoit, Emilie  2:32.63  [543]
5  Goulet-Nadon, Amelie  2:32.83  [443]
6  Kraus, Alanna  2:33.01  [362]

MEN 1500 A FINAL (with times and points)
1  Guilmette, Jonathan  2:16.32  [1000]
2  Turcotte, Mathieu      2:16.57  [816]
3  Hamelin, Charles    2:16.58  [666]
4  Robillard, Steve        2:16.71  [543]
5  Blackburn, Frederic  2:17.02  [443]
6  Giroux, Mathieu        2:17.68  [362]
7  Archambault, Mathias 2:20.51  [295]
Full results from Speed Skating Canada

It was an interesting day at the Canadian trials. Some things weren't too surprising, like Guilmette's domination of the 1500 A final, others were a bit more so, such as Jeffrey Scholten winding up in the D final, or Amelie Goulet- Nadon finishing 5th in the ladies' A final.

It's important to remember that these trials count for 33% so they weigh less heavily than the second trials coming up. In addition, it being early in the season and with World Cups to focus on, many of the top skaters are opting to play it safe.

Here are some highlights from today's racing:

LADIES
+ Tania Vicent won the 1500 in impressive fashion. She led the pack through most of her 1500 semifinal. She repeated this strategy in the final, where she led a tightly-packed field almost the whole way through the A Final.
+ Amelie Goulet-Nadon said after the final that she had just played it safe because the race was so tight and it wasn't worth risking a DQ or fall to try to pass.
+ Amanda Overland faced off against Tania Vicent and Alanna Kraus in her 1500 semifinal and was unable to advance as they took 1st and 2nd respectively. Amanda skated in the B final.
+ The ladies' B final had to be re-run due to miscounting of laps. Amanda Overland had won it the first time but came in 2nd when it was re-run.

MEN
+ The A final was a very tight, very close race. Charles Hamelin was in 2nd most of the race but Mathieu Turcotte edged him out at the line. Jo Guilmette didn't always lead, but he was in control from start to finish.
+ In the B final, Jeff Monette sat in the back and with 1 lap to go made a very impressive outside pass, overtaking the field to win that race.
+ Eric Bedard didn't have the best day as he was DQ'ed in both his 1500 semifinal and final. Bedard and Francois-Louis Tremblay both skated in the C final.
+ Jeff Scholten and Eric Bedard were both DQ'ed in the 1500 -- Scholten in his heat, Bedard in his semifinal. Scholten's DQ occurred when he tried to move up a spot, clipped skates with another skater and fell. Jeff popped right back up, managing to chase down another skater to finish 3rd, but was DQ'ed and relegated to the D final.
+ Scholten bruised his knee in his semifinal fall; while it didn't affect his 1500 final, we'll wait to see if it affects his performance tomorrow in the 500.
+ The deck was stacked in semifinal three, with Monette, Tremblay, Steve Robillard, Olivier Jean and Charles Hamelin. Monette led most of the way but ran out of gas by the end of the race. Steve Robillard hung out in 5th for most of the race and passed at the end.

Overall rankings after the 1500:

Ladies overall standings
1  Tania Vicent
2  Raphaele Lemieux
3  Chantale Sevigny
4  Emilie Nadeau-Benoit
5  Amelie Goulet-Nadon
6  Alanna Kraus
8  Amanda Overland
13  Anne Maltais

Men overall standings
1  Jonathan Guilmette
2  Mathieu Turcotte
3  Charles Hamelin
4  Steve Robillard
5  Freddie Blackburn
6  Mathieu Giroux
7  Mathias Archambault
8  Jeff Monette
14  Flou Tremblay
19  Eric Bedard
20  Jeff Scholten

Many thanks to LK, our reporter on the scene!

Ohno Wins USOC Athlete of the Month Honors

U.S. Olympic Committee Honors Patricia Miranda, Apolo Anton Ohno, and Misty May and Kerri Walsh for October Accomplishments

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. – The U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) today named women’s wrestler Patricia Miranda and speed skating sensation Apolo Anton Ohno as the October Athletes of the Month. The USOC Team of the Month honor was awarded to beach volleyball duo Misty May and Kerri Walsh.

Ohno (Seattle, Wash.) set three American short track speedskating records during the month of October. At the Conematic Heating short track event in Calgary, Oct. 10-12, Ohno’s 500-meters time of 41.518 seconds bettered his previous record of 41.628. The following weekend (Oct. 17-19) at the first World Cup event of the season in Calgary, Ohno won a bronze medal in the 1500-meters and placed sixth overall. He finished the month in a flurry by setting two American records at the Oct. 24-26 World Cup event in Marquette, Mich. His time of 1:25.83 in the 1000-meters lowered the previous record of 1:26.67, and his clocking of 2:11.28 in the 1500-meters shattered the mark of 2:13.34. Ohno won gold in the 500-meters, bronze in the 1500-meters and placed third overall at the Marquette World Cup.
Full press release

Next 4 pics I took on Friday in Marquette

3/4 of the US men's relay team hit the ice in Marquette

Israel's Denis Zaslavsky and Apolo

Rusty and Apolo

Delay in Saguenay

Update from Lewis Kezagger: There is a delay in Saguenay as one of the compressors from the rink broke down overnight. The ice was far too soft to race so the men's time trials were postponed. The men are scheduled for warmup at 7pm tonight.

