Speed Skating Canada put out a challenge to its team to put together a video on teamwork -- and the development team answered the bell like Larry Merchant. Check out their efforts here. Very impressive, boys!
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A couple of big questions were answered for the Canadian cycling team today at the world road championships in Copenhagen as they look towards the 2012 London Olympics.
Question No. 1: Can Clara Hughes contend for the podium in London after not having competed in cycling at this level since 1999?
Answer: A definite yes as she finished fifth in Tuesday's time trial after going out early in the rain and setting a pace that only the very best could handle?
Question No. 2: What event besides the omnium -- in which she's a two-time defending world champion -- should Tara Whitten race at the London Games?
Answer: Definitely looks like the time trial on the road as she finished a strong fourth in front of Hughes and just off the podium.
Canada actually had three racers in the top-10 as Rhae-Christie Shaw finished seventh behind winner Judith Arndt of Germany, a perennial bridesmaid at this event who finally got to stand on the top of the podium.
“It has been a goal for me for a very long time,” said Arndt. “I can't tell you how happy I am.”
Hughes looked disappointed in the aftermath as she held the lead for the longest time, but it was a great performance for an athlete in the first year of her cycling comeback. As she'd said Monday in this space, she was very nervous to see how she stacked up against the best in the world after being away for so long.
"Believe me, I'm so nervous right now because this is such an unknown for me."
The unknown has been removed. She's fully in the mix and has 10 and a half months with her coach Chris Rozdilsky to get ready for London now. It's her rivals who should be worried now.
Clara Hughes isn't afraid to admit it: She's scared.
Hughes will race in the road cycling world championships Tuesday in Copenhagen for the first time since 1999. It's also her first shot at the world's best since she made her comeback to cycling about one year ago.
"Believe me, I'm so nervous right now because this is such an unknown for me," said Hughes in an interview last week. "But I'm also so excited because these are the challenges and these are the nerves and the uncertainties and the unknowns that I live for as an athlete. I'm in the thick of it right now and I can't wait to get on the line Tuesday."
The time trial on Tuesday is her best event, it's the one where her ability to suffer is her greatest weapon. She's more of a dark horse in the road race, but has an Olympic bronze medal in that event as well in the time trials and has won races this season.
"I've always believed when you do things right and you have integrity and you work your butt off, no matter if everything goes wrong, in the end the universe is still going to conspire to give you the chance," said Hughes.
"I also think that that the same time that universe is conspiring to pull you away from what you think is important. Things and people and circumstances are always trying to pull you away from that and the biggest challenge is to keep yourself centred and keep yourself firmly planted on your goal and not care about anything around you."
That's where some tunnel vision is required.
"It's a feeling and an energy and a focus," Hughes said. "At the same time it's incredible but it's also terrifying because it can crush you. It can lift you up and it can light your fire, it can propel you forward. But it can also crush you if you're not prepared to handle it. I know I'm prepared. I mean this is my bread and butter."
No one's going to argue that with six-time Olympic medalist, who went into her new challenge without expectations about how hard it was going to be.
"The moment you think it's not going to be hard is the moment you're going to get your ass kicked. It's just all really, really hard. It is so hard to try to be good at something. And it's next to impossible to try to be the best at something. But not impossible."
And then there are afternoons like the one last week when she got to go for an easy ride up in the hills of Girona, Spain, where she was training before the worlds.
"I just had the feeling of 'Omigosh, I love to ride my bike. I love riding my bike.' And I get to actually race the thing. How cool is that?"
How cool, indeed.
(Photo: Canadian Cycling Association)
As Mandy Bujold has discovered, not everyone has gotten the news that women's boxing has been added for the 2012 London Olympics.
"Every once in a while, someone will ask 'Are you guys going to be in the Olympics. Did you get accepted?'" said Bujold. "I'm like 'Really?' I know it's easy for me to say, but I understand not everybody's following it."
Well, the fine folks of Bujold's hometown of Kitchener are in for a treat on Friday night. Not only will they get to see Bujold fight at the Arnie Boehm Training Centre located at the new Activa SportsPlex, she's the headliner on a card billed as "The Homecoming."
It's been a little over five years since she last fought in Kitchener.
"It's exciting," said Bujold. "Even my parents have only seen me fight once and that was when I fought here in Kitchener. I remember the last time I fought here I was a little more nervous just because I knew everybody who was there. I'm a totally different fighter now. I'm obviously been around for a while so hopefully I can block that out a little better. It's definitely going to be a good show."
