WinSport Canada Academy snowboarder rides to World Cup silver

Congratulations go out to Brooke Voigt of WinSport Canada’s Academy program, after winning a silver medal Sunday at a World Cup slopestyle snowboarding event in Stoneham, Que.

It was the third World Cup medal of the 18-year-old’s career. She previously won silvers at World Cup stops in Calgary in 2011 and 2010.

Breanna Stangeland, who is another familiar face around Calgary’s Canada Olympic Park, won bronze, finishing just behind Voigt on Sunday. It was the first World Cup podium finish of her career.

Stoneham proved to be medal haul for Canadian snowboarders, with a total of one gold, two silver and three bronze on the weekend.

Among the other highlights during the weekend was a silver medal Friday by Mellisa Hollingsworth at the skeleton world championships in Lake Placid, N.Y. Calgary’s Sarah Reid was 11th on Friday, while Amy Gough of Abbotsford, B.C., was 12th.

In Crans-Montana, Switzerland, Calgary’s  Jan Hudec hit the super-G World Cup podium for the first time in his career on Friday, capturing a silver medal. Erik Guay, of Mont-Tremblant, Que., was the only other Canadian to crack the top-15, as he finished 13th.

For complete weekend results, check out the results posted near the elevator in the main lodge.

Among other medal finishes on the weekend:

Ski Cross World Cup (at Bischofswiesen/Goetschen, Germany)

Dave Duncan     2nd men’s ski cross

Marielle Thompson         3rd women’s ski cross

Snowboard World Cup (at Stoneham, Que.)

Jonathan Versteeg          2nd men’s slopestyle

Maxence Parrot               3rd men’s slopestyle

Biathlon Youth World Championships (at Kontiolahti, Finland)

Julia Ransom      2nd youth women’s pursuit

Freestyle Killington NorAm (at Killington, Vt.)

Beatrice Bilodeau                             1st women’s moguls

Alexandra Dufresne       3rd women’s moguls

Saturday, February 25

Ski Cross World Cup (at Bischofswiesen/Goetschen, Germany)

Tristan Tafel       1st men’s ski cross

Chris Del Bosco 3rd men’s ski cross

Snowboard World Cup (at Stoneham, Que.)

Antoine Truchon              1st men’s Big Air

Matts Kulisek     3rd men’s Big Air

Short track speed skating world junior championships (at Melbourne, Australia)

Alexandre St. Jean          3rd men’s 500m

Friday, February 24

Freestyle Killington NorAm (at Killington, Vt.)

Alexandra Dufrense       2nd women`s moguls

Hollingsworth takes silver at worlds

Mellisa Hollingsworth used four consistent runs to capture a silver medal Friday at the skeleton world championships in Lake Placid, N.Y.

Hollingsworth, who trains at WinSport Canada’s sliding track in Calgary, posted a four-run time of three minutes 42.50 seconds, to finish just back of American Katie Uhlaender, who clocked a time of 3:42.33.

“It is just awesome,” said Hollingsworth, a native of Eckville, Alta. “I had four consistent runs and that’s all you can ask for in this kind of race.

“I’m not tapped out yet though. I didn’t have the strongest pushes so we have some adjustments to work out there, but it was a great day and we are definitely on track two years out from Sochi.”

Britain’s Elizabeth Yarnold was third.

Calgary’s Sarah Reid was 11th on Friday, while Amy Gough of Abbotsford, B.C., was 12th.

Hudec second at Swiss World Cup stop

Calgary’s Jan Hudec hit the super-G World Cup podium for the first time in his career on Friday, finishing second at a race in Crans-Montana, Switzerland.

The 30-year-old, a regular at WinSport Canada’s Bob Niven Training Centre in Calgary, was topped only by Swiss star Didier Cuche.

“Thank goodness. I’m glad I finally got one in super-G,” said Hudec, who now has four career World Cup podium finishes. “It was a little bit bumpy when I went down but it really deteriorated for the other guys. It was like plus-10 on the hill.

Erik Guay, of Mont-Tremblant, Que., was the only other Canadian to crack the top-15, as he finished 13th.

