Touching Gesture to Late Brother has Great Merritt

Before he steps onto the Varsity Stadium track for the men’s 400 metres at the Festival of Excellence on June 11, Olympic champion LaShawn Merritt will kiss his fingers and point to the sky.

REUTERS PHOTO

LaShawn Merritt brings his star power to Toronto next month.

It’s a ritual he’s followed since high school and it’s a tribute to his older brother Antwan, who died when LaShawn was just 13, falling out of a dorm window at college while trying to avoid a fight. His brother was his hero. Whatever his Antwan did, LaShawn wanted to follow.

“He never got to see me do what I love to do, so it kind of boils down to us doing it together,” said Merritt this week. “We’re stepping out together. He pretty much guides me through it. … It’s kind of like doing it for the both of us.”

At just 22, Merritt is a rising star in the track world. He knocked off fellow American Jeremy Wariner at the Beijing Games and makes it clear he’s not content at being an Olympic champion.

“It don’t stop there," said Merritt. "It’s one of the things, one of the goals I wanted to accomplish. I’m Olympic champion, but I still want the world record, I still want to be world champion. Olympic champion is great, something that can’t be taken away from me. But it doesn’t stop.

“I’m only 22. It’s one stepping stone. I plan on running in several more Olympics, more world championships and world records eventually. It feels good, but not all I think about.”

“I don’t really even see the medals unless I have to pull ‘em out for an appearance. Forward movement now.”

You gotta give the organizers of the Festival of Excellence their props. Not only did they pull off the feat of getting Jamaican triple Olympic gold medallist Usain Bolt as the headliner – thanks to Cambridge Mile organizer John Carson’s connections – but Carl Georgevski and David Reid are assembling a stellar supporting cast.

It shapes up to be an exciting night as the University of Toronto attempts to bring big-time track and field back to the city. Tickets available atticketbreak.com.

Forever An Ace: Herb Carnegie

He struggles to walk, can’t see anymore, but former hockey great Herb Carnegie doesn’t need a slapshot to still have a huge impact.

That was very apparent last night at the Amazing Aces Future Aces Awards Gala in Scarborough, where among the honourees were Olympic wrestling champion Daniel Igali, who along with his partner Franca were given the award for Courage.

STAR PHOTO

Herb Carnegie, left, and Daniel Igali.

Most people with kids in the school system are aware of the Future Aces program initiated by Carnegie, who was one of this country’s top hockey players in the ‘30s but denied the opportunity to play in the NHL because of racism.

The Future Aces program and its Creed teaches kids about developing a positive attitude, respecting each other, helping society and all the good stuff you want to be reinforced at school.

Carnegie walks the talk. Almost 90, Carnegie just has this special aura about him, one of serenity and class. You feel good just being around the man.

And as Igali found out in meeting him for the first time, he’s still as sharp as a tack. “Knowing what he went through, it’s remarkable that there’s not any deep-rooted resentment, no feeling that Canada owes him anything, but rather he finds the best in people,” said Igali, who runs his own foundation.

“I was telling him that I’m travelling back to Nigeria tomorrow and he asked me how we can get Future Aces started in Nigeria. That universal vision is one we need now. “I know he doesn’t see anymore, but you wouldn’t know it. He sees the best in everybody. It’s what we need in the world right now.”

Marc and Craig Kielburger, who are doing incredible work with youth through Free the Children and their other endeavours, were honoured in the Education category. Emily and Dr. Ken Ng won the Service award, while Wayne and Winsome Isaacs won for Achievement.

Remembering Rob Bosinger, Canadian alpine skier

Mats Bosinger already taking after his father.

Mats Bosinger skied his first race recently at the event named for his father.

The 4-1/2 year old, a spitting image of his late father, raced in the Rob Bosinger Memorial Weekend – also known as the “Bozo Cup” -- at Sunshine Village in Banff earlier this month.

Rob Bosinger, whose nickname was “Bozo” when he raced on the Canadian alpine ski team, was just 38 and had no history of heart trouble when he died suddenly of a cardiac arrhythmia on May 20, 2005.

“Rob would have been so proud! I was so proud,” his widow, Janet Carswell-Bosinger, wrote Alpine Canada’s press chief emeritus Ed Champagne in an email. “This is a hard day for us but I know Rob would be happy for how we have all carried on and how we have honoured him with his incredible legacy.”

Rob Bosinger was making a name for himself as a coach and mentor of young skiers when he died. The “Rob Bosinger Ski Scholarship” is given out yearly to skiers in Alberta who demonstrate the qualities Bosinger exemplified: “Passion for the sport, ambition and courage, combined with talent and accomplishment, in pursuit of excellence in ski racing in Alberta.”

