Sport Shorts: Our Athletes Around the Globe
Berlin: After two speed skating World Cups, Christine Nesbitt (London, Ont.) is undefeated in both the 1,000 and 1,500 metres. Over the weekend she won gold in each, her 3rd and 4th of the young season. She is off to a blistering start despite an elbow injury. Many other Canadians are skating with her, warming up to the new season. Notable results included the men’s pursuit team finishing 5th (just three seconds from bronze), Regina’s Lucas Makowsky finishing 5th in the 1,500 metres and Winnipeg’s Brittany Schussler notching 4th place in 3,000 metres – her best result in the event.
Gällivare, SWE: The World Cup cross-country skiing season opened this weekend in Gällivare and Alex Harvey led the way for Canada. The native of St-Ferréol-les-Neiges, Que. finished 34th in the 15 km race in cold conditions on Saturday. Sunday, the men’s 4×10 km relay team showed it is a bit rusty in finishing 18th. The team is made of Harvey, George Grey, (Rossland, B.C.), Devon Kershaw (Sudbury, Ont.) and Ivan Babikov (Canmore, Alta.). The team made great strides at the Olympic Winter Games last February. They will ski next weekend in Finland.
Moscow: At a Grand Prix figure skating event here, Toronto’s Patrick Chan won a silver medal in the men’s competition. With the medal, Chan secures a spot in the coveted Grand Prix final.
Glasgow: Members of Canada’s gymnastics team competed at a World Cup here over the weekend, with good results. Saskatoon’s Jayd Lukenchuk finished 7th in parallel bars, his first World Cup final appearance. Winnipeg’s Gabrielle May finished 8th in vault, a two-point penalty in the second jump dropping her from an even better result.
Metz, FRA: Canada’s future in trampoline and tumbling is bright. On Friday, two young gymnasts stole away with gold at the world age group trampoline and tumbling championships. Katelyn Verschoor (Burlington, Ont.) is world champion in the 17-18-year-old tumbling category while Alexandria Giesbrecht (Calgary) is world champion in double mini trampoline in the 13-14 age group.
Stockholm: Montreal’s Sebastien Toutant won gold here at a snowboard World Cup, in the big air event. The 18-year-old scored 51.3 points, 4.4 more than the silver medallist.
World: Canada has cracked the top-10 on the FIFA Women’s World Rankings for soccer. Five consecutive wins and the CONCACAF title has moved Canada to No. 9 internationally, the fourth time ever it’s been so high.
