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Friday, September 12, 2008

WORLDS IS OVER.... NOW WHAT??

(All photos courtesy of DUANE GALBRAITH of USA. I would like to thank Duane for taking me along with her to Spain. I would not have been able to see and experience World's without her photos! If you would like to see all of her photos CLICK HERE)


World's is over... now what?

For some, they will get on a plane and fly home and rest for a week or two and meander back into the rink sometime in October. Some skaters will take off until late December or early January. And others might not take any time off at all.

While they do need the rest, whatever each skater decides, it will be an individual decision! I know that seems obvious, but what I guess I am trying to say is that there is no "real formula" for how long a skater should take off. There are many, many different ideas as to how much time off is the perfect amount. And that includes both sides of the spectrum, from taking absolutely no time off to the other extreme where an athlete might take a couple of months off to as much as a year off, depending on what their goal is (i.e., Olympics).

When my athletes ask my opinion, I will ask questions before giving an exact time frame. On the other hand, some skaters do not have a choice, (i.e. Duluth, other races or other sports that need to be started), but each skater that is not in that group needs to take a little time off. In my book and from what I have experienced as an athlete, it's not really the physical rest that the body needs (of course they would love to catch up on sleep!!), as much as it is the mental rest that your body needs. To push and train for months and months, giving up on the normal day-to-day activities that most younger athletes have to give up, i.e. birthday parties, dances or even a trip to the beach or a swimming party, we are not Russia or China where you do it for your family or to have a better life. We are in America where the athlete does it for themselves. This is what can make the mental rest so important.

If we are taking about our elite athletes, these skaters (it doesn't matter what country you're from) have trained all season to peak for this race. And it's not just one race, but a series of races that potentially have heats, 1/8ths, 1/4's, semis and finals. And if you are fortunate enough to be good or great in all of the distances, you will skate almost every event over a period of 7 or 8 days. That can be taxing on your body, but not nearly as taxing as on your mind. If you have not had an opportunity to read Joey Mantia's blog (click here), please take a few minutes to do so. Joey tells of how this years competition was so different. He had to skate his races more "mental" because of the flu that attacked the "physical" part of his racing at the beginning of World's. And there are many other things that can play into that mental exhaustion that a skater can feel.

This year I understand that there were some skaters that flew in just for the Road competition from another country. It was a smart move for their country and they were rewarded with the ultimate, a few extra GOLD medals. Of course they already live in Europe so time was not as much a factor for the skater to acclamate to the time difference, the food and the way of life, as it is for us.

These skaters weren't there 7-10 days before the track competition started. They flew in about 1-2 days before road started, while the track competition was already in full swing. Skater A was competing in the 300m, the 10K pts/elim and maybe the 500m and skating all of the qualifications in between on track. It was then that Skater B was loosening up and getting used to the road for the upcoming competition. In all fairness to a country like the US, our flight to Europe is always a killer. Especially from the West Coast. There have been times when we have had to start flying the day before the rest of the team to meet up in New York (JFK) and then spend the night. Why? Because if you fly on the same carrier all the way through, you must have a MINIMUM of 4 hours between your domestic flight and your international flight. We also loose 3 hours going east, so even leaving on the first flight out of San Francisco going to JFK, we would not arrive until 4:00pm, with the International flight leaving between 4:30 and 6:00pm. Then you could look at flights and lay-overs lasting upto 20 hours and that doesn't include those that left from the other side of the US. Then if the skaters do not sleep the first 8 hours of the international flight and stay awake the rest of the flight, they can be in big trouble with their sleep schedule once they arrive in the city that they will be staying in.

World's is over... now what?




Tonight the skaters will get all dressed up and go to the banquet. Most will even stay up all night visiting with their friends from other countries. With their flight leaving Gijon, Spain early tomorrow morning, that means surely the skaters will sleep ALL the way home!

I can feel some of you thinking negative thoughts about the banquet!!! Now.. now. Say what you will about the banquet, but I believe that the athletes have earned the right to attend and enjoy every moment. I absolutely do not agree or condone what some of the skaters have done at these parties (our skaters know what the laws are in the United States and it is their duty to honor those laws no matter where they are), but they do need this time to relax and have fun. They have earned every moment.