Hudec’s finish was the fifth in five races for the Canadian alpine team.

Federal government gives boost to Ski Jumping Canada’s women’s program

Bal Gosal, Minister of State (Sport), is joined on stage by Calgary MP Rob Anders and members of Ski Jumping Canada’s development team to announce funding on Thursday.

Mother Nature provided the perfect backdrop Thursday for Government of Canada representatives to announce funding to Ski Jumping Canada’s women’s program.

The sun gave way to a quick, but heavy, snowfall, as Bal Gosal, Minister of State (Sport), announced the government’s support to the program. Also on hand was Rob Anders, the MP for Calgary West.

“Our Government is pleased to announce a Ski Jumping discipline first: funding for Ski Jumping Canada in support of our women ski jumpers,” said Gosal. “This funding will ensure our women ski jumpers will be ready for the debut of the women’s ski jump event at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi. We look forward to cheering on our women’s team, and remain committed to promoting the participation of women and girls in sport.”

Joining in the announcement was Ski Jumping Canada chairman Brent Morrice, the chief sport officer for the Canadian Olympic Committee, Caroline Assalian, and Ken Read, the director for winter sport for Own the Podium.

“Ski Jumping Canada has been working hard for many years to develop our athletes to a level at which they can be competitive with the best ski jumpers in the world,” said Morrice. “With the support from Sport Canada, OTP, and WinSport, we have been given the opportunity to compete, and now, as a national sport organization, our mandate will be to use this funding to gain podium results.”

Ski Jumping Canada also received great news Thursday, when 20-year-old Mackenzie Boyd-Clowes jumped 194.0 metres at the ski flying world championships in Vikersun, Norway, setting a Canadian record.

Wenzel, Humphries on top of the world

Canadian winter athletes continued to climb to the top of the world over the past several days, led by Calgary’s Kurtis Wenzel.

Wenzel first started cross-country skiing at Canada Olympic Park several years ago, and on Tuesday he became the first ever Canadian to take top spot at the Biathlon Junior World Championships in Kontiolahti, Finland.

“This is very special for me,” said the 21-year-old Wenzel, who missed one shot in four rounds of shooting in the junior men’s 15-kilometre individual competition. “I was pretty anxious before the race, but I did a good job of staying relaxed and calm today.”

During the first weekend of action at the world bobsleigh and skeleton championships in Lake Placid, N.Y., Calgary’s Kaillie Humphries and Jenny Ciochetti teamed up on Saturday to win gold in the four-run, two-man women’s showdown.

The dynamic duo, which trains at WinSport Canada’s track in Calgary, won the World Cup gold on their home track the previous week.

“It feels amazing. It is another goal accomplished,” said Humphries. “This means a lot to me. I feel like I’m still growing as a pilot and I try to learn from every experience. I have been working on my consistency and I’m glad it showed here.”

Helen Upperton and Shelley-Ann Brown finished fifth.

In men’s two-man bobsleigh action Sunday, Lyndon Rush and Jesse Lumsden joined forces to take silver in Lake Placid, despite Rush battling a stomach virus during Sunday’s final two runs.

In Naeba, Japan, Audrey Robichaud chalked up her first ever World Cup victory, taking top spot on Sunday in a dual moguls event. The win came less than 24 hours after Mikael Kingsbury accomplished the same feat in the men’s moguls event.

In other major results on the weekend:

Sunday

Freestyle World Cup (at Naeba, Japan)
Mikael Kingsbury                2nd dual moguls

Philippe Marquis  3rd dual moguls

Speed skating World All-Round Championships (at Moscow)

Christine Nesbitt  3rd women’s all-round

Saturday

Freestyle World Cup (at Naeba, Japan)

Cedric Rochon     3rd moguls

Audrey Robichaud              2nd moguls

Justine Dufour-Lapointe    3rd moguls

Chloe Dufour-Lapointe      4th moguls

Another medal haul for Canadians

Greg Paseshnik, WinSport Canada's director, marketing, hands out a $5,000 cheque to Kaillie Humphries and Jenny Ciochetti as part of WinSport's Sarah Burke Performance Award.

