Sport Shorts:First Canadians to Break Top-Ten
Kershaw, Harvey Make Their Mark: For the first time in the history of the sport, Canada has placed two men, Devon Kershaw and Alex Harvey, in the top-10 of the overall World Cup standings. The two men capped exceptional cross country ski seasons as they competed in the World Cup Finals in Sweden on Sunday. Kershaw (Sudbury, Ont.) was eighth overall after capturing gold, two silvers and a bronze medal. Harvey, (St-Ferreol-les-Neiges, Que.) was 10th. The two also teamed up to win the sprint relay at the World Championships last month, while Harvey won the pursuit at the under-23 World Championships.
Jenn Heil Wins Silver in Career Finale:The Canadian Freestyle Ski Team capped its best season to date, winning the Nations Cup for a fifth straight year with another strong medal showing over the weekend in Norway. Mikael Kingsbury (Deux-Montagnes, Que.) captured silver, while Alex Bilodeau and Chloe Dufour-Lapointe of Montreal took the bronze. Jenn Heil (Spruce Grove, Alta.) took her last professional run and closed her remarkable career with a silver medal – her 58th world Cup medal in 94 career starts. She leaves an indelible mark on the sport of freestyle skiing and Canadian sport as a whole.
“I have nothing left to do on the hill and that’s a beautiful ending for me. I’m so at peace. I know I’ll miss the competition and the privilege of representing Canada around the world, but I’m ready to take my passion for challenging my limits and my potential off the slopes,” she said.
Speed Skating Finale: The Canadian men’s short-track speedskating team captured bronze at the World Team Championships on Sunday in Poland, to conclude the 2010-11 season. Olympic medallists Charles and François Hamelin (Ste-Julie, QC) and Olivier Jean (Lachenaie, QC) teamed up with Michael Gilday (Yellowknife, NT) and Guillaume Blais-Dufour (Québec, QC) for a spot on the podium. Meanwhile, on the women’s side, Marianne St-Gelais (St-Félicien, QC), Marie-Ève Drolet (Laterrière, QC), Jessica Hewitt (Kamloops, BC), Valérie Maltais (La Baie, QC) and Caroline Truchon (Chicoutimi, QC) skated to an impressive 4th place finish.
Ski Cross Gold: Calgary’s Chris Del Bosco capped an outstanding World Cup season Saturday in Norway with a gold medal, his eighth straight top-four finish. Teammate Kelsey Serwa (Kelowna, B.C) added silver in the women’s event to finish 3rd in the overall standings.
Janyk Speeds to Fifth: Canada’s Michael Janyk put down the fastest second run of the day at the slalom World Cup event Saturday in Switzlerland and secured his fourth top-five finish of the year. The Whistler, B.C., native was 17th after the first run but posted a strong second run of 43.53 seconds that pushed him up to fifth overall.
Divers Finish Second: Roseline Filion (Laval, Que.) and Meaghan Benfeito (Montreal) won the silver medal in women’s 10-metre synchro, while Jennifer Abel of Laval added a bronze in women’s individual three-metre on Saturday to conclude the first stop on the FINA World Series diving circuit in Moscow. The next stop on the circuit is Friday and Saturday in China. Good luck!