Hopefully their parents have given them the morals (and the talk) that is necessary to survive in life and at this party tonight. And if the athlete chooses to make the wrong decision, please do not blame the people they are with or the staff that is just as tired as the skaters. Blame each skater who makes the wrong decision... teach them why it was wrong, have them fullfill their consequences, and make them take responsibility for their own actions. That's how our children learn. Not by a parent blaming the staff or the friends that theywere with. Remember.... the staff didn't raise your children the last 13-20 years..... you did!

Well it looks like I will be attending the Fall - National Team Clinic and the Developmental Clinic in Colorado Springs next month. I originally had some other plans, but they can wait a few more weeks. I hope those of you who plan to attend will bring an "open mind", a "positive attitude" and a willingness to "learn things possibly in a different way" than you have tried in the past. Understand that I CANNOT control MOTHER NATURE... she does that all on her own!! So bring LOTS of warm clothes :)

I do not have all of the details as to the other coaches that are attending... but I know we will have a great time. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at: woodsk8@yahoo.com See ya in a few weeks. Linda Wood

Monday, September 8, 2008

LIVE FEED.... GIVES "CHEEK" 2ND SHOT

(Photo to right - Peter Doucet and Alex from CANADA. Probably during the World Class Mens Relay. Photo courtesy of MundoPatin.com)



What? Well if you were watching the live feed that we were watching today...... you would have been watching the World Class Mens 20K Elimination Race, that would eliminate and eliminate and eliminate and continue to eliminate skaters.

Of course that is the whole point behind the race. But when the live feed shows that about 20 skaters, including our own Michael Cheek, has been eliminated and then two laps later Michael is back out on the track, leading the pack with Joey Mantia right behind him, it leaves you asking, "what the heck is going on?" At first I really thought that Michael, who we hadn't even seen be eliminated, and who was now back on the track.... just came back out there and didn't care that he had been eliminated. Knowing Michael... he would have never done this so there had to be something wrong!!!

My husband gets up from the table, where we are watching the race and runs into the office where he turns on his computer to see the "LIVE RESULTS". Sure enough, Pete yells to me that only 6 skaters remain and Michael has officially been eliminated. I look back down at my screen as Michael and Joey come back around again. They call number 138 from Portugal to be eliminated, and I realize that I remember him getting out a few skaters before Michael.... something weird is going on. Pete tells me they have reported they are down to the last 4 laps....

I quickly close that window and reopen another "LIVE FEED" window to catch the last two laps, with Joey Mantia leading. As they come around with one lap to go, into the first corner I could see that the skaters behind him appeared tired. Not that Joey wasn't tired... but I could tell this one might come down to the line since he had led like the last 3 laps. On the back side I saw two skaters attack... one with much more speed than the other. He was almost side-by-side with Joey when Joey appeared to "pedal" just a little bit faster and regain his lead again. The next shot we see are the skaters coming out of the last turn.... and Joey is still leading..... across the line they come... and my LIVE FEED goes out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! From what I could see it appeared that Joey didn't have to hawk and was standing as he crossed the line... but after watching Michael Cheek skate, leave the track and return to the race again.... maybe this was a finish from last years skating??!!! :) That was the strangest thing that I have ever seen!

Pete yelled to me that it was official that Joey won it and what I had seen was the finish of this race. Congratulations to all of the skaters from all of the countries. A great job today.

Now I have a question... I noticed there were several falls and they appeared to only happen in the last turn (or possibly the same skater falling over and over?). I am wondering... what is causing the falls?? I would love to see someone respond if you could, on one of the boards that happens to be there. Is there a dip, grass, paint or something else that seemed to cause several skaters to go down on the inside line of the last turn, right before the straightaway started???!!! ( This skater above from Colombia, fell coming out of the last turn during her 300-meter run. This photo and the photo above, courtesy of Peter Doucet's site: Speed Skate World http://speedskateworld.com/

I would like to thank all of those people who have allowed me to "borrow" their photos. Some with permission and some without. I give credit to each site or person, however I have only received actual confirmation from one source. Let's face it... pulling up a story and seeing nothing but letters is kind of boring. Without those photos you might not want to read... Oh and if you see my son... let him know that the phone message that he left me tonight, we could only understand the words "I will call you tomorrow".

