Short-track speed skaters reeling in valuable time at Olympic venue

Coliseum ice getting a good workout in advance of next month’s Games trials
By Gary Kingston, Vancouver SunJuly 2, 2009

VANCOUVER — Canada’s short-track speed skaters are hoping the frozen water at Pacific Coliseum is far more hospitable in seven months time than the deep blue stuff off the Olympic host city last weekend.

In Vancouver for a training camp the last two weeks, a dozen skaters, most of them from Quebec, chartered a couple of boats last Sunday for a highly anticipated salmon fishing expedition.

Except for a three-pounder landed by Olivier Jean — “a charity fish,” cracked men’s head coach Derrick Campbell — they were skunked after five hours of trolling, as Jean described it, “in front of Stanley Park.”
“It was a really disappointing day,” said the Montreal skater, who does a lot of pike, bass and walleye fishing back home and who was salmon fishing for the first time. “We only had one bite. Five hours, one bite.”
He says the charter operators were apologetic.

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Short-track hopefuls take to Olympic venue

JEFF HODSON - METRO VANCOUVER - July 3rd, 2009

For Olympic hopeful Michael Gilday, the thrill of short-track is the fact that the winner doesn’t have to be the swiftest on the ice, but the smartest.“It’s a head-to-head race, and for me that’s the appeal,” said Gilday, 22, at Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver on Thursday.

“If you go out and try to hammer as fast as you can, guys are just going to sit behind you, suck off you in the draft and pass you in the end. You’ve got to be intelligent.”

[...] Gilday has been on the national team for the past two years and he is one of 16 athletes challenging for four open spots on Canada’s Olympic team.“It’s going to be a huge battle for those last four spots.”

Canadian team picking up speed

The Daily Cleaner - Friday July 3rd, 2009

Making strides: Short track speedskaters, left to right, Amanda Overland, of Kitchener, Ont., Kalyna Roberge, of Montreal, Que., and Anne Maltais, of Laval, Que., skate during a national team training camp in Vancouver, B.C., on Thursday. The Canadian team will hold an Olympic selection camp in Vancouver in August.

Short-track skater Olivier Jean ready to challenge for Olympic team spot

By Jim Morris - Canadian Press -
Other times, bad luck is a test of your will and determination. Short-track speedskater Olivier Jean was able to smile Thursday when talking about a failed salmon fishing trip he organized recently for the Canadian national team during a Vancouver training camp. All the 12 skaters had to show for it after a long day on the water was one fish that weighed under two kilograms.

"It was really disappointing," Jean said with a shake of his head.

Jean knows how luck, and fortune, can quickly turn. [...]
Derrick Campbell, the men's national team coach, said the determination and effort Jean showed last season will translate into more results this year.
"Last year, coming back, he was missing some shape," said Campbell. "Last year was a huge year for him because he was starting at a lower level.
"This year I think the big advantage is he has that year behind him where there is no setbacks. He's focused, he's able to build on what he was able to accomplish last year."
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