Amateur Sports

Dubreuil top Canadian at open water swimming worlds

Russia’s Vladimir Dyatchin edged out Great Britain’s David Davies by 0.3 seconds to take the gold in the men’s 10-kilometre race at the open water world swimming championships Sunday in Seville, Spain.

Dyatchin clocked in at one hour, 53 minutes, 21 seconds on the course, which runs along the city’s River Guadalquivir. Germany’s Thomas Lurz took the bronze medal.

The top 10 in the race qualified for the Olympic Games, while the top racer from each of the five continents not in the top 10 also gained a spot. Luis Escobar of Mexico grabbed the bonus spot for the Americas.

Philippe Dubreuil of Sherbrooke, Que., was 28th and Jarrod Ballem of Calgary 30th.

Dubreuil said he went too wide on the turns.

“I lost time and spent too much energy on the turns,” said Dubreuil. “It’s a strategy that I’ll need to work on.”

There will be a second chance to qualify for the Olympic Games at the end of the month at a test event in Beijing.

One of the most-watched swimmers during the race was Grant Hackett of Australia. Hackett finished 15th but was later disqualified for “interference with other swimmers.”

“There were times when there were bodies everywhere — it was that kind of race,” Hackett said. “I’m the first to admit that it was never going to be easy and, with 150 metres to go, another swimmer swam over the top of me and pulled me back and I swam over his legs and that’s what I was supposedly disqualified for.”

Swimming Australia spokesman Ian Hanson told the Associated Press Hackett was disqualified for receiving two yellow flags during the race.

The world championships continue Tuesday with the men’s and women’s five-kilometre races.
Source: www.cbc.ca

Olympic torch returns to Chinese soil for Hong Kong relay

In this photo released by the Government Information Service, Hong Kong actor Andy Lau runs with the Olympic torch surrounded by security personnel and police officers during the torch relay in Hong Kong Friday. (Government Information Service/Associated Press)

The Olympic torch relay made its way through downtown Hong Kong Friday, where throngs of supporters waved red flags to cheer on runners carrying the flame.

Dense crowds gathered to watch 120 runners participate in the relay, which was attended by about 52,000 people, according to police. Despite a few confrontations, the event was held without major disruptions.

The leader of the Chinese territory, Donald Tsang, opened up the relay with a speech at a ceremony that used Victoria Harbour and the giant skyscrapers on Hong Kong Island as a backdrop.

“We are a world in a city, where different people with different beliefs and different views have thrived in a spirit of diversity, tolerance and respect,” Tsang said.

He said the torch “will continue to blaze a trail, a trail of unity and peace for all people and all nations” as it weaves through China en route to Beijing over the next three months.

Supporters of the relay far outnumbered the protesters, some of whom had to seek protection from police. About 3,000 officers had been deployed to stand guard over the eight-hour relay.

Several activists carrying a banner that read, “Return power to the people,” willingly sought refuge in a police vehicle when their pro-democracy slogans were overwhelmed with taunts such as “traitor” and “get out!” from a much larger pro-China crowd.

One young woman carrying a Tibetan flag was bustled into a police van after a crowd of about 30 people shouted obscenities at her, pushing and shoving police officers who had surrounded the university student to provide protection.

“What right do they have to take me away? I have a right to express my opinion,” Christina Chan, 21, said of the police.

Supportive home crowd

Reporting from Hong Kong, CBC correspondent Anthony Germain said that while emotions were running high with occasional outbursts, the tone of the relay was pro-Olympic and positive — something Beijing, which will host the Summer Games this August, wanted elsewhere but failed to achieve in its ambitious global relay.

The relay has sparked demonstrations in nearly all of its previous stops around the world.

Pro-Tibet activists interrupted the Olympic torch runs in London and Paris to protest against China’s policies, which they say threaten Tibetan culture and autonomy. For its part, China says Tibet is historically located within its borders.

The protests have largely been in response to China’s crackdown last month on rallies in Tibet and concerns over human rights issues in China.