Because there are less than 32 women at the trials, there will be no women's pursuits. The 5 skaters who had no points from last year will be drawn randomly into the heats.

Canadian Trials #1 Preview Report
Canadian short track expert Lewis Kezagger is our reporter this weekend. To set the scene, Lewis has provided some background info to bring us up to speed on the Canadian team trials, what's at stake and how they differ from our own U.S. team trials which took place last weekend in Saratoga Springs.

There are 3 trials during the season:

1. November 13-16, 2003 Saguenay, QC
2. January 22-25, 2004 Matsqui, BC
3. April 1-4, 2004 Ottawa, ON

SCORING: Points earned by skaters in this weekend's trials count as follows:

• 33% of pts for the World Championships Team (5 men and women)
• 40% of pts for the National Team (World Team + next 3 ranked skaters) and the Development Team (skaters ranked 9-12)
• These trials do not change the World Cup Team for World Cups #3 and #4.

The top 32 men and women from the 777m pursuit time trials being held Thursday will compete this weekend. Points are awarded in the 500m, 1000m, 1500m, and 3000m events only. All skaters skate in finals, which run from A-H in the 500m and 1000m, A-E in the 1500m and A-D in the 3000m.

POINTS TABLE
1  1000    9  196    17  37    25  5
2  816    10  160    18  30    26  4
3  666    11  130    19  24    27  3
4  543    12  106    20  19    28  2
5  443    13  86      21  15    29  1.5
6  362    14  70      22  12    30  1
7  295    15  57      23  9      31  0.5
8  241    16  46      24  7      32  0

HEATS: Heats are made up from last year's distance rankings from trials #1 and #2. This means that last year's 1500m rankings are used to make up the 1500m heat and so on. If skaters have no ranking from last year, their 777m trials will be used for seeding.

TIMES: The times this weekend should be quick, but not like the Calgary and Marquette World Cups. Look to World Cup #6 from 2002-03 for comparison.

Curious to know more?
Speed Skating Canada Short Track Bulletin 2003-04

Special Coverage of Canadian Trials #1
Well, it may be taking place in the hinterlands of Quebec, and Cyberscoreboard doesn't cover it, and Oval Audio is (for now) defunct - but that doesn't mean we'll be in the dark as to what transpires this weekend at Canada's national team trials.

Luckily for us, we have an Ohno Zone Special Correspondent™ who will be reporting in each day from Chicoutimi to give us the latest news and results from the ice rink.

• After finishing 6th last year, will François-Louis 'Popsicle' Tremblay break back into the top 5?
• Will 3000m world record holder Steve Robillard threaten the top 5 too?
• Which 4-6 men will make it to the 500m A final?
• After the top 3 or 4 women, the women's field is very close.

Tony Field photo gallery

Thanks to Jennifer G for this link: Awesome photo gallery of Apolo skating in Calgary, from a photographer named Tony Field

Picture time! Here are 4 from Calgary.

Apolo talks to J.P. before the relay in Calgary

J.P. Kepka and Apolo on the ice

Relay time

Call to Action: Operation Korean Goodwill

Sooz and the Korean men's short track team in MQT

All efforts are being made to demonstrate goodwill and the desire for good relations among the members of the short track world. Julia is working on getting a Korean short track figure to be our spokesperson and get an article in the Korea Times.

Time is of the essence. We are asking that fans provide tidbits (short, concise examples) of the wonderful things that happened in Calgary and Marquette involving U.S. fans, Korean skaters, and Apolo Ohno. Things that happened with other countries are needed as well (i.e. NZ banquet, etc.) All submissions must have fans' full name and location.

Photos would be great too, such as the great photo of OZers with the young Blake of NZ and a photo taken with Belgium's Wim and his coach. Podium pictures of Apolo and Korean athletes shaking hands would also be great! If any photos are provided, a caption is required identifying who's in the photo.

Deadline for submissions is Friday, November 14. Send all reports, stories and pics to JAAgostin@aol.com with the subject "Korea Goodwill".

None of this is guaranteed, but if we try, we may just succeed!

This is a biggie, from today's Korea Times. Here are some excerpts:

Ohno Scheduled to Race in World Cup Event in Chonju
We’ll soon see how forgiving South Koreans are as American short track speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno is expected to compete in a World Cup competition here later this month.

However, it seems that many people have yet to get over the infamous events of nearly two years ago, with scores of Internet users expressing their anger....

Rarely found on the anti-Ohno website are logical opinions and sound criticism. Instead, it is filled with slanderous messages and death threats against the Asian-American skater.

[one of the milder opinions expressed was:], ``I heard some people are preparing protests at the airport and the rink, but I think supporting our players would be much better than spending time on such a useless thing. We really don’t need to deal with such garbage.’’