This year’s winners of Logan Thackray of the Banff Alpine Racers and Tony Naciuk of the Edmonton Ski Club.

Funds raised at the event go to help the Canadian Sudden Arrhythmia Death Syndromes Foundation.

Here’s a photo of Rob Bosinger with his teammates at Whistler in March 1988. From L to R: Ralf Socher, Felix Belczyk, Dan Moar, Rob Boyd, Don Stevens, Mike Carney and Rob Bosinger.

Bruny Surin Discovers There’s No Love Lost In Tennis

Former Canadian track star Bruny Surin wasn’t too wild about the idea of his daughters trying to follow in his footsteps. So when his oldest girl showed an interest in tennis, he was all for it.

Now, he’s not so sure.

COURTESY OF THE SURIN GROUP

Surin struts his stuff at a clothing launch last week in Montreal.

“This tennis thing is so expensive, omigod,” Surin laughs over the phone last week. “What you’re going to pay for one year in track and field, that’s what I’m paying in three weeks with my daughters. That’s crazy.”

Surin chuckles again. That’s the thing about Surin. For the most part, even through all the various battles he had to fight in track and field including the ones with teammate Donovan Bailey, he always showed a great sense of humour.

But he finds nothing funny about the cut-throat attitude he’s seen in kids' tennis. His daughters, Kimberley-Ann, 15, and Katherine, 13, have made the the Quebec team and Kimberley has already been invited to train with the national team.

Surin said it’s been an eye-opening experience to see them rise through the ranks.

“When they started, my daughters were very behind the other girls,” said Surin. “They were friends with everybody. Everybody was friends with them. But as soon as my daughters improved ….

“I remember she came after one game she was crying. ‘What did I do? I don’t understand. My friend doesn’t want to talk with me anymore.’ Because that was the first time she beat her. And you know what? The parents wouldn’t even say ‘Hi’ to me anymore. I’m like ‘Okay, that’s the way it is, eh. That’s cool.’”

Surin said he’s resorted to wearing his ipod when he’s watching his girls play.

“I don’t want to hear any comments, I don’t know want to hear nothing.”

Surin is certainly a busy man these days, running his company, The Surin Group. He manages track and field athletes including Olympic bronze medallist Priscilla Lopes-Schliep, has a supplement line (Xistence) and has just launched a clothing line that will be sold in the store L’Aubainerie.

Surin has been involved in creating his own supplements, an onerous job in these heavily regulated times and one he sometimes wishes he never started.

“I understand what Health Canada’s doing because people were putting anything on the market, but at the same time they made this regulation Health Canada didn’t have enough people to work on the process. It’s crazy.”

His next venture could be a franchise of boutique gyms that focus more on one-to-one coaching and proper follow-up. He’s got a partner with the money to invest in the venture. What he doesn’t have right now is the time.

Dunking Phenom "Jus Fly" Launches His High Jumping Career

You might remember recently we featured Justin “Jus Fly” Darlington on this blog.

He’s a 20-year-old slam dunking phenom from Ajax whom veteran track coach Daniel St-Hilaire is hoping to transform into a high jumping champion.

Well, he’s off to a good start.

In his first outdoor meet this past weekend in St-Laurent, Que., Darlington surprised St-Hilaire by jumping 2.10 metres to qualify for the national championships next month at Varsity Stadium in Toronto. He currently ranks fourth in Canada this season.

“I’m pretty excited,” said St-Hilaire. “He’s ahead of my expectations.”

St-Hilaire had projected that Darlington could jump between 2.10 and 2.20 metres in his first season in the event.

Watch Darlington’s winning jump below:

Bolt’s Big Paycheque Hard For Kidd To Fathom

Jamaican sprint king Usain Bolt is getting a reported $250,000 to run in the Festival of Excellence at Varsity Stadium in Toronto. It’s a reward to which someone like former Canadian running great Bruce Kidd can hardly relate.

Kidd is the dean of phys-ed at the University of Toronto, which deserves a lot of credit for trying to bring bigtime track and field back to this city with its June 11 event featuring Bolt and a number of Canadian and international stars.

Kidd can remember the days in the ‘60s when Varsity Stadium was full and crowds were shouting his name, but there was a never a time when he got financially rewarded for it. Not a penny. His were the days of IOC boss Avery Brundage and strict amateurism.

Just so you know, Kidd wasn’t recalling his past a couple of weeks back during a news conference at Varsity Stadium to promote the event in the “back in the good old days” type of refrain. He wasn’t begruding Bolt a cent, because he knows he’s a one-in-a-million athlete.

But Kidd’s a sports historian and had a neat perspective to supply when jokingly asked if he’d every had a payday like Bolt.

“If you won, you got trophies or watches,” said Kidd. “Anything to do with money had to avoid because you could lose your amateur status.”

