Ryan Cochrane: This is the go-to guy Canadian swimming needs

The recent Pan Pac Swimming Championships slipped under the radar because they finished late each night in California and with them the breakout peformance of distance freestyler Ryan Cochrane went pretty much unnoticed.

That shouldn’t be the case for long because in Cochrane it looks like Canada could have a world beater the likes of which it hasn’t had since the days of Alex Baumann and Victor Davis.

He’s certainly not near the level of those legends yet, but Cochrane supplies the Canadian swim team with a much needed go-to guy, someone who can give them the big performance to punctuate a meet. He won golds in both the 800 and 1,500 metres at the Pan Pacs in Irvine, Calif., setting the world’s fastest time in the former and second fastest by about half a second in the latter.

The upcoming Commonwealth Games in New Delhi will be a good chance for the Victoria swimmer to strut his stuff.

As impressive as his swimming is, it’s his attitude that’s really refreshing. He was a bit overwhelmed when he surprised as a 19-year-old with a bronze medal in the 1,500 metres at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but two years later is starting to embrace a leadership role.

“Now, I’m okay with taking that role,” he said. “It was really thrust on me in Beijing. I wasn’t comfortable with it then because I wasn’t ready to carry the team with me. I was just focused on myself and whether that’s selfish or not is up for debate. But as an athlete, sometimes you have to be selfish.

“I think now I can handle all the pressure that comes along with it. The attitude on the national team now has really changed. We can talk about winning now, we can talk about winning medals. … We hope we can get a confidence on the national team, not to be arrogant, but a confidence that we can actually compete with the rest of the world."

Advice worth heeding: Speaking of Alex Baumann, Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen has done an excellent story with the head of Own The Podium about giving your kids’ a balanced sports experience. It touches on the suicide of Baumann’s older brother Roman.

(The Associated Press photo shows Cochrane after winning the 800 metres at the Pan Pacs)

Kim Yu-na fan's plea: I just want them to stop fighting

There are maybe no fans more devoted than those who follow figure skating and Kim Yu-na’s supporters are particularly fervent. The controversy over the breakup of Kim and her coach Brian Orser, also revered in South Korea, has been difficult on people there and on all of her fans.

Here’s some excerpts from one fan’s email with some observations that are very insightful:

“As I've watched the situation unfold, the hurt and pain being inflicted on the fans has only increased. I feel like I am watching my parents fight in front of me. No matter who is right or wrong, I just want them to stop fighting.”

“You have probably seen the full email that Orser has released … where he denied he was considering coaching (Japanese rival) Mao (Asada). The question is not whether or not he truly considered coaching Mao; he says he didn't.

"Questions to consider: perhaps it was the fact that he did not disclose that he had been approached by her agents at Worlds until the rumours broke publicly more than a month later (and Brian had been in Korea for Festa on Ice with ample opportunity to reveal it) that caused the relationship to deteriorate?

"This is something that could indeed have been interpreted as a betrayal by Yu-na's camp because it concerns her chief rival...but something that Brian could have brushed off and forgotten (as he seems to have done by the end of the email).

"It may be impossible for ATS (Kim’s agency) to properly articulate their position because it has to do with this touchy subject. As an American and a native English speaker with a deeper understanding of the intensity of the rivalry and how Japan/Korea relations have amplified it, I have to say Brian's email would have left me feeling insecure and doubtful and yes, possibly even betrayed that he did not disclose the offer when it was made and that he would even say that he was flattered. This is before translation issues and cultural lines even come into play to add to the misunderstanding.”

“Finally, just to add to what you say about the LP (long program) music choice selection. It is not just that Yu-na's management company prefers to release the music choice at a time of their choosing. That is not why David Wilson finally commented on the matter as well.

"This song (Arirang) has incredibly deep emotional and historical cultural significance for Korea. It is the first time that Yu-na will be skating to Korean music. It was meant to be a precious gift from her to them -- to be presented at a time of her choosing.

"Orser releasing this news at a time in which it cannot possibly be celebrated is a deeply hurtful action, unnecessary, and goes beyond any of the grievances that he may or not have been justified in expressing. And strangely enough, it is what is swaying some fans caught in the middle back to Yu-na.

“If possible, please think of the fans who are in the middle, who admire both Brian and Yu-na, who would like to see this painful event end.”

Memo to Cox & Griff: NHL and MLB drug plans truly amateur

Gotta admit it was a really good chuckle reading the debate between my colleagues Damien Cox and Richard Griffin over Jose Bautista and which of the leagues they cover has a worse anti-doping plan.

Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s a great debate and it’s wonderful seeing the boys go at it.