Canadian winter athletes had another great weekend on the medal podium, led by a gold-medal performance by the bobsleigh tandem of Kaillie Humphries and Jenny Cochiti at WinSport Canada’s sliding track in Calgary.

Skeleton racer Amy Gough also had a bronze as Calgary hosted the bobsleigh and skeleton World Cup weekend.

Both sleds earned $5,000 as part of WinSport Canada’s Sarah Burke Performance Award, which awards Canadians who hit the medal podium at senior World Cup events at WinSport’s facilities at Canada Olympic Park.

“I felt really good today. I had good pushes and was really calm and confident. It was so nice to be racing at home,” said Gough.

At the freestyle World Cup in China, Mikael Kingsbury continued to add to his season-long medal haul, winning gold in men’s moguls. Teammate Philippe Marquis was second, while Justine Dufour-Lapointe was second in the women’s event. Olivier Rochon was third in aerials.

In Dordrecht, Netherlands, at the short track World Cup stop, Marianne St. Gelais won gold in the 1,000-metre race and was second in the 500m to lead the Canadian contingent. Guillaume Bastille led the pack in the men’s 1,000m, with Marie-Eve Drolet (1,000m) and Olivier Jean (1,000m) each winning silver in their respective events. Francois-Louis Tremblay (500m) won bronze in men’s event, with the men’s relay team bringing home silver.

In Hamar, Norway, at the long track World Cup stop, Christine Nesbitt captured silver in the 1,500m.

Calgarians combined to win bronze at the world luge championships in Altenberg, Germany, with Alex Gough, Sam Edney, along with Tristan Walker and Justin Snith, finishing third in the team relay.

Alpine skier Ben Thomsen has served notice that the venue in Sochi, Russia, the site of the 2014 Winter Olympics, is to his liking, after finishing second on the weekend in a World Cup downhill race.

“It’s a little bit overwhelming right now. It’s awesome,” said Thomsen. “When I crossed the finish line nobody raised their hands so I thought, ‘Oh no, I must have had a bad run.’ But then I saw my name come up. I’m still in shock.”

In Odgen, Utah, at the Dew Tour freestyle event, Calgary’s Rosalind Groenewoud was second in the halfpipe, while figure skaters Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir won the ice dance title at the Four Continents event in Colorado Springs, Colo.

And at the Canmore Nordic Centre, Calgary’s Nathan Smith captured top spot in the men’s 10-kilometre sprint in an IBU Cup race, while Quebec’s Yolaine Oddou won bronze in a 7.5-kilometre sprint in the feeder series to the World Cup circuit.

It was also a great weekend for WinSport Academy athletes, including first-place finishes at the Alberta Winter Games in Spruce Grove and Stony Plain. Among them were Connor Skipper (boys 14-16 slopestyle), AJ Cairns (girls 11-13 slopestyle) and Jack Collins (boys 11-13 slopestyle). WinSport Freeskiers also reached the top of the podium, including Maddi Russell-Cowie (women’s moguls), Janelle Yip (women’s slopestyle) and Emerson Padley (men’s slopestyle).

Gough grabs skeleton bronze on home ice

Nothing like a taste of home to finish the World Cup season.

Canada’s Amy Gough shared the third spot on the medal podium on Thursday at WinSport Canada’s sliding track in Calgary, making the most of home ice advantage in the final stop of the World Cup circuit this season.

The world championships are next weekend in Lake Placid, N.Y.

“I felt really good today,” said Gough, who clocked a two-run time of one minute 56.57 seconds to share bronze with Britain’s Shelley Rudman. “I had good pushes and was really calm and confident. It was so nice to be racing at home.”

Britain’s Elizabeth Yarnold took gold in 1:55.93, while Germany’s Anja Huber was second in 1:56.47.

“We haven’t been sliding in Calgary since October so it was a tough week of training for the Canadians,” said Gough. “We’ve slid here a lot so we got up to speed quickly. I really like Calgary and today just feels really good.”

Gough picked up $5,000 from WinSport Canada as part of WinSport’s newly created Sarah Burke Performance Award, which dishes out $5K to any Canadian athlete reaching the podium at a senior World Cup event at WinSport’s facilities at Canada Olympic Park.