The five-time Canadian senior flyweight champion, a strong hope to earn a berth for London, is anxious to give many of the fans their first taste of female boxing.
"Even though I'm the only female fight on the card, I think they'll be able to see there's no difference from the guys' fight to my fight," she said. "They'll be able to see how we're fitting right in there and we're going to the Olympics, we're going all the way and there's no difference in what we're doing when we're in the ring. It's nice that I'm the only female fight and I'm the main event. It just goes to show we're doing good."
Bujold is preparing right now for the Pan Am Games in October in Mexico with an eye towards the most important event of her career, the Olympic qualifier in China to be held in April or May.
Friday night's event will help her defray her expenses. She receives monthly carding from Sport Canada but has had to pay pretty much the full freight for the five events she competed in this past year at a cost of around $2,000 per. Boxing Canada has been little help.
She's lucky to have great grassroots support in Kitchener from groups like the Lions Club. Many of the supporters who bought tickets for Friday have never been to a boxing event before; they just want to help their hometown athlete.
The general admission seats have been sold out in advance at $15, but they are still selling some VIP tickets for $50 that include hors d'oeuvres and beverages at the fight plus an after party. Tickets can be purchased at the gym or can be reserved by sending Bujold a message on her website.
"I've had so many people over the past few years 'Oh, let me know when you're fighting. Let me know when you're fighting in town.' Now, we're finally going to do it."
Here's a bit of a preview. That's Bujold in red:
(Photo: Mathew McCarthy, Kitchener Record)
Canadian triathlon phenom Paula Findlay's greatest asset is her biggest detriment right now.
As her coach Patrick Kelly said earlier this season, she's "hard wired to win," an incredibly driven athlete who's unwilling to accept anything less than her best and someone who puts huge pressure on herself.
She needs to back off on that right now in the wake of dropping out from Sunday's World Championship Series Grand Final in Beijing.
Not only does she need to take a break, she needs to give herself a break. Not an easy thing for such a young and intense athlete.
When the 22-year-old stormed the circuit with wins in five of her first six World Championship Series races, Findlay looked like an unstoppable force. But injury has undermined her form and understandably her confidence.
Her father Max told Terry Jones of the Edmonton Sun in the wake of Sunday's race: “She is more than devastated. It’s another tough lesson in a very tumultuous year for Paula. She needs to get home, get away and allow herself time to recover. She’s emotionally and physically exhausted. She’s really sorry to let her city, country, fans and followers down. She needs her mom and her friends right now. She is so sad she wants to be invisible.”
But Findlay needs to realize she didn't let anybody down. She felt similarily bad – probably even worse – when she had to pull out of her hometown race because of injury earlier this season.
That's part of racing at that elite level – these athletes are always pushing themselves to the brink of injury.
Maybe this works to Findlay's advantage in the end. For one thing, she will get more rest. But it also shows people that she's human, that she's not a shoo-in for London because of her incredible streak. Maybe, that takes some pressure off.
There's no doubt the Olympic expectations were already beginning to wear on her. At a teleconference held by Triathlon Canada before the pre-Olympic London race in August, it was put to Findlay that she'll be one of the few Canadian athletes who will be a gold medal favourite next summer and she was asked if she was ready to embrace the pressure.
"It is a lot of pressure and I don't like thinking about it or reading about it," said Findlay, whose tremulous voice matched her words. "Last year before the London race, I wasn't even thinking I could make the Olympic team and now I'm being considered a medal hopeful. It is a lot of pressure but it's so far ahead and so much can happen between now and then."
As we've seen, that's true. The most valuable thing a break might give Finlay is some perspective. Given her talent and drive, she'll likely be anything but invisible come London.
(Photo: Delly Carr ITU)
In saying Alex Baumann's departure is a big blow for Canadian Olympic sport one year out from London, it's not that athlete performances are going to be compromised there.
Canada's top hopes, the best of the best, will make sure they're as ready as they can be, as will their dedicated coaches and support staff. In Anne Merklinger as OTP's director of summer sports, Baumann hired one of the most competent and passionate sports administrators out there. Former kayak great Caroline Brunet, legendary for her battles with amateur sports brass, loved Merklinger's professional approach.
It's just that Baumann's leaving creates a huge leadership void. You just don't replace a guy with his gravitas, integrity and commitment to excellence.