Kidd worked as a journalist to pay his university tuition. He worked for CFRB and the Star, but was under strict rules that he could not write about sport or he’d lose his amateur status.

When he was injured in the summer of ’65 and had both legs in a cast, the Telegram hired him to cover a race and he had to apply for a permit from the Amateur Athletic Union to allow him to do that and get the fee or he’d have been banned for life.

The rules limited him to 28 days of travel.. He got $20 expense money and received economy airfaire. He also had to apply for a permit every time he left Toronto.

Kidd likes to show the card declaring his amateur status back them to his students. The first line states: “I have never capitalized on my athletic fame.”

Tickets for the event are being sold through ticketbreak.com.

Tribute to Shewfelt: Among the fellow Olympians impressed by now retired gymnastKyle Shewfelt is his good friend, kayaker Adam Van Koeverden:

“The guy did something so huge, very inspirational and so unique for our country. He's a good friend and a wonderful mentor for young people all across our country, he does so much for his sport and his community, recognizing the importance of a commitment to charity involvement and giving back. I'm sure his commitment to all those great things will continue, and his impact on Canadian gymnastics and the legacy of his flawless superman-esque floor routine from Athens will undoubtedly live on forever.”

Classy Shewfelt Decides To Call It A Career

Anyone who kept track of Olympic champion gymnast Kyle Shewfelt through his blog knew he’s been going through a time of great change, but still many were likely surprised today when he officially announced his retirement on his blog today.

Shewfelt’s greatest achievement was undoubtedly his gold medal – the first ever in the sport for Canada – in the men’s floor event at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

But his most incredible performance came when he came back from two broken legs suffered a year earlier to be able to compete last year in Beijing. It showed incredible heart and guts.

It’s understandable that he’s decided to move on as a gymnast at 27. He talked in Beijing of continuing for another year at least, but obviously his heart isn’t in it anymore.

There is really nothing left for him to accomplish as an athlete, though he will be an ambassador for Gymnastics Canada and hopes to open his own gym and has a bunch of other ideas, including a television show for kids.

What Shewfelt brought to the table was a lot more than his incredible gymnastic skills. His positive personality has been huge for Canadian gymnastics and he’s someone who’s never shrinked from self examination in trying to become a better athlete and person. Some certainly found his blog a little too personal at times. But he blogged his heart out and was smart enough to save the scoop on his retirement for himself.

He’s a guy who wants to make a difference, as evidenced by his retirement blog post today.

"When I look towards my future, I want to leave a legacy that runs rich. I want to make a difference. I want to contribute to sport and the community in a positive way. I am not 100% sure of what my future looks like, but I do know that I am very excited to create it."

This is a guy who means it.

Brother, can you spare a ruble?

Interesting news yesterday that the Russian Olympic Committee announced they are more than doubling the bonus payments their athletes will get for medals at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games.

That means Russian athletes will get the equivalent of $157,400 for gold, $94,440 for silver and $62,960 for bronze. The Canadians will get $20,000, $15,000 for silver and $10,000 for bronze.

Why the disparity?

A big part of it would seem to be the different value that Russian society and the business world there place on Olympic medals, particularly the business side.

Last fall, the Russians unveiled a program backed by 10 of the wealthiest businessmen in the country, eight of whom ranked among the 100 richest men in the world.

We’ve never seen anything close to that happen in Canada. There’s a really neat initiative called B2ten where some well-heeled Canadian business types have gotten together under the leadership of Montreal businessman J.D. Miller and freestyle coach Dominick Gauthier to provide additional and important support to about 20 athletes.

But they can’t compete with the Russian wallets.

One wonders if the Canadian Olympic Committee has really stretched themselves enough regards to prize money.

For one thing, the Canadian prize money is taxed. It’s doubtful that’s the case in Russia. This would be a good time for the COC to make a strong case to the Canadian Revenue Agency that Olympic prize money receive tax exempt status as a “prescribed prize” which are described in the regulations as money received for "meritorious achievement in the arts, the sciences or service to the public."

If an Olympic medal isn’t “service to the public,” well …

It’s a very good thing Canadian athletes don’t do it for the money.

The Grovesline: Meditating on the New Moon

(Canadian speed skating ace Kristina Groves checks in with the latest edition of The Grovesline from the team's first training camp of the season in Arizona.  She's been gracious enough to let us re-publish these entries she sends to keep family and friends updated.)

 I love the moon. I love staring at the moon, marveling at its existence and wondering how it can shine so brightly just by reflecting the light of the sun. It amazes me how that little dot in the sky pulls in the tides and let’s them out again. I try to imagine what it must have been like to walk around up there and what it looks like on the dark side we never see. I love it so much because it makes me feel small and makes the little things I worry about seem so insignificant. Sometimes when I’m rushing around, caught up in my own jumbled thoughts, the sight of the moon will catch my eye and stop me in my tracks and take my breath away. Even though it is light years away, or maybe because it is light years away, it keeps me grounded and reminds me to keep sight of the big picture.

