Canadian short-track skaters pleased with results, Olympic venue
The Canadian Press
Sun 26 Oct 2008
Section: Sports In General
Byline: BY JIM MORRIS

VANCOUVER _ Michael Gilday made sure his family was not disappointed after making the long trip from Yellowknife.

Gilday was one of three Canadian short-track speedskaters to earn their first career World Cup medal in individual events Sunday in a competition held on the same ice that will host the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

Gilday and Remi Beaulieu-Tinker of Alma, Que., finished second and third in the men's 1,000 metres, while Marianne St-Gelais of St-Felicien, Que., earned a silver medal in the women's 500 metres

"It's a good omen,'' said Gilday, 21, who was born in Iqaluit, Nunavut, and grew up in Yellowknife. "It gives me a lot of confidence moving forward. We are really comfortable in this facility.''

It was a good weekend for the Canadian team. Canada won six medals Sunday for a total of eight over the three-day event.

Francois-Louis Tremblay of Alma was second in the men's 500 metres. The men's 5,000-metre relay team also picked up a silver while the women's 3,000-metre team was third.

Charles Hamelin of Ste-Julie, Que., won the gold medal in the 1,000-metres Saturday while his brother Francois took the bronze. The brothers were also members of the relay team.

"It's great to see Canada perform like that here,'' said Charles Hamelin. "For the boys it's good but the girls, they didn't expect it.''

Gilday had his own cheering section among the crowd of 4,753 Sunday. His mother, father, sister and a cousin made the trip from Yellowknife while his grandmother arrived from Ontario

"This is the home-ice advantage we are talking about,'' said Gilday. "Having this event here makes all the difference.

"It means we are moving in the right direction. Today when things clicked we showed we can be the best in the world and we aren't too far off from the mark where we want to be.''

St-Gelais, 18, said tried not to be intimidated skating in the Olympic venue.

"I didn't want to get overwhelmed,'' she said with a big grin. "It's a little bit more special to get it here.

"It shows I'm a part of it. It showed I can perform on the World Cup, so I'm right in the game.''

The competition, which attracted 180 athletes from 25 countries, was the first Olympic sports test event to be held in Vancouver. It was hosted in the Pacific Coliseum which will also be the home to both short-track speedskating and figure skates during the 2010 Winter Games.

Skaters praised the venue and the quality of ice.

"The ice got better and better as the competition went along,'' said Olympic gold medallist Apolo Anton Ohno, who helped the U.S. win the men's relay. "I can't wait for 2010.

"The nice thing about this it feels like the crowd is on top of you. It's much more intense. You can hear who is screaming. It's good.''

China's Meng Wang, who won the women's 500 metres, said she enjoyed skating in front of Vancouver's large Asian population.

"It's like a homecoming,'' she said through an interpreter.

Meng hinted some improvements can be made.

"When it comes to the Olympics it might be much better,'' she said. "In terms of equipment and the overall appearance of the building, it might be better.

"It will be decorated for the Olympics.''

Officials with the Vancouver Olympic Games Organizing Committee, known locally at Vanoc, spent the week testing the venue's field of play and gauging the performance of about 250 volunteers.

"The feedback from both the athletes and the international skating union has been really positive,'' said Tim Gayda, Vanoc's vice-president of sport. "Every time we get to operate this building helps us produce better ice for (the Games).

"There is a whole bunch of little things we can do better. They are all things we will address as we move forward.''

Vanoc has spent about $17 million upgrading the building. That has included increasing the ice surface to international size, installing a boardless padding system around the track, updating the air circulation flow, adding new seats and generally cleaning up the facility.

The coliseum was built in 1968 and served as home to the NHL's Vancouver Canucks from 1970 until they moved to GM Place in 1995. The building is now home for the Western Hockey League's Vancouver Giants.

Gilday said the building compared well to other short-track facilities around the world.

"It think this is top notch,'' he said. "There is lots of space for warming up, there is lots of space for change rooms.

"The padding system is the safest in the world. It ranks pretty high for sure.''