Canadians see good omens
The Globe and Mail
Mon 27 Oct 2008
Page: S7
Section: Sports
Byline: Matthew Sekeres
Dateline: VANCOUVER

VANCOUVER -- Canada's short-track speed-skating program may not be on a level footing with that of the powerful South Koreans, but after some encouraging results at the International Skating Union's Vancouver World Cup over the weekend, the host country believes it is closing the gap in advance of the Vancouver Olympics in 2010.

Yesterday, Canada had a banner day at the competition, the first Vancouver Olympic test event in the winter sports season, as three skaters earned their first World Cup podium finishes before 4,753 at the Pacific Coliseum.

"It is clearly good news for us," said Yves Hamelin, the short-track high- performance director for Speed Skating Canada. "We got the answers we were looking for."

Hamelin added that the team lost veterans after the 2006 season and needed to replenish its ranks in advance of 2010. The goal is to create a deep pool of skaters who push each other and create an internal competition that will make every skater more competitive and more capable of winning Olympic hardware next winter.

To wit, Marianne St-Gelais, of Saint-Félicien, Que., finished second in the women's 500 metres in just her fourth World Cup competition. It was also the 18- year-old's first appearance in a World Cup final.

"I knew I was capable of getting on a podium in the 500 metres, but I'm very surprised with what I did this weekend," St-Gelais said. "It shows that I'm in the game, and that I'm able to perform at a World Cup [level]. I'm confident [about making the Olympic team], but there is still a whole season to go."

On the men's side, Yellowknife's Michael Gilday, 21, and Rémi Beaulieu- Tinker, 23, finished second and third, respectively, in the 1,000 metres. Both captured their first World Cup podiums, and both did so by passing Apolo Anton Ohno, the U.S. short-track superstar, in the final two laps.

"It's a good omen, I hope, and it's really, really exciting," Gilday said. "We're definitely moving in the right direction. ... Today, when things sort of clicked, I think we definitely showed that we can be the best in the world."

In total, Canada won eight medals at the event, including second in the men's relay and third in the women's relay yesterday, which ranked second among the competing countries. Canada beat the United States and China, but were behind South Korea, the dominant country in short track. South Korea had 11 podium results in Vancouver.

"They have lots of depth," Hamelin said. "New skaters come up and they're always strong. Our goal is to be able to challenge them in any race and at any distance."

Canada's Olympic team will be selected next summer.

The venue, the Pacific Coliseum, was built in 1968 and is home to the Vancouver Giants of the WHL. At the Olympics, it will be one of the busiest venues, with both short-track speed skaters and figure skaters training and competing on a daily basis.

The building underwent a $19-million upgrade, including a new ice plant that will be critical, from an athletes' perspective, in 2010. For figure skating, the ideal conditions call for a two-inch soft sheet. For short-track skaters, the ice should be one inch to 1.75 inches of hard ice.

Tim Gayda, the Vancouver Olympic Games Organizing Committee's vice-president of sport, said ISU officials were on site and were "ecstatic" with the venue.

He said the conversion team is now able to change the border surrounding the ice from boards (for figure skating) to safety mats (for short track) in nine minutes when the goal was to do so in 15.

Gayda admitted that VANOC must still work on converting the ice surface from the optimal settings for both sports. Last Friday, several skaters said the ice was a little soft for short track.

"The ice got better and better as the competition went along," said Ohno, who added that the intimacy of the venue, with spectators mere feet from the skaters, created an intense environment.