It’s been a while since I’ve penned a controversial post. Experience (and my web stats) have shown me that the most popular posts on this website are either slightly controversial (curiouser and curiouser, selection news, and on skating at altitude) or to do with photography (photo gear, and the truth behind the shutter are...
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I’m just going to warn everyone now, this is going to be one of my least-coherent rants to date. It is sometimes said that I have a “soft spot” for sport, and this is largely true. Why is this the case? I’m certainly not the typical “jock” and I’m not the sort of person...
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Beep – the alarm goes off, it is 6am. It is dark. A small group of skaters drag themselves out of bed, throw some warm clothes on and grab their skating bags. We walk outside and fumble around in the darkness trying to activate the lights on our bicycles. 40 minutes later we are...
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These olympics continue to surprise and inspire. Most unusual of the aftermath of the preliminaries is the absence of team Canada in the ladies’ final. The team that lost narrowly to the USA (by 4 hundredths of a second – less than a blade length) was the same team that broke the world record...
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The ladies’ 5000m was without incident nor any significant surprises (which itself is a bit of a surprise at these games). The favorite – Czech Martina Sablikova won, but after exhausting herself in trying to stay ahead of the pace set by German 21-year-old Stephanie Beckert which was extraordinary to say the least, taking...
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Just when I thought this Olympics couldn’t get more unpredictable, the men’s 10,000m threw me another curve ball. Heavily favored for the win, Sven Kramer is disqualified under the most unusual of circumstances. While making a routine lane change from the inner to the outer, coach Gerard Kemkers has a brain cramp and tells...
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The ladies’ 1500m result was, characteristically for the games, a surprise. Inspired by countryman Mark Tuitert’s spectacular win in the 1500m, Ireen Wüst equaled the track record on less-than-optimal ice conditions to set a time which was, ultimately, too difficult to catch. Favorite for the gold medal, Canadian Kristina Groves, could only manage a...
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I’m beginning to think that I may be better off simply putting the names off the start list in a hat and randomly choosing them. Once again, the old adage that “anything can happen” in a race has been proven true. My pick for the win was nowhere to be seen while Shani Davis,...
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Canada finally brought home the gold with Christine Nesbitt’s gutsy win the 1000m. The slow ice causing problems for many, with a lot of skaters blowing up before the finish, dutch skater Annette Gerritsen set a great time of 1:16.58 to take the lead ahead of Laurine van Riessen until Nesbitt, after being behind...
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Sophie Muir recently made history by not only becoming the first Australian long track skater in 16 years, but is also the first ever female long track olympic speed skater. We’re pretty proud of her. But it takes more than just a pretty face to get into the olympics. Literally thousands of hours of...
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