Sunday, February 10, 2002
Klassen, Hughes our best bets
By GREG Di CRESCE -- Winnipeg Sun
Speed skaters Cindy Klassen and Clara Hughes will be the first two Winnipeggers to compete for a 2002 Olympic medal today.
Klassen has been battling a cold the past few days but has the best shot of the pair to medal in the 3,000 metre race.
The 22-year-old North Kildonan native holds the Canadian record for the event over 3,000m at 4:02.42. She set that record last year in Salt Lake City.
Hughes' best time over 3,000m is 4:07.31.
The world record time at this distance is held by Germany's Claudia Pechstein at 3:59.26. Pechstein, who set that mark on Calgary's Olympic Oval, has been picked by most pundits to snare silver in Salt Lake City.
Anni Friesinger of Germany is favoured to win gold, while the Netherlands' Gretha Smit has been pegged to grab bronze.
The 3,000m race will be staged between 2 p.m.- 4:30 p.m. today at the Utah Olympic Oval. The CBC will televise the event.
COACHING ASSIGNMENT:
Winnipegger Bill Carey finds himself at his first Olympics as the curling coach for the men's Danish team. A former Canadian champ, Carey said he's looking forward to his team's tilt with Canada on Feb. 18.
"That'll be our last game so I'm hoping it means something then," he said yesterday after testing the ice at The Ice Sheet at Ogden.
Carey's first impression of the ice is that it's pretty straight -- it swings about two to three feet -- and has a draw time of about 23 to 24 seconds.
"I think most of the curlers here would like to see it a little more swingy. It would certainly make for more entertaining games," he said.
"But who knows? As the event goes on the ice could easily change."
While Carey wasn't on the ice, he was enjoying the grandeur of the Games and the free McDonalds food in the athletes village.
"My kids would love it here," he said. "You just walk up and order what you want and when the receipt comes up it's just all zeros."
WHAT PRESSURE?
Susan Auch, who is at her fifth Olympic Games, thrives on pressure.
"I put a lot of pressure on myself, but I enjoyed the pressure media put on me in the past," said Auch, who won silver in the 500m in 1994 and '98.
This year she's an extreme longshot to capture a medal having finished no higher than 11th in the 500m at the World Sprint Championships earlier in the year.
But don't tell Auch she hasn't got a chance.
"If I skate my very best race, I know I can podium and I love the ice here in Utah," she said.
2002 Games Long Track Speed Skating Coverage
