The Calgary crew finished off the second world cup strong. Michael Gilday pulled in his first world cup individual medal, a silver in the 1000m. This was a not only a great final for Michael but a great series of races. His calmness and commitment to race strategy was key to his success. The semi-final was a breakthrough for him as he was 3rd entering the last corner but stole the last spot in the A-final from US skater J.R. Celski within the last meter. In the A-final, Michael stayed in 3rd for most of the race until executing a well timed, strong pass on US skater Apolo Anton Ohno to take silver behind Korean skater Lee Jung-Su. I think the most impressive thing about Michael's 1000m performance was his preparation. He really learned from his previous races and actions, developed his plan and executed it well.
Jessica Gregg had a tougher morning in her 500m race. In the quarter-final she kicked blades with the Korean skater right off of the start line and went down "superman" style. The race was restarted but her blades were no longer as ready for the race as she was. She lost some bend in her left and it was apparent she wasn't getting the most out of it. The quarter-final was the last round for her this time.
Jessica Hewitt didn't compete in the individual races on the last day due to a disqualification in the preliminary rounds. Although this is usually quite disappointing, it was not entirely the case. Hewitt was skating well in her 1000m prelims and made an aggressive move from 3rd to get into a qualifying position. The move earned her a disqualification in a tough race against Korean, Chinese and Japanese skaters.
In the women's relay, Canada kept the Jessica-Jessica connection going from the semi-final. (In the semi-final, one of the most exciting relays in a long time, the Canadians beat the US women's team to take a spot in the A-final. It was back and forth for the last few laps but the Gregg-Hewitt relay connection was a strong finish for the Canadian team). So, into the A-final with 5 teams due to an advancement: Canada, China, Korea, Netherlands and Italy. Canada stayed close to the Korean and Chinese teams for most of the race. Near the end of the race, the Dutch team was closing in on the Canadians. The last exchange was another strong exchange from Gregg to Hewitt and kept them in 3rd. Hewitt finished strong to ensure the bronze. The entire team was skating well and showed that the first weekend in Salt Lake City was not just some chance medal.
The spirit within the Canadian women's team was amazing. It was motivating just to watch them warm-up together as they developed their own routine and bond. Marianne St-Gelais, Marie-Andree Mendes-Campeau, Valerie Maltais and Anne Maltais were all great in the relays. As a team they had strong exchanges and they worked well together to correct errors from previous relays. Even the girls that weren't skating the relay supported the team during warm-ups and race preparations.
The men's relay was missing some typical competitors as the Koreans failed to qualify. They fell in the last few laps of their heat and couldn't catch up before the end of the race. This final was a dog-fight between the Canadian and US teams. Canada had control for most of the race but the US skaters came on strong at the end and finished by taking the lead and the gold from the Canadians. We settled for silver.
Medal count for the Calgary skaters in the 1st & 2nd world cups:
Jessica Gregg - 500m bronze (SLC), Relay bronze (SLC), Relay bronze (Vancouver)
Jessica Hewitt - Relay bronze (SLC), Relay bronze (Vancouver)
Michael Gilday - Relay bronze (SLC), 1000m silver (Vancouver), Relay silver (Vancouver)
Up next is the Asian set of world cups. Beijing, China and Nagano, Japan. Richard Shoebridge will be joining the team for these world cups in late November and early December. After a short recovery from the first world cups, the team will begin training again to be even better prepared for the next trip. As I'm sure every country is doing.
JC
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