His decision to return to the land Down Under reflects those things. It was really the only move for a guy as decent as Baumann to make. His bout of prostate cancer eight months ago was a stark reminder that his wife Tracy and children Ashton and Tabitha are two days removed from their support system in Australia, where Tracy is from and all their relatives live.
Baumann has no living relatives in Canada – his Mom and Dad have passed away; his older brother Roman committed suicide in 1980.
You always have to admire someone who puts their family before their job.
There's never been any B.S. about Baumann. He has the classy demeanour of a statesman and is careful with his words, but will never try to tell you a bushel full of manure is a pot of gold like some sports bureaucrats do. He also rarely talks about himself. He seems to have so little ego for someone with his incredible sports resume.
But he was tough. He was able to fend off the COC and ambitious president Marcel Aubut in their attempt to bring the OTP in house. He felt strongly that OTP should be an independent entity, free from the political interference that being part of the COC would create.
One of the things that will be missed most of all about Baumann is the two-time Olympic champion's laugh.
It's deep, it's hearty, it comes often and it always reveals the same thing about Baumann – he doesn't take himself too seriously.
But he takes sports seriously. He takes winning seriously. He can't abide complacency.
Recently, when he read a feature about fiercely driven boxer Mary Spencer in the Star, Baumann remarked “It would be nice if we had more like her.”
“It's kind of what the Australians used to say, that you need to have that mongrel in you,” said Baumann. “The intensity, the non compromising attitude. The Australians say true athletes have that mongrel in them to be the best in the world and to not compromise.
“But also the other part of being that role model, which Mary is, and I have a lot of respect for her. That's the kind of attitude. And Victor (Davis) had it. When he set his mind to something, there was no stopping him. That's the kind of thing I'm looking for. I don't have a lot of time for complacency and things like that.
“We have to get away from this entitlement, that athletes are entitled to these things. You have to earn it. There's no subsitute for hard work and athletes need to understand that. The top athletes have that. People like Adam Van Koeverden. In any country, it's a small percentage of the population and you always want more.”
Baumann will be greatly missed around here, especially the mongrel part of him.
Former Maple Leaf sports psychologist Paul Dennis had some important things to say about youth hockey in the wake of the Wade Belak tragedy.
Dennis, who retired recently after 20 years with the Leafs and now teaches at the University of Toronto and York University, has seen the game from all levels during his career. He was the head coach of the Toronto Marlboros and has also been a video analyst for the Leafs and the 1991 Canada Cup team.
He is a regular speaker to GTHL groups and for ThinkFirst Canada, an organization dedicated to among other things increasing concussion education and safety.
Dennis hopes that the Belak suicide and recent deaths of Rick Rypien and Derek Boogard will help to start a culture change in hockey and he believes the key potential game changers are the coaches. He feels that coaches must create an environment where young players aren't afraid to express their vulnerabilities. He said the opposite happens right now.
"What do we have in place that makes sure the kids are playing for all the right reasons and they know they're playing for all the right reasons?" said Dennis. "In addition to teaching them confidence and camaraderie, let's teach them when things don't go your way, that you have self doubt, self criticism, you need to tell me, I'm your coach, I'm here to help you cope in that particular situation.
"That's what we do with our kids at home. We encourage that. But in sport, we don't. In sport, we figure 'You know what they'll figure it out for themselves, that's what resilience is all about, that's what toughness is all about.' But they don't know, they don't know that.
"We teach them to be confident, to be mentally tough. Not everyone is going to be confident and mentally tough. Those that aren't, we don't want to lose them through attrition, we want to help them cope with their anxiety level, to teach them hockey is part of their life, not the rest of their life and to enjoy the experience.
"I honestly think that coaching attitudes and behaviours of coaches is what's going to change this culture."
Belak made impression at Okanagan: A big part of Belak's development as a player was at the Okanagan Hockey School in Kelowna, B.C., where he went as a kid and later worked as an instructor. He wound up buying a cottage for his family in the area.
"One of the things you think about Wade is how big of a guy he was," said Andy Oakes, president of the Okanagan Hockey School. "We would have these 5- and 6- and 7-year-old groups just swarming him and him standing in the middle of these little guys getting the autographs on their sticks and on their jersey and on their hats.
"He's about 5 feet taller than most of these guys and he's there with a big smile on his face enjoying it. For me, that will probably best depict what I remember of Wade as a pro instructor."