What I find funny though is that for decades now the so-called “amateur sports” have had a more professional approach to anti-doping and the so-called “pro” sports have been such comical amateurs when it comes to going after the cheaters.

Actually, it’s not that comical, which is why the U.S. authorities are going after such icons as Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds and quite possibly Lance Armstrong. They seem to be recognizing the damage done to the fabric of society when American icons may turn out to be false idols.

But back to the Damo/Griff debate. The testing done in most Olympic sports is still far from perfect, but is still light years beyond what’s being done in the NHL and MLB. And that doesn’t make sense. Neither of these leagues lack the financial resources. So they must lack the will.

The big excuse is the union won’t go for it, but the cheating players are only diminishing the value of the product and the members' future paydays.

Canadian Olympic athletes of any stripe, the Olympic medalists and the 35th-place finishers, have to keep drug testers updated on their whereabouts at all times. They don’t get a summer off. There is no off-season for Olympic athletes when it comes to the demands of pee testers. They get all the inconvenience without the money.

Then there’s the penalties. First offence is two years out of their career. Second offence and it’s likely to be a lifetime ban. An NHLer gets 20 games for a first offence. A baseball player gets a 50-game ban for a steriod offense and 15 games for other drug offences.

If these leagues want to get serious, they should at least move up to the Olympic standard, which many critics already believe has its share of loopholes.

But the debate is an important one.

Big Gain, Great Loss: Own The Podium has announced a pair of key hires today, Graham Barton on the summer side and Paul Dorotich on the winter side. Barton has been the high performance director for 11 years with CanoeKayak Canada and was poached by his old boss Anne Merklinger. Dorotich used his background in biomechanics and other areas to good effect with Speed Skating Canada and will work in innovative technology on the winter side under Ken Read.

The only problem becomes: Who's going to replace these guys with the associations they've left. The shame of it is there's not a deep pool in that end in Canada.

Moyse Tearing It Up: The Canadian rugby team rolled to a 40-10 victory over Sweden today at the women's World Cup in London, led by three tries by Olympic gold medalist bobsledder Heather Moyse, who fought hard to earn a starting spot after two years away from the sport.

We ran a feature recently on Moyse with a nice portrait photograph done by Vincent Lions (see below). A mistake was made and Vincent Lions' name was left off of the photo credit. The Star apologizes for this error.

Van Koeverden loosey goosey heading into world champs

Olympic champion kayaker Adam van Koeverden is in a mischievous mood as he prepares for the world championships this weekend in Poznan, Poland.

Take for example his tweet yesterday at the misfortune of friend and teammate Mark Oldershaw:

"Shittenfreude: @markoldershaw stepped in dog poop and it made my day... http://tinyurl.com/2clkcl2 haha... Got his Kswiss kicks all crappy."

Van Koeverden also had some fun at the expense of pal Simon Whitfield on Twitter, noting his praise of new triathlon sensation Paula Findlay on this blog earlier this week:

"Some kids wear superman pajamas. I heard @simonwhitfield wears @paulafindlay pajamas..."

Indeed, van Koeverden said in a telephone interview he feels primed and ready for this weekend's worlds. He's put more emphasis this season on peaking for this event, although he's still been a force on the World Cup circuit.

"I was able to stave off the staleness this summer," said van Koeverden, noting the 10-week break between the last World Cup event and the world championships.

"I think my attitude has a lot to do with it. I think my attitude generally reflects how I feel on the water. I've been feeling quite good on the water so I'm amped up to race, excited to race and not feeling like I'm stale basically."

(This photo from Poznan is courtesy of Bernie Irvin, the team's massage therapist and performance specialist. Sounds like someone who helps them avoid getting stale.)

Simon Whitfield impressed by rising star Paula Findlay

Simon Whitfield’s current coach has a message for his young charges when he thinks they’re getting off target: Just shut up, chop wood and carry water.

In other words, get down to business and don’t get distracted.

That’s why Whitfield in tweeting about Paula Findlay's second straight victory in a world championships series race in Kitzbuehel on Sunday, the Olympic gold and silver medalist said "that redhead just chops wood and carries water.”

“Paula is the epitomy of that,” said Whitfield. “So is (his teammate) Kyle Jones. They quietly go about their work in a systematic way, avoiding the constant ups and downs and the drama. They’re pragmatic about it. You can see that in her success. She’ll have her moments, her ups and downs but she’ll ride them out pretty evenly.”

Whitfield, who does swim training with Findlay’s group about three times a week in Victoria, describes her as quite shy but very driven.

“It’s not by chance or fluke she’s doing well,” he said. “She’s a definite overachiever. She does very well at school, was on the cross country team at U of A (University of Alberta).”