Fully recognizing the background, the U.S. speed skating authorities asked the Korea Skating Union (KSU) whether appropriate security measures have been put in place for their athletes.

``We tried to ease their worries by saying we are in charge of protecting everyone including American athletes,’’ Lee Chi-sang, KSU’s general director, told The Korea Times. ``We recently visited the police station in Chonju and asked for their full cooperation. We are also trying to arrange a heavy police guard for him personally.’’

``I believe such a talented athlete should attend the event,’’ Lee explained. ``Short track is just a sport, in which umpires are in charge of judging fouls. Protesting against his attendance itself is not a good way of expressing our opinion. Even North Korean athletes are freely participating in sporting events in South Korea.’’

Despite Ohno’s stature as the most-hated athlete in South Korea, his visit will be warmly welcomed by the South Cholla Province government, which is competing with Kwangwon Province for the right to bid for the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Read full article

Here's an article about a 13-year old from Washington state called Cody Young who'll be competing in Cleveland in Feb.:

Mukilteo phenom in the fast lane: Among the highlights of Cody's budding career are the opportunities he has had to meet U.S. Olympic speed skater Apolo Ohno. Did Ohno offer any advice to the young Olympic hopeful?

"Stay on your feet, keep your head up," Cody said with a laugh, "and watch out for those Chinese and Korean guys." Read more

Thanks to Linda M for this great shot of Apolo and a young admirer in Marquette

Next two images from Calgary are courtesy of Susan G

Apolo and Shani in Calgary

Lupe holds her 'Rustinator for Governator' sign in Calgary

Update on World Cup Team
US Speedskating has a press release detailing the American Cup results from this weekend. The big news is that Mike Kooreman will be skating in place of Shani Davis at World Cups 3 and 4:

"Mike Kooreman (Grand Rapids, Mich.) will be the team's alternate after finishing third. Kooreman will skate in place of Davis at the next two World Cup competitions after Davis declined to participate. Davis will skate in the final World Cup event of the season in Bormio, Italy, Feb. 13-15."

Short Track World Cup Team Determined at American Cup I

Ohno Zone Friends & Family Photo Gallery

OZers in Bay City - image courtesy Jennifer Berlin

We're working on some new OZ photo galleries from the recent World Cups. The one I'm most excited about though is the OZ Friends & Family Gallery, a collection of photos of all of you with Apolo and one another at various competitions and events.
Check out the gallery here.

Submissions are welcome. If you'd like to submit a photo for the gallery, please send it in! Ideally, photos should depict you with Apolo and/or his teammates, as well as group pics of fan gatherings in conjuction with competitions or appearances. Photos with other skaters are also welcome. To make the gallery manageable, please try to limit submissions to one individual pic per person.

Another article from the Saratogian today, with quotes from Kristen Biondo, Bridie Farrell, J.P. Kepka and others: Local skater Farrell misses national team

New World Cup Team
Sunday's race results are now posted below this entry. Here is your new U.S. World Cup team for World Cups 3, 4 and 6:

LADIES
1. Allison Baver
2. Caroline Hallisey
3. Maria Garcia
4. Kristen Biondo
alternate: Brigid Farrell

MEN
1. Apolo Anton Ohno (pre-qualified)
2. Rusty Smith (pre-qualified)
3. Shani Davis
4. J.P. Kepka
alternate: Michael Kooreman

Congratulations to all the new and returning team members -- and a huge round of applause to all the skaters who competed this weekend. We know you all skated your hearts out. You all have our support and admiration!

AMERICAN CUP AWARDS: As per Jack Mortell, the awards given at the American Cup on Sunday, Nov. 9 are as follows:

1000 Final - Results from American Cup 1

Note: Bridie Farrell skated in the 'B' Final, and placed first with a time of 1:43.250

3000 Final - Results from American Cup 1
Full results aren't available, however:
+ In the ladies' 3000, Baver lapped the pack early in the race, and stayed out in front for the remainder.
+ Davis won the men's 3000. We believe Kepka was 2nd.
+ Gray was 3rd in the 3000 but was again DQ'ed for 'charging' Toth at the line. No one at the rink seemed to have ever heard of this infraction before.

1000 Semifinals - Results from American Cup 1

* #132 Derek Gray was DQ'd for 'charging' against #190 Tony Hwang with two laps to go.
+ In the semifinal race, Bridie jumped out in front, and stayed there until the last corner, where she was overtaken by Fling and Baver.

Two articles in the Saratogian newspaper today:

Speed skater prepares youths for sport
Scott Koons knows what it takes to make it in short track speedskating.... read more

City rink races draw big crowd
It's deceptively simple, the speed and grace with which the nation's top short track speedskaters glide over the ice, which perhaps explains why so many now are turning to the sport.... It's [Apolo Anton] Ohno that many point to when talking about the sport's rise in popularity. Read more

This is an awesome article (from the San Francisco Chronicle):

It's all Apolo Ohno's fault... If his sport weren't so mesmerizing in its speed and compactness and breathtaking in its displays of grace and grit, with a dash of sudden disaster thrown in... Read more