Finally I would like to send KUDOS out to a young skater who in between competing, eating, resting and the back and forth trek to the track and road, has been writing on his blog. Not every day, but much more than some of the sites that are actually there TO write stories. Keith Carroll from the USA, thank you for keeping us informed and thank you for your insight!!! If you would like to read Keith's articles, click HERE.

And Peter Doucet.... thank you for also updating your site DAILY, the photos and the stories, all while trying to compete in the Men's World Class events. If you would like to visit Peter's site, click HERE.

Saturday, September 6, 2008

TODAY I AM SMILING....



(Notice the skater closest to the white line...somehow he hits the yellow button pylon and is on his way down. I wonder how many others went with him? Many coaches and skaters are talking about the danger if you hit one and the crashes these have caused. I know I wouldn't want to be behind this guy!!-Photo Courtesy of USA Parent DUANE GALBRAITH)

(THIS JUST IN... I just spoke to Josh and we discussed what he felt was the problem with these cones. As I said before, we use these all of the time and I couldn't understand why all of a "sudden" they were a problem. He said that when 60 skaters went by as fast as they were going, it would cause the button pylons to "lift up and hover and then move them out onto the track". Now that made sense. So for all of you out there wondering like me... this makes a lot of sense!)


It seems like a lifetime.... actually it has been for Josh. It took him 14 years of skating speed to earn his first individual World medal. This has been his primary goal for the last three World Championships. He has three other World Medals that he cherishes very much.... they are GOLD, but they are all in relays. He has wanted to prove that he could do it on his own for a very long time. Today he did.

Josh is no different than any other competitior out there. They love to skate. They have a dream. They have given up a lot of traditional things in life to have the opportunity to achieve their dream. And there are no guarantees. More times than not, the athlete will come close, but very few skaters will experience the exhilaration of completing their dream and standing on the podium. That's what makes this so special.

Of course Josh would have loved to have had a GOLD medal today. Who wouldn't? But if the truth be told, he will sleep with his medal very close to him tonight and dream of standing on the podium two-steps higher for one of his races on road. I saw him look over a Cifuentes as he received his jersey during the awards ceremony and while Josh was not smiling, he was not angry. He was an athlete who was observing the highest honor bestowed on a World Champion... the Jersey! This year's Jersey is beautiful and while I haven't had the opportunity to see one up close, they are by far the nicest I have ever seen.

Obviously today I was able to see the live feed. This time I missed the Junior Races. My live feed kicked in as the World Class Ladies took the starting line for the 1000-meter final. To watch Britt jump out front and then look back, that told me that it was Sara's race to win, even before they came out of the first turn. Brittany allows two skaters in front of her and that's where Sara moves up in front of Britt. Through the next turn, Sara allows Brittany to take the 3 spot so that Sara is well protected and in a great draft. Sara will wait for Brittany to step out and Sara will follow. Like a Ballet that has been practiced over and over... with no words spoken, no looks of acknowledgment, Britt steps to the right with Sara in tow. Around the other two skaters they go, stroke for stroke, through turn one Britt is leading out onto the straightaway when she feels comfortable, Britt slightly moves over and in behind Sara like a Mother Hen. The two girls pull away... and away.... as Sara crosses the finish line first, her smile is almost larger than she is. Brittany stops skating well before the line and easily finishes second. What a race!!!!! This will be one for the books. One of those races that coaches use to TEACH skaters how to work together. It was a WOW race, no doubt about it!!!

Congratulations girls and to Erin Jackson-3rd and Mariah Richardson-2nd in the 500-meter. To Keith Carroll... bud we are so proud of you making the final in the 500-meter. I am sorry that you finished 4th and that I didn't get to see you race..... but Keith, there are so many of us pulling for you that I KNOW you will do it!! Hang in there!!!

Tomorrow is a day of rest.... well until it's practice time at the road course. I know Team USA will want to sleep in..... hopefully they will get to!! It will just depend on what time they have USA practicing. Joey and Michael... I hope you guys are feeling better. I am thinking of all of you! Good luck.

Linda Wood

Friday, September 5, 2008

BUMMER DAY FOR ME.....


(Photo courtesy of DUANE GALBRAITH-USA PARENT. During the WC Men's 10K Points/Elim, looks like the skater from Spain, with both arms stretched out, is having a hard time deciding WHICH line to skate in!!)