Like many in hockey, Oakes worries about the three recent deaths among hockey enforcers, particularly because he sees the violence in the NHL having a big impact on the kids at the school.
"Our organization works with youth from the age of 4-years-olds up to 20-years-olds and we work with youth from all over the world and our youth in our game look at the NHL as their heroes and looks at what they do as what we should be doing," he said.
"I think Hockey Canada is working extremely hard now to reduce the violence in minor hockey and junior hockey and it is something that has to continue to be enforced throughout.
"Unfortunately -- or fortunately for the NHL -- how they're handling some of these situations or even fighting in general, it does have a trickle down effect to 7-, 8-, 9, 10-, 11-year-old players. All the rules in the world at minor levels will not change the fact these kids look up to the NHL for guidance or follow the NHL because that's their dream."
Jody Vance remembers Belak: Few in the media knew Belak as well as broacaster Jody Vance, who combined with him on their highly entertaining "Wade a Minute" features for Leafs TV.
Below are Vance's memories of her good friend, a combination of an email she sent to the Star's Jayme Poisson and a follow-up phone interview.
Wade was my friend, a good one, a really good one. Together we made a few of the Leafs losing seasons fun. "Wade a Minute" made us laugh -- we laughed at him, at ourselves, at life. He was always there for the media with his childlike grin, shock of red hair, a quick zinger if you weren't following along.
Wade kept things interesting. Was liked, if not loved, by everyone (that's not something you can say about many people in any walk of life, especially ego-filled pro sports)
Wade was a role model always ready to help a kid going through a tough time with a chat, a stick, a photo.
He connected with people. He's the type of guy who swings you around when he hugs ya.
Knowing his family, it was obvious that Wade was great husband and father, a softie who loved his three beauties. He loved his dogs ... he loved his time hunting back in native Saskatchewan and he told me personally how much he was enjoying his new life after hockey.
This is why we all are in such a state of shock. Where were the signs? The hockey family, fans and media are all reeling because Wade truly seemed to have everything anyone could want.
I last saw him during the Canucks/Predators Stanley Cup Playoffs series. We hung out in the press box pre-game and chatted about his radio gig. He told me "it's awesome, I get to be opinionated ...and you know I am that!" He said the family was great and had just found their dream home in Nashville -- while he missed Toronto, the people, Canadian culture, the dealbreaker was "I can't do the winters, too cold."
You know on your Blackberry, there's always one person you pocket dial by mistake? It always came up Wade. Always. Always. Once time it was post game and midnight my time and I'm sure he was in Nashville. I saw that it had dialed him and I ended up texting him the next day: 'Sorry about the 1 a.m. pocket dial.' And he sent a message back: 'Sure, it was a pocket dial. You just love me!'
He was amazing with his girls. Jen Belak is the sweetest flower you ever met. She is certainly not typical of the hockey wife. They truly loved each other in a way that many of us would look at and go 'That's how it's supposed to be. Look at them.' I'm friends with Jen on Facebook and you would see their lives unfolding on Facebook: Going to the Country Music Awards a month ago, they're hanging out with Justin Bieber, they're walking the red carpet and it's smiles, smiles, smiles. There was just no sign. I can't imagine what she's going through.
I was lucky to know this man whose heart was even bigger than he was tall.
My heart breaks for his beauties and his family back in Saskatoon.
It was a pretty daunting assignment for 19-year-old rower Patricia Obee: Replace a reigning world champion and help Canada qualify for the Olympics.
Lindsay Jennerich, Obee's partner in the women's lightweight double for the world championships in Bled, Sloevnia, had felt the national team rookie was more than up for the task. The woman she was subbing for, the injured Tracy Cameron, voiced similar confidence.
Turns out they were 100 per cent right about Obee.
Not only was she up to the task of helping Canada nail down a berth for the 2012 London Olympics, she and Jennerich came from behind for the second race in a row Sunday to capture a silver medal at the worlds behind an impressive Greek double.
“I did feel quite a bit of pressure,” said Obee, who like Jennerich is from Victoria. “But I also felt quite confident rowing with Lindsay. She knows what she's doing, she knows the speed of the field and I knew she was going to get us going fast enough to qualify at least.”
Jennerich, who teamed with Cameron to win the world title last year and the prestigious Lucerne Regatta in July, couldn't help but be pleased with the outcome.
“Obee and I executed one of the best races we could have executed today,” she said. “Our regatta started off with a win in the heat that showed us we had more to find and I'm really proud of how we found a way to make each race better such that it culminated in a silver medal for us today.