Whitfield said it’s unrealistic to think along with the peak she’s experiencing at age 21, there won’t be valleys along the way.

“Certainly, there are obstacles that come with early success in endurance sport,” he said. “It’s hard to attain getting there and even more of an interesting challenge to stay there. But who wouldn’t envy the position she’s put herself in with all that hard work?”

It’s exciting for Whitfield, too, as he plans to try to extract as much information as he can out of Findlay’s coach, Patrick Kelly. He finds access to that kind of resource reassuring. Whitfield was impressed with Findlay’s attitude when she returned to training after her first big win on the Olympic course in London.

“She refocused right away,” he said. “She was back at the pool, chopping wood and carrying water.”

You can watch highlights of the race here.

(This photo from Kitzbuehel was taken by ITU/Janos Schmidt)

Maxwell awards honour athlete who set bar very high

It was certainly fitting that Grammy Award winner Dan Hill handed out the scholarships in honour of late Canadian marathoner Brian Maxwell.

Hill and Maxwell were great friends and members of the same track club in Toronto coached by Dave Steen, formerly of the Toronto Star and uncle of the Olympic bronze medalist of the same name.

Hill has written a compelling article for the upcoming edition of Canadian Running magazine on Maxwell, who died of a cardiac arrest at age 51. He was a member of the 1980 Canadian Olympic team and the founder of PowerBar.

Here's an excerpt from the article:

A day doesn’t pass that Brian doesn’t inspire me. During a run, when I feel my energy fading, I can hear him urging me on. In that way, he’s like my father, the other central figure in my life. When my singing voice feels like it’s giving out, after three straight hours of performing, or when a diva demands that I rewrite a song for the umpteenth time, I find inspiration in remembering my dad’s galvanizing speeches on human rights. Or I think again of Brian, suffering from heat stroke as he gunned for the Canadian 10,000m record, and I dig in a little more.

I have yet to go on a run since Brian died where he doesn’t cross my mind, where I don’t feel him in my stride. I imagine him in a better place, urging me to aim for the stars and beyond. Brian set the bar pretty damned high, which is both wonderful and daunting—it makes me realize I can always learn, grow, improve. I still can’t fathom how despite a heart defect, he once ranked third in his sport worldwide. Brian’s resourcefulness, toughness, and independence of spirit sends a message to all of us: that we can rise above whatever roadblocks we face—whether disadvantages we are born with or impediments we encounter –and still rock the world, and leave our mark.

The awards are given to elite high school student/athletes to pursue higher education in Canada. Nominees must attain a minimum 80% average in grade 12 and perform at the highest level of high school middle distance running.

Chris Dulhanty from Loyola Catholic SS in Mississauga, and Melissa Jones from Fellowes HS in Pembroke each received awards in the amount of $5,000. Recipients of the $1,000 Recognition for Excellence Award include Luca Geiser from John Cabot CSS in Mississauga, Carise Thompson from Highlands SS in Dundas, and Colleen Hennessy from St. Thomas Aquinas CSS in Oakville.

"It was just so moving to see so many kids who are excelling in so many ways between academics and sport and also volunteer work," said Hill. "At the same time, they were very sweet and humble in accepting their awards. I was very impressed at how they all thanked their parents and coaches."

Well Done, Miguel: Congratulations to Toronto Star art designer Miguel Vadillo for completing his swim across Lake Ontario. Vadillo was raising funds for the Canadian Tire Jumpstart program with the hope it will give disadvantaged children the opportunity to learn to swim. He's been concerned by the number of drowning deaths among kids. Donations can still be made through Vadillo's website.

Tough news for Mandi: There is some bad news for Canadian hockey player Mandi Schwartz, who is battling leukemia. A perfect match for a stem cell transplant was found, but it turns out that her cancer has returned and she will have to undergo more chemotherapy to be put back in remission before the transplant can happen.

Doctors at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance have a plan in place for her transplant that includes a breakthrough procedure. You can read about that here.

A fundraising effort to help the Schwartz family with expenses is being undertaken by three of Mandi’s Yale University teammates who are biking from Toronto to New Haven. Dubbed “The Ride for 17” (Mandi’s uniform number), it starts on Aug. 22.

Updates will be posted at http://www.yalebulldogs.com/mandi

Kyle Nissen ready to jump into next phase of his life

As freestyle skiing aerialist Kyle Nissen sits at his first ever desk job, he often glances over at the digital frame flashing photos from his World Cup days.

It's the pictures of him and the buddies he made from all over the globe that make him a bit wistful, but he knows it was the right move to make his retirement official today after a decade in the sport.

