Day 4Canadian cross-country skiers Beckie Scott and Sara Renner won a silver medal in the women's team sprint Tuesday at the Torino Olympics.
. Renner was able to recover from a broken pole on the third lap of the six-lap race on the Pragelato Plan course. In only a few calm strides, she found a sympathetic Norwegian coach, who handed her a replacement for the snapped ski pole. In an interview with CBC Newsworld, Renner compared the loss of the pole to canoeing without a paddle.
"It's not the best thing to happen but at the same time you can't give up," said Renner.
Scott gained the few lost seconds on the following lap and the Canadian duo clung with the lead pack through to the final 1.1-kilometre loop. Then they stepped up the pace. In the final half-kilometre, Scott charged up a hill to take the lead over Finland and Sweden. But on the final descent it was a tight race to the line and Scott was unable to kick ahead of Sweden's Lina Andersson. Andersson and Anna Dahlberg of Sweden took gold. Canada, anchored by Scott, took second, while the Finnish team of Aino Kaisa Saarinen and Virpi Kuitunen took third.
"I said to Sara when we were finishing our warm-up today, 'We've come a long way baby,'" Scott, the 2002 Olympic pursuit champion, said after the race. "We've been around a long time.
"This might be one of the last sprint relays we ever do together. In a way to finish it with an Olympic medal it's, well I'm not going to say it's surreal. We promised each other we wouldn't get to get too fruity at the end of this."
Scott, a native of Vermilion, Alta., and Renner of Canmore Alta., have proven to be a successful twosome this season, having capped their sensational two-week World Cup run in Canada with a silver medal in the classical team sprint relay this December in Canmore. Renner said the medal makes up for some frustrating seasons.
"We have taken the school of hard-knocks for a while," she said. "This is something that is great, we can enjoy it together. We have been medal contenders in this event and to actually do it at the Olympic Games is something that in 20 years we can have a reunion and reminisce. We can share it with each other."
This victory comes a day after Scott's disappointing sixth-place finish in the women's 15-km pursuit. As the defending Olympic pursuit champion, she was a medal favourite. The team sprint is a relay race where one skier does a 1.1-kilometre loop, then tags their partner, who races the same loop. They repeat the process three times. This year is the debut of the team sprint discipline at the Olympics.
It's Canada's third medal of the Winter Games. Freestyle skier Jennifer Heil won gold in moguls on Saturday, while speed skater Cindy Klassen glided to bronze in the women's 3,000-metres on Sunday.
Canada's hockey women dispatch competition Tu 'Swede'
Gillian Apps made sure the Canadian women's hockey team wouldn't slow down despite playing against tougher competition. Apps scored a hat trick in leading Canada to an 8-1 win over the Swedes at the Palasport Olimpico arena.
After routing Italy and Russia by a combined 28-0 in its first two games, talk of a close game seemed evident as Sweden's recent performances against Canada suggested the Scandinavian nation would be improved. Sweden coaches decided to save Kim Martin, one of the best women goaltenders, for a likely semifinal game against the United States. However, it's difficult to imagine her handling the Canadian onslaught better than Cecilia Andersson. The Swedes were simply unable to contain the dominant line of Apps, Hayley Wickenheiser and Cherie Piper. The three Canadians have combined for 33 points in the tournament, including 10 in this game.
"This is a pretty powerful line," Wickenheiser told CBC Sports. "We just complement each other's strengths. (Gillian) is a big-body presence and creates a lot of space for Piper and I to make plays. I think we have good chemistry right now."
With Canada leading 3-0 in the second, Apps scored her third goal of the game after taking a beautiful pass from Wickenheiser in the slot and then beat Andersson at 10:58. Apps scored her second goal earlier in the period when she banked in a rebound on the power play at 3:53 to give Canada a three-goal lead. Despite their dominance, the Canadian women had trouble staying out of the penalty box. After Danielle Goyette put Canada up 5-0 in the second, Swedish forward Ylva Lindberg deflected a shot past Canadian goalie Kim St. Pierre. It was the only positive moment Sweden would have in the game. Katie Weatherston, Jennifer Botterill and Goyette, who tallied two goals, rounded out the scoring for Canada. Apps and Wickenheiser scored Canada's first two goals in the opening period.
