Sport Shorts: Five-Medal Start for Short Track
Short Track Skaters Have Need For Speed: Canadian short track speed skaters are off to a blazing start, winning five medals on their first stop of this season’s World Cup circuit. In Beijing last weekend, Charles Hamelin (Ste-Julie, Que.) – 2009 world champion in the 500 metres – captured a silver medal in the 1,000-metre event, while younger brother Francois Hamelin (Ste-Julie, Que.) had a great run, finishing fourth.
Also winning silver was Edmonton’s Jessica Gregg, who finished second in the 500 metres. In that race, bronze went to Marianne St-Gelais (St-Felicien, Que.). Adding to the medal count were both the men’s and women’s relay teams, both of which snared bronze medals. Overall, the Canadian team had an excellent showing in Beijing with Montreal’s Francois-Louis Tremblay finishing fourth in the 500 metres, Oliver Jean (Lachenaie, Que.) fifth in the 1,500 metres and Charles Hamelin fourth in the 1,500 metres.
Felicien Back on Track: Perdita Felicien, of Pickering, Ont., won a bronze medal in the 100-metre hurdles event last Sunday at a Grand Prix race in Shanghai. Last week, she finished fifth at the World Athletics Final in Greece, with a time of 12.61 seconds.
Keep Watch For Cross: Travis Cross of Port Alberni, B.C. will compete in the 2009 World Wrestling Championships this week in Herning, Denmark. For the 2008 Olympian, this marks his fifth qualification for a World Senior Championship. In 2007, Cross finished eighth in the world. You can find him in the 84 kg weight class.
Medals Abound for Judokas: With six medals, the Canadian judo team had a very successful round at the World Cup Judo competition in Birmingham, England last weekend. On the women’s side, Catherine Roberge (Quebec City) captured silver, followed by Amy Cotton (Judique, N.S.) with bronze in 78 kg. As well, Marylise Lévesque (La Pocatière, Que.) won silver and Kelita Zupancic (Whitby, Ont.) won bronze in 70 kilos. The Canadian men captured two medals as Nicholas Tritton (Perth, Ont.) won silver in 73 kilos and Montreal’s Sasha Mehmedovic won bronze in 66 kilos.
Your No. 1 Olympic Moment: The Royal Canadian Mint has revealed the top three Winter Olympic moments, as voted by Canadians. Not entirely surprising, that moment is the men’s gold medal hockey game in 2002. Canada’s 5-2 victory over the United States in Salt Lake City was undoubtedly a spectacular moment, garnering the country’s first gold medal in men’s hockey in 50 years. The No. 2 Winter Olympic moment came on that same ice, where the women’s hockey team also defeated the U.S. for a gold medal. Cindy Klassen’s record-breaking five-medal tally at Turin 2006 earned her the No. 3 spot. The top three moments will be featured on Canadian quarters to commemorate the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. The men’s hockey coin is available Sept. 29, the women’s hockey coin on Nov. 17, and Cindy Klassen on Jan. 5.