"I tried to take as much time after the Olympics to see if the desire would come back," said Nissen. "After the Games, I knew I would be burned out so I waited to see. But the training camps started and I knew I didn't want to go back."

The 2010 Vancouver Games were a tough blow for Nissen, who led after the first round in the final but wound up fifth for the second straight Olympics after a miscue on his second jump. The pain has subsided, though.

"I mean I'm always going to be a little disappointed to be that close and miss," said the 30-year-old from Calgary. "But I've come to peace with it. Vancouver itself was still one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I don't know if you could top a home Olympics."

Nissen is working in the office at an oil and gas company in Calgary for the summer -- "it was a bit surreal at first" -- but will start classes at the University of Calgary in September. His tuition is covered under a Sport Canada program and he will focus on computer IT courses.

Nissen is one of the good guys of Canadian support, a talented athlete who won 12 World Cup medals during his career but did it pretty quietly and never really got -- or sought -- the headlines.

It's really the end of an era for the Canadian men's freestyle team, as star Steve Omischl also recently announced his retirement and Ryan Blais is competing for just one more season. It remains to be seen if Warren Shouldice, at 27 the youngest of that group, will continue past this season. They enjoyed phenomenal success on the World Cup, but could not convert at the Olympics.

"It's a changing of the guard," said Nissen. "We all grew up together. There's a tone of great memories. My favourites might be from training camps and just some of the dumb s--t we did. I'll miss that."

(The photo of Nissen from the qualifying round at the Vancouver Olympics was taken by the Star's Steve Russell)

Mark Tewksbury: An Olympic chef with the right recipe

Mark Tewskbury was once the Judas of the Canadian Olympic movement. Now, just call him Lazarus.

The gold medalist swimmer was branded a traitor for organizing a group of athletes to challenge the International Olympic Committee when their corruption scandal erupted in 1999. He resigned all his Olympic posts and vowed never to work with them again. Canadian Olympic officials, including Dick Pound, regarded him as persona no grata.

That's just one of the things that makes his appointment Thursday as the chef de mission for Canada at the 2012 London Olympics such a sweet tale.

It's also a story of inclusion, of how an athlete who feared ostracism when he revealed he was gay has been handed one of the Canadian Olympic team's most prominent positions – and his sexuality isn't even an issue.

“An issue became a non-issue – and that was the whole dream, right,” said Tewksbury in an interview. “I wasn't like a mad, angry militant, but I just had to be me. And unfortunately being me at that time meant taking this really big risk, but I've also seen that if you're really true to yourself, you're honest, you're open, things somehow work out.”

Tewksbury's authenticity makes him a great choice. He's an athlete who used his heart to get him where nobody thought he had a chance to go – the top of an Olympic podium in the men's 100-metre backstroke in 1992.

There will be many Canadian athletes in London in a very similar position to that of Tewksbury at Barcelona. They will be in the mix with medal potential, but far from a favourite. It often becomes a matter of self belief, something Tewksbury is extraordinarily gifted at helping instill.

“I've been there and I turned a career that wasn't really iconic – Alex (Baumann) and Victor (Davis) were the icons of my day -- into a championship in less than a year,” said Tewksbury. “The fact that we're two years out and I get to start talking to the sports, talking to the athletes, I feel like there's really enough time to share my story and have it make it a real impact, especially on those athletes that might be coming from behind but just need to know it's been done before.”

The athletes love this guy. He was selected to speak to them before they marched into the opening ceremonies for the 2010 Vancouver Games. He impressed everyone from fresh-faced youngsters like Patrick Chan to steely veteran Clara Hughes.

In that situation, he chose humour, because his finely honed skills for reading his audience told him that was needed.

“If one more person told them 'We have high expectations,' they would have screamed,” said Tewksbury. “I just threw what I was going to say out the window and went really goofy and made them laugh.”

A good indicator of the esteem in which he's held was reflected in veteran Canadian short track speed skater Tania Vicent's tweet: “Wow Mark Tewksbury for Chef De Mission!! Best choice ever!!!”

The chef de mission will play an important role in setting the tone for London team. Expectations have been heightened after Vancouver and Tewksbury said off the bat they need to be tempered for 2012, the stated goal of a top-12 finish as a country being a lofty enough one.

The good thing about Tewksbury is he won't sugarcoat things. He has too much integrity. When the Canadian swim team went into the tank at the 2004 Athens Olympics, Tewksbury went after the swimming officials with facts and plenty of bite as a commentator for CBC TV.