“The Greeks are a very strong crew and I congratulate them on their win and feel that given the circumstances of how Obee and I ended up in the double (Tracy being injured) I think our silver was as good as gold today.”
Canadian coach Al Morrow praised both athletes.
“It's pretty incredible,” said the veteran coach. “The x factor has been Lindsay Jenner. She was World Cup champion this year, world champion last year. Patricia Obee did a great job. Her improvement curve has been outstanding in the last four weeks.
“It was an awkward situation, but it was the wily veteran and the new kid stepping in and they got caught up in it. They had two great comeback races. They showed a lot of maturity. It sets us up to have high hopes for the Olympics.”
It also creates an interesting situation as Cameron's injured rib will heal and the outstanding veteran and Olympic bronze medalist will undoubtedly be favoured to reclaim her spot in the boat for London while Obee will be doing everything she can to keep it.
“It's a nice problem to have,” said Morrow.
Canada also won a silver and qualified for the Paralympics with a silver medal in the adaptive mixed coxed four. The four (LTA4+) consists of Tony Theriault (Victoria, BC), David Blair (Ottawa, ON), Meghan Montgomery (Winnipeg, MB), Victoria Nolan (Toronto, ON) and Laura Comeau (St. Catharines, ON).
Canada established themselves as serious medal contenders in three events right now for London and qualified for the Games in another four races. The women's lightweight double and women's eight both claimed silver medals – the women's eight gave themselves a huge dose of motivation by moving within a second of the frontrunning U.S.. The Canadian men's eight also showed they're back in the mix with a bronze medal.
As Rowing Canada high performance director Peter Cookson said: "I think we did what we needed to do to set ourselves up for the next 11 months. We have a lot of planning and work ahead to keep our standards up to this incredibly high level, and if we manage that and work as a team, we are on track for next year."
(Photo: Jackie "Ace" Skender, Rowing Canada)
Shot putter Dylan Armstrong, the pride of Kamloops, B.C., went where no Canadian has gone before Friday – onto the podium in a throwing event at the world track championships.
Armstrong missed a medal by a mere one centimetre at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but would not be denied this time around in uncorking a throw of 21.64 metres on his fourth of sixth throws to take the the silver medal in the event. He pumped his big arms into the air after it landed as a few Canadian flags fluttered in the crowd in the stadium in Daegu, South Korea.
“It's awesome, it was an amazing night tonight,” said Armstrong on an Athletics Canada conference call. “I'm very, very pleased to get on the podium. A medal's a medal. It was obvioulsy a very tight competition, but a very great competition. It was a great feeling. I've trained really, really hard for this and I'm definitely happy. It sets me up for next year going into London.”
It was almost gold. It took a tremendous heave of 21.78 metres by David Storl of Germany on the second last throw of an event that feature four former world championships to snatch the victory from Armstrong, who was too gassed from the oppressive heat to surpass it on his final toss.
“It's just gives you that extra boost and that confidence going into next year knowing you can win and get on the podium,” he said. “I've gotta just keep doing what I've been doing, listening to my coach. Obviously without him, I wouldn't have been on the podium. He's the main force behind everything.”
Armstrong is always quick to give a lot of the credit to his coach, , the legendary Dr. Anatoliy Bondarchuk, an Olympic champion hammer thrower for the Soviet Union.
“He's an absolute genius,” he said. “He's very smart in how he does his periodization and his programming. With his years expertise and study, he's one of a kind. Athletics Canada hired him six and a half years ago and now he put me on the podium. It really shows what he can do.”
The 30-year-old is the first Canadian in track and field history to win a medal in a throwing event at the world championships or Olympics. It was an important achievement for a Canadian team on which he was the lone serious medal contender entering the event.
“There was a lot of pressure this year to try and get my country a medal. I think I handled it really well and used it as much as I can to train harder and have that drive coming in here. It just shows with a lot of hard work and a lot of support, especially being in the community that I'm from, Kamloops, it's totally awesome. I'm just so happy to bring back my community a medal.”
Armstrong is enjoying his best season ever. He leads the Diamond League circuit with three victories and has the world leading throw of 22.21 metres this season, set at the Canadian championships. There'll be no vacation to enjoy his success as he has seven more meets this season.
“I can do that when I'm a little more older,” he said.
(photo by Phil Noble, REUTERS)
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