Mellisa Hollingsworth of Eckville, Alta., was fifth, while Sarah Reid finished seventh.

In the men’s event Thursday, Eric Neilson climbed to sixth place after clocking the second-fastest time in the second heat.

“That was my personal best so I’m very happy,” said Neilson. “That was very sweet redemption after last week, and a great way to end off the World Cup season heading into world championships. It has been a roller-coaster year with lots of ups and downs, but it’s a long journey, and you have to be patient with it.”

Latvia’s Martins Dukurs clinched the overall World Cup title with his seventh victory of the season, while Russia’s Alexander Tretiakov claimed was second and Germany’s Frank Rommel was third.

Calgary’s John Fairbairn was 13th, while Toronto’s Mike Douglas was 18th.

Huge weekend of medals for Canadian winter athletes on World Cup circuit

It was quite the weekend for Canadian winter athletes. And after several tries on the calculator, the numbers add up to 23 medals won by Canadians at World Cups around the world.

That total includes 10 goals, six silver and seven bronze from Thursday through Sunday.

Many of those athletes have ties to WinSport Canada, including skeleton gold medallist Mellisa Hollingsworth and bobsleigh medallists Kaillie Humphries (gold), Helen Upperton (bronze) and the dynamic duo of Lyndon Rush and Jesse Lumsden (gold) who train at WinSport’s sliding track at Calgary’s Canada Olympic Park. Lumsden and Rush joined forces with Cody Sorensen and Neville Wright to take third in the two-man bobsleigh event.

Jan Hudec, another Calgarian who is a poster boy for WinSport’s ‘I train here’ campaign stood atop the podium at a World Cup downhill race on Saturday in Chamonix, France. Cross-country skier Devon Kershaw, who makes his training home at WinSport’s Nordic centre in Canmore, Alta., had a gold and bronze during the weekend in Russia.

Below is a complete list of results

February 5, 2012

World Cup alpine skiing

(at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany)

Marie-Pier Prefontaine 16th women’s super-G

Larisa Yurkiw      36th women’s super-G

Kelly Vanderbeek            38th women’s super-G

World Cup short track speed skating (at Moscow)

Olivier Jean         1st men’s 500 metre

Liam McFarlane                2nd men’s 500 metre

Charles Hamelin               3rd men’s 500 metre

Francois-Louis Tremblay               8th men’s 1,500 metre

Remi Beaulieu   12th men’s 1,500 metre

Guillaume Gastille           14th men’s 1,500 metre

Men’s relay team            1st overall

Marianne St. Gelais         4th women’s 500 metre

Caroline Truchon              7th women’s 500 metre

Gabrielle Waddell            13th women’s 500 metre

Marie-Eve Drolet             5th women’s 1,500 metre

Valerie Maltais  9th women’s 1,500 metre

Jessica Hewitt    16th women’s 1,500 metre

Women’s relay team      4th overall

World Cup Biathlon (At Oslo, Norway)

Brendan Green 10th men’s mass start

Jean-Philippe Le Guellec 12th men’s mass start

Zina Kocher        29th women’s mass start

World Cup Cross-country (at Rybinsk, Russia)

Devon Kershaw                6th men’s skiathlon

Alex Harvey        8th men’s skiathlon

Ivan Babikov      19th men’s skiathlon

February 4, 2012

World Cup bobsleigh (at Whistler, B.C.)

Lyndon Rush, Jesse Lumsden, Cody Sorensen, Neville Wright3rd men’s four-man

Justin Kripps, Tim Randall James McNaughton, Derek Plug            12th men’s four-man

Cross-country (At Rybinsk, Russia)

1. Devon Kershaw         15km mass start

5. Alex Harvey   15 km mass start

17 Ivan Babikov            15 km mass start

Biathlon World Cup (at Oslo, Norway)

Brendan Green 13th men’s 12.5km pursuit

Jean-Philippe Le Guellec               26th men’s 12.5km pursuit

Scott Perras        33rd men’s 12.5km pursuit

Zina Kocher        29th women’s 10km pursuit

Megan Imrie      41st women’s 10km pursuit

World Cup alpine (at Chamonix, France)