I set my alarm last night to ensure that I would be up by 6:00am. I wanted to take a shower, feed the animals and get some things done around the house before I would sit down in front of my computer at 8:00am to watch the award ceremonies which were scheduled to start at 5:00pm in Spain (they are 9 hours ahead of us West Coast folks). It's kind of nice to be able to get up, mill around and sit down with a cup of coffee and watch speed skating in the comfort of my own home, oh but what I wouldn't give to be right there in the mix of it all!!

The alarm went off.... and off.... and continued to stop and go for the next hour. My second alarm that I use as a back-up, kicked in about 7:30am and when I realized that it was now my SECOND alarm going off, I knew I had better get up and at least get my shower in before I got involved in watching the finals that were scheduled to last for the next 4 hours plus.

It was just a few minutes before 8:00am when I turned on my computer. I read a little bit of the news on my homepage, especially paying close attention to the hurricanes, as my youngest son is on "stand-by" with the US Coast Guard, before I opened up ROLLER TV VIDEO. I figured by now they would have started the awards. When all of a sudden my heart stopped. This little sign kept popping up telling me that the URL was not valid. Now I know what that means.... it means I can't watch the awards or the events for that matter until the URL is valid.

I closed the window and tried again and again, and again!!! I was really starting to freak out at this point. I missed watching my son's race yesterday, there was no way I would miss his race today. Besides, I wanted to watch all of the events today. For the next TWO-HOURS I would come back to my computer and push the "STREAMING" button on the bottom of the page and patiently wait until it would once again tell me, "ALERT - URL is not valid".

Then I went back over to "GIJON 2008 LIVE" and tried that live feed. Nothing. I became infuriated. I had spent the last two-hours trying to get something to work and I should have just walked away the first time it said it wasn't valid, but I kept thinking "what if this next time it works?". I felt like I was gambling. "I can feel it... this time it will work. I just KNOW I will win the jackpot or that the live feed will come on...... either way I can feel it."

Just at the point when I was about to give up.... it opened up. YES.................................SCORE!! I was going to be able to watch something. Sometimes "something" isn't always "something good".

Here it was, the last 2 laps of the World Class Men's 15K Elimination race and the feed was so sketchy that I could barely tell that they were guys, never mind what uniform and what country they were from. And there was NO sound. I did notice that none were wearing the familiar red, white and blue. I was so bummed..... now I had to scramble to find out who had done what. Did our skaters even make it to the finals? Were there any reports of any more pile ups? There are so many things that go through your mind when you are given a minuscule amount of information, but it's enough to plant that "worry seed" in your mind.

Then it hit me.... as I have 7 different windows opened up, jamming back and forth from one site to the other, I accidentally CLOSE the one that I wanted to open, that there is not one website that I am aware of (and PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I AM WRONG), that has all of these items listed below:

LIVE FEED (available on two sites, can only get one site to work-sometimes)
INSTANT RESULTS (some sites do-they post almost immediately, but not all)
PLAY BACK VIDEO (found this on another site)
STORIES IN LENGTH ( found it on one popular site but not in English. The English is updated next day)
PHOTOS (I love that photo that reels you into the story and then the link that gives you more photos)
FORUM (where people can tell us all about Worlds and only Worlds. I don't want someone who has a grudge against the last poster getting on there and filling the forum with BS and "put-downs". I just want a place to post or that I can read what others are seeing, thinking, feeling and ask questions if I want)

Someone..... find me a website that does those 6 things!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I would actually pay a fee to be guaranteed so many hours of GREAT streaming. Heck, they could have 3 package levels... GOLD, SILVER and BRONZE!! Imagine that. But they can't half way do it... it has to be WORLD CLASS!!! (yes, another pun).

So needless to say, that was all I got to see today was 2 laps. Just 2 laps. Oh I know that there were more races after the 15K Elim, but my computer shut down and when I went to push that STREAMING button again and the "alert-url is not valid" popped up.... I shut my computer down and went about my business doing other things.

My frustration started a little over 12-hours ago and it's not like my life is over, but I was like a little kid anticipating going to DISNEYLAND today and after I was all dressed and ready to go, then I was told I had to stay home and scrub the bathroom till it shinned! I am still bummed.....