He also didn't kiss butt to get the chef's position, usually a prerequisite. As he recalled, it looked like his Olympic career was done on February 4, 1999, when he resigned all his official positions and started the splinter group OATH (Olympic Athletes Together Honourably), a great initiative that unfortunately didn't last.

Let's just say it won't be surprising if it turns out that Tania Vicent knows her chefs.

(Photo from Canadian Press)

Marnie McBean's going by the book in new venture

Most people know the book on rowing legend Marnie McBean: Passionate, tough-minded, intensely competitive.

But if all goes according to plan, people will be able to get to know another book on Marnie McBean – the one she's currently writing.

The triple Olympic gold medalist is making the transition from being a full-time employee for the Canadian Olympic Committee to being a contract worker and knows exactly what she wants to do with the extra time she'll have on her hands – add author to her list of titles.

“The book is not going to be about how I learned to row when I was 17,” said McBean over a coffee earlier this summer. “The book will be about things I've learned and things I believe are consistent about performance.

“When I was putting together the outline, I was pleasantly suprised at the amount of content. There's so many things I want to talk about, things I've talked about in presentations that people have really enjoyed. I'm excited about the process and looking forward to really sinking my teeth into something and building something.”

One of the things McBean plans to address is the oft heard notion that “people have to accept change.”

“I've come to believe that's archaic and that, really, people should anticipate change,” she said. “It allows you to be more agile and to look to spaces around the problems. A lot of that comes from where does motivation start, where does courage start, where does confidence begin?

“You're going to have fears and doubts. I learned to embrace the feeling of doubt on the water. I learned to expect it. I learned that my competitors had it, too. As long as they had it, too, I was okay because I felt I was tougher than them. Because you struggle doesn't mean you're not going to be successful. I never talked to an athlete who won easily.”

McBean is still doing speaking engagements and working with athletes on Team VISA, as well as being a member of the executive board on Canada's Sports Hall of Fame.

She said she knows she's going to have to impose structure on herself to get the book completed.

“So by telling you about this book, I have to finish it,” she said. “I have put it in stone. Accountability is there. I'll look like a complete idiot if don't do it.”

Speaking of Rowing: Malcolm Howard, a member of Canada's Olympic champion men's eights, is featured as Rower of the Month by FISA, the sport's governing body.  It's a really good interview, because that Howard guy can really talk. Interesting stuff about the friendly rivalry among the single scullers. Guess it helps to know other people are suffering as much as you.

For the first time in a while, the Canadian rowing team is competing this weekend at the 128th Royal Canadian Henley Regatta in St. Catharines, Ont.

Gutsy high jumper aims to have ImPACKD on kidney disease

The power of sport is often underestimated. It was Marie-Eve Chainey's strong desire to return to her love of high jumping that motivated her to battle through 800 blood transfusions after her kidneys stopped working nine years ago and from a point where she couldn't walk or even wash her hair.

She competed at last week's Canadian championships after nine years away from that level of competition. You can read her inspiring story from the front-page of the Sunday Star here.

The neat thing about most of Canada's athletes is they look beyond themselves and are involved in many causes.

Chainey is involved with a number of groups, including a relatively new one called ImPACKD, which stands for Improving Patient Advocacy in Chronic Renal Disease.

ImPACKD is a group of patients, caregivers, specialists and professional advocates affected by chronic kidney disease (CKD) who are committed to advocating for safety, accountability, treatment access and education for CKD patients.

ImPACKD’s goal is to empower physicians, patients and caregivers to become informed of all the existing information pertaining to issues in CKD and take action in order to incite positive change.

Chainey is one of the executive members of this group. There is a Facebook page and a website will be launched this month (www.impackd.ca). Equal access to treatment options across Canada, like nocturnal hemodialysis, which Chainey credits with transforming her life, is one of their goals.

Chainey is also very involved as a peer support worker with the Kidney Foundation of Canada and works with the Shad Ireland Foundation Canada, a non-profit group committed to helping people with kidney disease. They are holding a 1-kilometre walk or run, aimed at dialysis patients, a 5k and a 10k to raise awareness on Aug. 15 in Ottawa.

Sport At Its Best: Speaking of the power of sport, one place to get an idea of its impact is at the website Sport At Its Best, which is run by Olympic skeleton champion Duff Gibson.

Gibson has been hugely influenced by sport since the time he was a grade schooler in Scarborough. He's currently featuring a video interview with Olympic cross country skiing champion Beckie Scott, who talks about the culture of her sport and how it led to that magnificent moment at the 2006 Turin Olympics when a Norwegian coach gave Sara Renner his pole when hers broke during the sprint relay.

(The photo of Marie-Eve Chainey competing at the nationals is courtesy of Howard Bailey)