Actress Mia Farrow arrived in Hong Kong this week and is scheduled to speak at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club Friday about the situation in Darfur, where about 200,000 Sudanese people have died and 2.5 million have been forced from their homes.

She said she thinks the war in Darfur is an easier issue to lobby China on than Tibet. China is one of Sudan’s largest trading partners.

The torch is scheduled to enter mainland China on May 4 for the host country’s portion of the relay.
Source: www.cbc.ca

Canada’s Olympic outfits go green

Canada’s Olympic athletes will be sporting a touch of green in their traditionally red and white uniforms at the Beijing Games — not only as a colour but also in the eco-friendly fabrics used for the clothing line. Models and Olympic athletes model the clothes that will be worn by Canada’s Olympic athletes in the athletes’ village at the Beijing Games during a fashion show in Toronto Wednesday. (J.P. Moczulski/Canadian Press)

The Hudson’s Bay Company unveiled the athletes’ clothing line for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Toronto on Wednesday.

The outfits use such materials as bamboo, organic cotton and cacona, which is derived from coconut.

Designer Tu Ly said the move to environmentally sustainable materials was made easy by a larger worldwide trend that increased the availability of such products.

“It was a real movement in every part of our lives, so it was hard not to be conscious of it,” Ly said in an interview Wednesday with Canadian Press prior to the unveiling of the clothing line.

Designers also adapted the clothing to the high temperatures expected in Beijing after consulting with athletes who took part in the 2004 Summer Games in Athens. Those athletes said they were unprepared for the heat in Greece.

With that in mind, the clothing for the Beijing Games was made using fabrics that provide UV protection, four-way stretch, odour resistance and wicking and cooling properties to help keep athletes comfortable.

While some of the designs use only the traditional red and white colours of the Canadian Olympic team, others feature a busy blend of symbols and patterns in a mix of muted tones.

Colour and design inspiration came in part from the five aspects of Chinese astrology — earth, wood, fire, water and metal — the designers said in a press release.

Also used are such Chinese symbols as the lucky number 8, represented both as a numeral and an octagon.Olympic rower Krista Gulien models one of the shirts featuring the colours of the five elements of Chinese astrology. (J.P. Moczulski/Canadian Press)

The line also includes a multi-functional piece called the B-tube, which designers say could be sported as a bandanna, hair band or even a mask to filter smog while in China, where air pollution is a concern for athletes.

“We felt that this time around, we wanted the athletes to make it their own,” Ly said of the piece.

Sports fans and style-watchers eager to see the other line of Olympic clothing, which will be donned by athletes during the Aug. 8 opening ceremony and on the medal podium will have to wait until the Games for the unveiling.

Many pieces will be available for sale as replica wear at the Bay, Zellers, on the Hudson’s Bay Company website, as well as during the Olympics at Canada House and the BC Pavilion in Beijing.

Each Olympic team member will receive 25 items, including jackets, pants, shorts, hoodies, T-shirts, shoes and luggage, as well as “team only” products such as the opening ceremony outfit and medal podium jacket.
Source: www.cbc.ca

2 Canadians deported from Hong Kong ahead of torch relay

Two Canadian activists planning to protest during Hong Kong’s leg of the Olympic torch relay were among a handful of foreigners promptly deported upon arrival at Hong Kong’s international airport Tuesday, the activists say.

The torch is set to arrive in Hong Kong on Wednesday after completing its international journey around the world that’s been marred by protests against China’s human rights record and its recent crackdown on Tibetan protesters.

The two Canadians — Tsering Lama, 24, of Toronto and Kate Woznow, 27, who lives in New York — are organizers for the New York-based Students for a Free Tibet.

The activist group says the two Canadians were detained and questioned for three hours after arriving at Hong Kong International Airport.

Woznow told the Associated Press by phone before takeoff that immigration officials questioned her about her trip but gave no reason for turning her back.

She accused the Hong Kong government of caving in to pressure from Beijing. “I really thought that Hong Kong authorities were different from Beijing,” she said.