My favourite moon is what I call a fingernail moon. That’s not the scientific name for it of course, but it’s the name I give to the moon when you can see just the tiniest sliver of it, when it just barely catches the light of the sun. It makes me think of the end of my fingernail. I took an astronomy class in university (easy science credit) and learned that this phase of the moon is either the waxing or waning gibbous phase, the phase when it is either just past (waxing) or just before (waning) a new moon. But any moon, whether it is a fingernail moon or a rising harvest moon, always brings a smile to my face and a little piece of peace to my mind.

After four weeks off training, some serious rest and contemplating the reality that my own full moon is disappearing into its waning gibbous phase, it is time to get back in the saddle again. Although the rest is entirely necessary, it comes as a bit of shock to the system after eleven months of intense training and racing. In past years I used to resist the urge to lie on the couch all day and just let myself rest, feeling as though I should instead utilize my four weeks of freedom to accomplish something useful like tile the bathroom floor or ski my brains out. But over the years I’ve come to accept that I just need to stop, rest and get to a place where I feel completely free of physical and mental stress.

After a couple of weeks I am generally past the phase of physical exhaustion and begin to feel pretty sedentary. I don’t like this feeling but it pulls me in like the tide and I succumb to it every year. It’s what makes starting to train again so physically difficult, as my body resists the movement at first, until my muscles wake up from their slumber and start firing when I tell them to. Sometimes it’s tough to get going again and it takes a while for the motivation to come back. After the Olympics in 2006 it was nearly two months before I started training again, and even then I didn’t really get into it for a couple more. But that was by design, just as it is now, that I feel truly ready to go again after just four weeks. This is part of the Olympic phase, and a new moon is around the corner.

And so, we ride our bikes. After ten days of bike touring through the national parks of southern Utah I now find myself back with the team in the midst of 35 degree Celsius heat in Tucson, Arizona. Riding is how we get fit, and although the heat is rather extreme for Canadians like us, it is a far better option than the unpredictable, cool and often rainy weather that befalls Calgary this time of year.

Surprisingly, or perhaps not, it didn’t take long to get back into the physical exhaustion phase. We are only at the end of day three of a ten-day camp and at 8:40 pm I can barely keep my eyes open. How can I feel so tired already? Maybe it’s the 4-hour rides followed by afternoon runs, core and weights. Or maybe it’s just the new moon. Every season begins anew, and each year I travel through the same phases of training, fatigue, and rest and finally the culmination of it all in the ultimate end of supreme competition - a full moon!

I know that beyond this cycling camp there is much harder training to come that will challenge me to reach a new level, but somehow, no matter how tired I get, my eyes are wide open to the fact that this is the time of my life. How lucky I am to have the next ten months in front of me, full of possibility and potential. I will never have this chance again. While other new moons will come and go, I feel absolutely full of enthusiasm, patience and focus, to wholly experience this one as it travels through waxing, waning, and absolutely 100% full.

Surf's Up For Canada's Freestyle Skiers

SUPPLIED PHOTO

Surf's up for Jennifer Heil.

Canada’s freestyle skiers couldn’t help themselves at the recent Olympic Excellence Series in Vancouver. Sure, one of the main topics of conversations was getting ready for the 2010 Winter Games, but they also had other things on their minds.

“All we did, the freestylers is talk about surfing,” said moguls coach Dominick Gauthier. “We are so tired of being on the mountains in the winter that we just look forward to being in the warm water on the beach instead of being on the cold glacier somewhere.”

Gauthier was the first freestyle to catch the surfing bug and it’s spread like wildfire since. Many of the skiers were riding the waves after another great season of performances, including Olympic moguls champion Jenn Heil, Gauthier’s girlfriend (pictured in Nicaragua), and aerials champion Steve Omischl. 

Gauthier said there’s a bit of a parallel between freestyle skiing and surfing in the balance required and finding the right place to be to generate the speed needed. He said moguls is like an “illusion sport,” where you’re trying to show the judges you’re totally control while being completely out of control.

SUPPLIED PHOTO

Jennifer Heil catches a wave.

“It’s just finding that perfect balance of knowing that everything will be fine – and you do get that on the wave,” he said. “Even though the wave could be 10 feet, if you have the right takeoff at the right moment, it just becomes so easy. It’s kind of similar to the moguls.”

Gauthier said the freestyle skiers are conservative in their approach, opting out when the waves appear a bit sketchy, although they don’t want it too easy, either.

“As long as there’s not a little fear factor attached to it, I think freestylers are bored.”