Canada's dominance started early and didn't allow a shot on net until Sweden was on the power play with just over six minutes remaining in the first period. The Canadians also killed a partial 5-on-3 penalty. Sweden did come close to scoring with only six seconds left after Maria Rooth's slapshot sailed over the shoulder of Canadian goalie Kim St. Pierre but hit the post. Canada finished the round robin play a perfect 3-0 and outscored its three opponents 36-1.
Next up for Canada is a semifinal matchup against Finland. The Finns put up a good fight, but fell 7-3 to the Americans on Tuesday. The United States faces Sweden in the other semi.
"We are prepared [for the medal round]," said Wickenheiser. "We've worked a lot on the strengths and weaknesses of all the teams including ourselves. We faced a lot of penalty kills today, which was good for us."
Canada's Shannon Kleibrink atoned for Monday's setback by winning not once, but twice on Tuesday at the Torino Olympic Winter Games. Kleibrink (2-1) required only eight ends to knock off Cassie Johnson of the United States 11-5, then counted one on last rock to nip Russia's Ludmila Privivkova 6-5 at Pinerolo, approximately 50 kilometres from Turin.
Kleibrink, who curls out of Calgary, is competing in her first Olympics, but ranks second to Canadian champion Jennifer Jones on the Women's World Curling Tour money list. Privivkova is tied for 41st.
Leading 2-1 in the sixth, Privivkova rubbed a guard and Kleibrink seized the opportunity with an open draw for two. Privivkova drew for one in the seventh to pull even, but Kleibrink countered for two on a draw to the four-foot to go up 5-3. Privivkova, only 20 years old but a fierce competitor, refused to fold, forcing Kleibrink to jam before taking out a Canadian stone to count two. With Privivkova lying two deep in the 10th, Kleibrink calmly drew to the four-foot for the winning point.
Against the U.S., Kleibrink tallied five in the first and three in the sixth to put the game out of reach.
"We got a little lucky in the first end and it was difficult for them to come back from there," she said.
Alternate Sandra Jenkins even saw some action against the Americans, taking over for second Amy Nixon in the seventh.
with files from CP Online
Gushue draws short in extra end
Brad Gushue faced a stern test Tuesday in three-time world champion Peja Lindholm and failed as Sweden rallied for an 8-7 win in an extra end Tuesday at the Torino Olympic Winter Games.
Lindholm counted a steal of one in the 11th when Gushue's draw to the button on last rock caught some debris and curled left. Lindholm (3-0), known for making thorough reads and precision shots, is one of curling's more stylish skips, and competing at Turin with a new hairdo (slicked back in a pony tail) and a new name (formerly Peter).
Gushue (1-1), who curls out of St. John's, debuted Monday with a 10-5 victory over Germany. Gushue, winner of world junior titles in 1998 and 2001 but a first-time Olympian, wisely recruited leather-lunged legend Russ Howard to curl second and call the shots. But the two-time Canadian and world champ (1987, 1993), who relocated from Ontario to New Brunswick in 1998, struggled versus the Swedes - as did Gushue at times.
Trailing 5-4 in the ninth end, Gushue took advantage of a critical mishit by Lindholm to count three on a draw to the button. But in the 10th, Gushue's final rock chipped off a Swedish stone, permitting Lindholm to draw for two and force an extra end. Gushue picked up one on last rock in the opening end, but Lindholm answered back with two in the second. Fortunately for Gushue, a third rock was ruled out on a measurement and he quickly capitalized, tying it 2-2 on a draw to the back of the four-foot in the third. Lindholm responded by drawing to the button with Canada lying three in the fourth, but Gushue again pulled even in the fifth. When Swedish third Tomas Nordin's fortuitous double-peel cleared the house of three Canadian stones, Lindholm tapped back for one to lead 4-3 through six. Gushue finally found himself in position to gamble for multiple points in the seventh, but managed only one to tie it at 4-4. Lindholm immediately tapped back to regain the lead in the eighth before erring in the ninth.