Students for a Free Tibet spokeswoman Lhadon Tethong said Woznow was put on a return flight to New York, while it was unclear where Lama, an ethnic Tibetan from Toronto, was headed.

Two others deported

The two were planning to hold a joint press conference with London-based Free Tibet Campaign to coincide with the start of the Hong Kong leg of the run on Friday.

Another pro-Tibetan protester with Free Tibet Campaign, Matt Whitticase, was also turned away in Hong Kong.

“The Chinese government has shut out international observers and media from Tibet, and now they have even stopped individuals from speaking out in Hong Kong about the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Tibet,” Woznow said in a press release. “They clearly have much to hide.”

A fourth person, Zhang Yu, general secretary for the Independent Chinese PEN Center, was also detained for at least seven hours at the airport before being put on a plane back to Paris late Tuesday, Hong Kong Journalists Association general secretary Mak Yin-ting said on Wednesday.

Zhang, who is based in Sweden, planned to attend a four-day writers and artists conference calling for freedom of expression that coincided with the torch relay, said Mak.

The grounds for deportation were not immediately clear since Hong Kong officials have said repeatedly they won’t discuss individual cases.

The Hong Kong leg of the torch relay is expected to be closely watched since it is the first part of the flame’s six-continent tour on Chinese soil. The Beijing Games are set to begin on Aug. 8.

Nepal also deported mountaineer

Hong Kong, a former British colony now under China, is expected to face demonstrations since it grants visa-free entry to many Westerners.

Officials plan to deploy about 3,000 officers to guard the flame when it travels through on Friday. On Tuesday, the torch completed its international portion of the journey when passed peacefully through Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Also on Tuesday, the government of Nepal said it had deported American mountaineer William Brant Holland for violating regulations by bringing a “Free Tibet” banner to Mount Everest base camp. It also ordered a BBC news crew out of the camp.

A separate torch is being taken up Mount Everest in Tibet by Chinese and Tibetan mountain climbers.

Even though the relay will take place on the Chinese side of the mountain, Nepal has posted dozens of soldiers on its side and banned climbing near the summit between Thursday and May 10 to try to prevent protests.
Source: www.cbc.ca

Beijing Olympic torches in North Korea, Everest base camp

A veteran of the North Korean soccer team that made the World Cup quarterfinals in 1966 carries the Beijing Olympic torch through Pyongyang in the latest leg of the worldwide relay. (Gao Haorong/Xinhua)

The torch relay for this summer’s Beijing Olympics moved Monday to two of the world’s most inaccessible place: Pyongyang, North Korea and a Mount Everest base camp in Tibet.

A team of Chinese mountain climbers is preparing to take the torch to the summit of Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth.

Two torches lit at the Olympic flame in Athens are being used in the latest stages of the relay, which has been beset with protests against China’s crackdown in Tibet, which began last March.

That certainly wasn’t the case as the torch relay made its way through Pyongyang. North Korea is one of China’s closest allies and its authoritarian, communist regime tightly controls all aspects of society, including the movement of citizens.

Tens of thousands of people cheered the torch’s progress through the city, waving pink paper flowers and small flags with the Beijing Olympics logo, according to Japan’s Kyodo news agency, one of the few foreign media organizations covering the relay in North Korea.

Tibet protests ‘impure elements’: North Korea

The chair of the restrictive regime’s Olympic committee, Pak Hak Son, said North Korea’s reclusive and eccentric leader, Kim Jung Il, was watching the relay closely.

“We express our basic position that while some impure forces had opposed China’s hosting of the event have been disruptive,” Pak said, “we believe that constitutes a challenge to the Olympic ideal.”

The other torch taking part in the relay arrived at the Rongbuk glacier base camp at the foot of Mount Everest on Sunday, Chinese media reported.

A small group of foreign journalists with Chinese government guides is on its way to the remote area south of the Tibetan capital, Lhasa.

Plans for live television coverage of the torch’s ascent have been dropped. Beijing says this is for logistical reasons but media organizations taking part in the coverage say fear of anti-Tibet protests on the mountain are a more likely reason.