Jan Hudec           1st men’s downhill

Erik Guay             3rd men’s downhill

Ben Thomsen 5th men’s downhill

World Cup alpine skiing

(at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany)

Kelly Vanderbeek            46th women’s downhill

World Cup freestyle skiing (at Deer Valley, Utah)

Mikael Kingsbury             2nd men’s dual moguls

Alex Bilodeau    5th men’s dual moguls

Marc-Antoine Gagnon   7th men’s dual moguls

Cedric Rochon   9th men’s dual moguls

Eddie Hicks         17th men’s dual moguls

Philippe Marquis              19th men’s dual moguls

Justine Dufour-Lapointe 2nd women’s dual moguls

Chloe Dufour-Lapointe  6th women’s dual moguls

Audrey Robichaud           10th women’s dual moguls

Chelsea Henitiuk              13th women’s dual moguls

Maxime Dufour-Lapointe             17th women’s dual moguls

World Cup short track speed skating (at Moscow)

Valerie Maltais  3rd women’s 1,500m

Marie-Eve Drolet             9th women’s 1,500m

Gabrielle Waddell            13th women’s 1,500m

Olivier Jean         4th men’s 1,000m

Guillaume Bastille            7th men’s 1,000m

Liam McFarlane                10th men’s 1,000m

Francois-Louis Tremblay 7th men’s 1,500m

Remi Beaulieu 8th men’s 1,500m

Jessica Hewitt    8th women’s 1,000m

Marianne St. Gelais         10th women’s 1,000m

Caroline Truchon              11th women’s 1,000m

February 3, 2012

World Cup bobsleigh (at Whistler, B.C.)

Lyndon Rush/Jesse Lumsden     1st men’s two-man

Justin Kripps/Tim Randall              14th men’s two-man

World Cup skeleton (at Whistler, B.C.)

John Fairbairn    8th men

Mike Douglas     11th men

Eric Neilson         19th men

World Cup ski cross (at Blue Mountain, Ont.)

Marielle Thompson         1st women

Brady Leman      1st men

Chris Del Bosco 2nd men

Dave Duncan     7th men

Nik Zoricic            15th men

Tristan Trafel      16th men

World Cup alpine (at Chamonix, France)

Erik Guay             4th men’s downhill

Jan Hudec           6th men’s downhill

Ben Thomsen 11th men’s downhill

World Cup freestyle skiing (at Deer Valley, Utah)

Olivier Rochon   3rd men’s aerials

Jean-Christophe Andre 17th men’s aerials

February 2, 2012

World Cup skeleton (at Whistler, B.C.)

Mellisa Hollingsworth     1st women

Sarah Reid           6th women

Amy Gough        7th women

World Cup bobsleigh (at Whistler, B.C.)

Kallie Humphries/Emily Baadsvik               1st women

Helen Upperton/Shelley-Ann Brown      3rd women

Jenny Ciochetti/Marquise Brisebois        12th women

World Cup freestyle skiing (at Deer Valley, Utah)

Mikael Kingsbury             1st men’s moguls

Alex Bilodeau    2nd men’s moguls

Marc-Antoine Gagnon   5th men’s moguls

Cedric Rochon   9th men’s moguls

Philippe Marquis              11th men’s moguls

Eddie Hicks         18th men’s moguls

Alexandre Rousseau      41st men’s moguls

Chloe Dufour-Lapointe  5th women’s moguls

Audrey Robichaud           7th women’s moguls

Chelsea Henitiuk              8th women’s moguls

Maxime Dufour-Lapointe             14th women’s moguls

Justine Dufour-Lapointe               23rd women’s moguls

Cross-Country World Cup (at Moscow)

Devon Kershaw                3rd men’s skate-ski sprint

Alex Harvey        9th men’s skate-ski sprint

Len Valjas            12th men’s skate-ski sprint

Daria Gaiazova  22nd women’s sprint

Perianne Jones 24th women’s sprint

Chandra Crawford           36th women’s sprint

Biathlon World Cup (at Oslo, Norway)