Canadian luge athlete crashes
Canadian athlete Meaghan Simister sustained minor injuries Tuesday in yet another crash on the Torino Olympic luge track. The accident happened during the third of four runs in the women's luge event. Simister, 19, went too high into one of the corners near the end of the course. She was knocked off her sled and continued to slide upright, without her sled for a few seconds before stopping.
Track personnel placed the Calgarian on a stretcher and she was taken to a medical facility for evaluation. Canadian luge spokesman Chris Dornan said doctors found bruises but no breaks. Simister was able to get up and walk around the medical room during the observation.
The women's luge competition, which began Monday, was marred by many crashes. The most frightening involved American Samantha Retrosi, who was carried off on a stretcher and taken away in an ambulance after losing control of her sled during her second run. Restrosi appeared to be unconscious as she slid underneath her sled through two curves of the track. The 20-year-old suffered a concussion and spent the night in hospital for observation.
A handful of other racers crashed out of the event including Italian Anastasia Oberstolz-Antonova and Marketa Jeriova of the Czech Republic. Others racers had near-disasters, including Canadian Alex Gough. Gough hurt her ankle during a shaky run in which she nearly came off her sled. She returned to compete Tuesday.
The Olympic track in Cesana, Italy, was modified last year after a rash of crashes by inexperienced sliders at a test event.
From the What the what the hell are you talking about? file. US hockey player Angela Ruggiero has stated that she feels Canada should tone it down.
In their first matchup of the Winter Games, Canada battered the Italian women 16-0. Not more than 24 hours later, they put 12 pucks past the Russians.
Some critics have said the Canadian women lack class, while others hold the view that the defending Olympic champions went to Turin, Italy, to play their best, and that's just what they'll do. United States defenceman and three-time Olympian Angela Ruggiero says Team Canada should have toned down their game against Italy.
"I'm upset that Canada has been running up the score, especially against the host nation," Ruggiero told Sports Illustrated's website on Monday. "There was no need for that. They're trying to pad their stats ... Canada is running up the score for whatever reasons – personal, short-term."
Canada outscored its opposition 36-1 in three games as of today, while the rival Americans have only outscored their opponents 11-0 in two games.
In this tournament, tiebreakers are decided first by the deadlocked teams' record against each other and then by goal differential. That differential can determine which team has home-ice advantage in the medal round. Ruggiero add more fuel by saying,
"It does hurt our sport when one team is so dominant," said the 26-year-old Ruggiero, regarded as one of the world's top blue-liners. "Beating Russia 12-0 after the Italy game, that doesn't help. If Italy had any hopes, or if their federation was thinking of helping women's hockey, well, this probably shattered them after the first game.
"They'll say, 'How are we ever going to beat those guys?' If you don't have a shot of ever getting there, why not invest in another sport?"
Despite the widespread criticism, Team Canada head coach Melody Davidson says they have to play their best no matter the circumstances.
"Regardless of the score, this is the Olympics," Davidson said after Sunday's win. "These girls have worked hard to be here and we would take things away from our team, our opponents and everybody involved if we didn't compete as hard as we could, and if we didn't do everything we could to put us where we want to be."
The Americans don't seem to complain when the U.S Basketball 'Superstars' at the Summer Games beat up on Angola by fifty points. so what is the difference here? It's time for the Americans to shut up and prepare for the evevitable Gold Medal showdown with the Canadians and hope the Canadians let up just for a second if they hope to stand a chance.
Later,
Kenaz