Mount Everest sits on the border between Nepal and Tibet and both the Chinese and Nepalese governments have banned all expeditions planning to climb the peak until after the torch is taken to the top.

Nepal’s government has ordered troops and police to the Everest base camp on its side of the border, and has banned protests, demonstrations and even Tibetan flags from the area. Police have been given orders to shoot protesters on sight, say the authorities in Kathmandu.

Several expeditions, including at least two from Canada, have had their plans to climb Mount Everest delayed until the Olympic torch leaves the Everest region.
Source: www.cbc.ca

Gold for Canada’s Vaculik at gymnastics World Cup

Kristina Vaculik of Oshawa, Ont., won the gold medal on beam and Nansy Damianova of Montreal added a bronze on floor on Sunday to conclude a World Cup gymnastics competition in Maribor, Slovenia.

It was a second medal this weekend for both Vaculik and Damianova. The Canadian women finished with five medals this weekend, their best-ever World Cup performance.

On beam, Vaculik earned a 14.975 score for the victory with Sanne Wevers of the Netherlands second at 14.425 and Nathalia Sanchez Cardenas of Colombia third at 14.275. Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs of Toronto, the winner on uneven bars Saturday, was fourth at 14.175.

“Kristina had a great performance,” said Canadian judge Lynn Smith of Winnipeg. “She competed really well. She showed a lot of confidence and displayed a lovely line on the beam.”

On floor, Suzanne Harmes of the Netherlands was the winner with 14.525, Yasmin Zimmerman of Switzerland was second at 13.950 and Damianova took the bronze at 13.900. Emma Willis of Sarnia, Ont., was seventh with13.550.

“Nansy is very confident right now,” said Smith. “She’s quite intense on what she wants to accomplish. She’s a very pleasing gymnast to watch.”

On men’s parallel bars, Yann Cucherat of France took gold at 15.900, Anton Fokin of Uzbekistan was second at 15.750 and Mitja Petrovsek of Slovenia third at 15.650. Grant Golding of Calgary took seventh at 14.875.
Source: www.cbc.ca

Quebec’s Premont earns mountain bike silver

Canadian Marie-Helene Premont earn his second medal of the season on Sunday in Offenburg, Germany. (Jacques Boissinot/Canadian Press)

Canadian Marie-Helene Premont earned a silver medal Sunday at the women’s World Cup mountain bike race in Offenburg, Germany.

World champion Irina Kalentieva of Russia won the event, finishing 33 seconds ahead of Premont, while China’s Ren Chengyuan was third.

Premont, who captured Olympic silver four years ago in Athens, won her second medal of the season. The Chateau-Richer, Que., native also placed third in a competition last week in Belgium.

“It was another good ride for me,” Premont said. “I am still improving and getting stronger.

“Hopefully I will get the win I did not get last year. That is my goal for this season.”

Catherine Pendrel of Kamloops, B.C., finished eighth, and Kiara Bisaro of Courtenay, B.C., was 18th.

Other Canadian women included:

• Wendy Simms of Nanaimo, B.C. (22nd).
• Victoria’s Sandra Walter (28th).
• Calgary’s Mical Dyck (29th).
• Emily Batty of Mississauga, Ont. (37th).
• Victoria’s Alison Sydor (41st).
• Amanda Sin of Wolfville, N.S. (50th).

France’s Julien Absalon won gold in the men’s event.

Seamus McGrath of Carlisle, Ont., was the top Canadian with a ninth-place finish, while Victoria’s Geoff Kabush was 19th. Derek Zandstra of Trenton, Ont., finished in 48th, and Ricky Federau of Abbotsford, B.C., was 53rd.
Source: www.cbc.ca

Heymans, Marleau team up for diving silver medal

Emilie Heymans of St-Lambert, Que., and Marie-Eve Marleau of Laval, Que., won the silver medal Saturday in the women’s 10-metre synchro event in Mexico to conclude the first stop on the FINA World Series diving circuit.