Brendan Green 9th men’s 10km sprint

Jean-Philippe Le Guellec               20th men’s 10km sprint

Scott Perras        27th men’s 10km sprint

Megan Imrie      17th women’s 7.5km pursuit

Zina Kocher        25th women’s 7.5km pursuit

IPC World Cup cross-country

Chris Klebl           2nd men’s 10km sit-ski

Sebastien Fortier             14th men’s 10km sit-ski

Yves Bourques                  19th men’s 10km sit-ski

Colette Bourgonje           6th women’s 5.2km sit-ski

Christine Gauthier           9th women’s 5.2km sit-ski

Louis Fortin 21st men’s 18km standing

Caroline Bisson 5th women’s 12km standing

Erica Noon          6th women’s 12km standing

Margarita Gorbounova  6th women’s 12km visually impaired

Canadian ski cross racers leave ’em green with envy at Blue Mountain World Cup

Canadian skiers stole the spotlight Friday at the FIS Ski Cross World Cup in Blue Mountain, Ont., taking top spot in the men’s and women’s final, along with the silver medal in the men’s final.

Calgary’s Brady Leman led the way in the men’s event, with Chris Del Bosco of Montreal finishing in second place. Marielle Thompson of Whistler, B.C., landed on the top step of the podium for the first time in her World Cup career.

“I hope we put on a good show – it sure seemed like it to me. To clean up here is great,” said Leman. “Having the hometown crowd here was awesome. I couldn’t be more happy.”

Canada’s sliders dominate medal podium at Whistler World Cup stop

Thursday was quite the night for Canada’s sliders, with three medals at a World Cup bobsleigh and skeleton event in Whistler, B.C. — the site of the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Mellisa Hollingsworth won gold in the women’s skeleton race, while Kaillie Humphries and Emily Baadsvik were first in women’s bobsleigh. Helen Upperton and Shelley-Ann Brown joined forces to win bronze.

“It’s a super emotional day,” said Hollingsworth, who had a disappointing second run in 2010 to fall from second to fifth and out of the medals at the Vancouver Games. “I had to lay this to rest and win this. It’s got to stop haunting me. I think it was one step last year of being on the podium (winning silver) and showing I can be consistent and now it’s showing that this is my home track and I can slide the fastest here. Today was redemption and a sense of relief.”

Hollingsworth finished with a two-run time of one minute 49.79 seconds for her 31st medal of her career.

Australia’s Lucy Chaffer won silver, while Shelley Rudman of Britain took the bronze. Calgary’s Sarah Reid was sixth, while Amy Gough, of Abbotsford,B.C., was seventh.

In bobsleigh, Humphries had a sense of deja vu, after repeating her gold-medal performance of the 2010 Games. The 26-year-old Calgary native teamed up with Baadsvik of St. Stephen, N.B., to clock a time of 1:46.68.

“It definitely feels good to get the gold,” said Humphries, who was third at the 2011 World Cup stop in Whistler. “I made a mistake in corner 7 and 8 last year and in all honesty I was saying ‘just don’t happen again.’ I learned my lesson and it worked out tonight.”

Upperton, a Calgary native, joined with Brown of Pickering, Ont., to win her 19th career World Cup medal and first of the season. Upperton, who has been training at WinSport Canada’s facility at Canada Olympic Park and even doing some driving of public bobsleigh rides, was initially planning to take the year off.

Instead, she’ll take part in two Canadian World Cup stops in preparation for the 2012 world championships in Lake Placid, New York.

“It is bit of a weird start to the season to have my first race in February, but was certainly fun to be back and get on the podium,” said Upperton. “Shelley and I love this place and were really excited to be here racing again.”

The Germany 2 sled of Sandra Kiriasis and Berit Wiacker won the silver.

“Any time you can have two Canadian athletes on the podium it is always great for our program so I’m really happy with how we did here,” said Humphries.”

Montreal’s Marquise Brisebois and Edmonton’s Jenny Ciochetti were 12th.

The men’s two-man bobsleigh and skeleton races are scheduled for Friday, with a four-man bobsleigh race on Saturday. The World Cup circuit heads to Calgary next week at WinSport Canada.

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