Lueders mellowing as 2010 Games approach

PAWEL DWULIT/TORONTO STAR

Pierre Lueders, right, looking accomodating, and Helen Upperton.

Canadian bobsled ace Pierre Lueders seemed a pretty relaxed and contented guy in Toronto on Monday at a season kick-off news conference for the team before they headed for Europe.

Lueders has always been a guy with a chip on his shoulder, never reluctant to let a reporter know if he thought a question betrayed a large ignorance of his sport.

But he couldn’t have been more accomodating at an event where he was subjected to a series of long interviews, happy to hang in there until the last question was asked.

That should bode well for his sport heading to the 2010 Vancouver Olympics as he certainly remains the team’s chief spokesperson, although Helen Upperton and Kaillie Humphries are doing their part to bring attention to women’s bobsleigh with their podium results.

It’s clear the other sledders look to Lueders to set the tone. Said Upperton:

“I think we’re really fortunate to have somebody like Pierre in our program. Since I first started on the team, he’s been a great source of guidance and advice and tips and driving instruction. Tips on lots of stuff, equipment and sleds. I think also he’s been so successful that everyone who’s come into the program since he’s been a part of it, they’re just trying to achieve a similar level of success. He just raised the calibre of the whole program.”

And while he seems to be mellowing, the good thing is it doesn’t look like he’s lost his competitive edge.

Tornado Hopes Sunk: Sailor Kevin Stittle of Orangeville got the bad news today that the Tornado class is officially out of the program for the 2012 London Olympics.

Stittle, who finished an excruciating fourth with helmsman Oskar Johansson of Oakville at the Beijing Games, was hoping to continue competing in the fast and popular Tornado division, while Johansson had got married and started a business.

“I haven’t spoken with a single person in the sailing community that agrees with the decision,” said Stittle. “It’s spread across the board with people wondering ‘Why the heck did they do that?’ I can only assume it was a political decision.”

Posh Job for Buttle? One of the scandal rags is reporting that Victoria Beckham wants her husband’s new football team, AC Milan, to provide an ice rink for the kids and has drawn up a list of prospective teachers at 1,000 Euros an hour. It includes retired world champion Jeffrey Buttle.

Bet he’s going to race to do that job.