World Cup champions Xin Wang and Ruo Lin Chen of China posted the best score in all five rounds and won the gold with 362.82 points.

Heymans and Marleau were fifth after the opening two rounds, but finished with three strong optional dives to snare the silver at 326.88.

Paola Espinosa and Tatiana Ortiz of Mexico were third at 323.76.

The cash prize for each event is $5,000 for first place, $4,000 for second and $3,000 for third. The overall champions at the end of the three-circuit receive double the amount. The competition is reserved for the world’s eight top-ranked divers in each event.

In the women’s three-metre, Blythe Hartley of North Vancouver and Jennifer Abel of Laval were eliminated in the semifinals. Only the top-four from the semis advanced to the final. Abel, 16, was making her debut on the circuit and was seventh overall.

”It was a very valuable experience,” Abel said. ”There’s certainly no room for error with the best in the world here. I missed my first dive and I’m pleased with how I came back strong and fought hard until the end.”

The World Series circuit resumes May 24-25 in Sheffield, England and concludes May 30-31 in Nanjing, China.
Source: www.cbc.ca

Gymnast Hopfner-Hibbs records 1st World Cup win

Fellow Canadians Vaculik, Damianova also reach podium in Maribor, Slovenia

Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs earned her first World Cup win Saturday, two years after capturing Canada’s first-ever medal at a women’s artistic gymnastics world championship.

Hopfner-Hibbs of Toronto earned a 14.875 score for her victory on uneven bars in Maribor, Slovenia, to edge fellow Canadian Kristina Vaculik (14.850).

It’s been an excellent start to the World Cup season for Hopfner-Hibbs, who was second on uneven bars and bronze on beam at a World Cup event in Doha, Qatar, in March.

“I’ve been working really hard to deliver consistent performances so this feels really good,” said Hopfner-Hibbs.

“The best part for me was feeling confident going into the routine. I knew I could hit everything.”

Marta Pihan of Poland was third on uneven bars.

Canada’s other top-three finish Saturday came courtesy of Nansy Damianova, who finished third on vault.

It was the first World Cup podium finishes for both Vaculik of Whitby and Damianova of Montreal.

On vault, Hong Un Jung of South Korea was the winner, averaging 14.300 on her two vaults. Marissa King of Britain was second (14.075) and Damianova (13.837).

Grant Golding of Calgary had initially qualified eighth for the men’s floor final on Friday but there was a correction to another gymnast’s score and Golding was bumped to ninth and out of the final.

Golding will be in the parallel bars final on Sunday while Vaculik and Hopfner-Hibbs compete in the beam final and Damianova and Emma Willis of Sarnia, Ont., in the floor final.
Source: www.cbc.ca

Canada’s Sweetland 5th at triathlon World Cup

Victoria native needs Top 8 finish at world championships June 8 to earn Olympic berth

Kirsten Sweetland appears to be progressing toward a berth for this summer’s Beijing Olympics.

The Victoria athlete placed fifth at a triathlon World Cup event Saturday in Tongyeong, South Korea.

Sweetland, 19, needs a Top 8 finish at the world championships in Vancouver on June 8 to earn a spot for Beijing.

On Saturday, the former world junior champion covered the 1.5-kilometre swim, 37.5 km bike ride and 10 km run in a combined time of one hour, 51 minutes and six seconds.

Samantha Warriner of New Zealand won in a time of 1:49:49, Britain’s Hollie Avil was second (1:49:59) while Czech Vendula Frintova took third (1:50:21).

Lauren Groves of Vancouver, already named to the Olympic team, finished 13th.

In the men’s race, Edmonton’s Paul Tichelaar finished sixth, Brent McMahon of Victoria was 16th and Kyle Jones of Oakville, Ont., was 20th.

Tim Don of Great Britain claimed his fifth World Cup win in 1:38:14.

Athens Olympic silver medallist Bevan Docherty of New Zealand finished second, six seconds back, just edging out Germany’s Jan Frodeno in a photo finish.
Source: www.cbc.ca