By the way, if I could do more than just type on a computer, I would have a World Class site that provided those 6 items above. I know the commitment that it would take and the late hours, and I would have to have help with the photos, the stories, the uploading, the downloading, the taking of video and the editing and publishing...... and of course someone to monitor the forum, but wouldn't that be cool to have all of that under one domain name??!!! Something to think about for 2009...............................

Linda

Thursday, September 4, 2008

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2008 Gijion, SPAIN from CALIFORNIA

I never thought I would be able to write anything about World's this year since I would be staying home in California, USA. But, thanks to many people and the use of 8 web cams, I was able to watch the 300-meter finals. I must admit that it's not the same as sitting in the crowd or being in the Press Area or down with the athletes coaching, but I am so thankful that I can watch at all!!!

(PHOTO ON RIGHT, COURTESY OF PETER DOUCET - CANADA-VISIT HIS SITE BY CLICKING HERE!!!)


Today's 300-meter finals brought some surprises, at least in my eyes. They have been saying the track is so tight all week long. Not just Team USA but anybody who has commented at all has mentioned that fact. I am not sure if some of the mistakes     that I saw were due to the shape of the track (it seems like the straightaways are longer and the corners are sharper than most of the other tracks, which obviously changes the way a skater enters and exits the corners) or if it was nerves or that the skaters had so much speed that they just weren't used to going that fast.

I wish I had some photos to go with my comments.... who knows, maybe someone from Team USA will let me borrow some of theirs!! (hint..hint). The Junior Ladies skated an incredible final event. For the most part, every skater took 1 to 3 tenths of a second off of their original time. With a few placements changing in the mix, Carolina Magana from Colombia moved up from 2nd to take the overall win with a 27.128 over the Korean, whose front foot rolled over the line, which probably started her clock. Of course I am watching this on a small window and the streaming isn't flowing but I thought for sure they would have called her back... but in my OPINION that was the difference between 1st and 2nd was her front foot rolling. Otherwise she skated a great line and posted a 27.15 for 2nd.

Our own Team USA did a great job. New comer Erin Jackson looked nervous as she approached the line, but took a couple of deep breaths and when she got to the "set" position, it was on from there. Erin went into the finals in 11th and bettered her placement by one. She finished 10th with a time of 28.338. I expect we will be seeing so much more from this young lady! Next up was Mariah Richardson who went into the final in 9th place. I believe that this was the very best that I have ever seen Mariah skate. She skated a great line, never stopped stepping and you could see her really trying to turn her feet over and yet use her power on every push. Another thing that was impressive, was her knee bend! WOW.. again another factor that helped Mariah drop 3/10's off of her original time and to move up from 9th to 5th overall!!!! Congratulations ladies!!

Junior Men would prove a little different. Kevin Quandt skated this morning (their time) and finished just out of moving on to the finals. Kevin skated a respectable 13th place with a time of 26.369, with CHILE beating him out for the last spot to the final with a time of 26.360. That is only 9/1000's of a second. Not even a blink of an eye... great job Kevin. Keith Carroll however would slip into the final in a good spot in 8th place. Keith would watch skater after skater make huge mistakes. The skater from Australia had a great line going but coming into turn 2, it looked like he set his left foot down on the boot when they played it back in slow motion. This caused his momentum to obviously slow way down and his upper body wasn't ready for that, which in turn caused his feet to go in many different directions before he hit the ground. It was a pretty good fall... he got up by himself, but rolled to the middle of the track and did not post a time. The BELGIUM skater also had a big mishap in the first turn. It appeared that when he transitioned into the first turn, his upper body did not ease into the transition but that it just flopped forward, putting him on his toes and almost on his NOSE. He saved the fall but his time would drop him to 10th. The Junior Men just appeared to be nervous if you will. Many skaters seem to hawk "backwards". I know your asking how can someone hawk backwards??? Well the Hawk was designed to thrust your front foot forward in a quick, jab-like manner to get your foot across the line before your competitors. In my opinion it should never be used against the clock. You should skate through the line for your best time. But back to the hawk... once the skater decides to use the hawk, the back leg/foot goes back first, with the front foot on it's way to moving out from UNDER the body.... most of the skaters today, just stretched the back foot REALLY far back and did nothing with the front foot. So to me, they hawked "backwards". They never worked at getting the front foot out there..... Then there were a couple of skaters who hawked too early. Once again, you cannot out-run time.... don't hawk. One skater in the World Class Men's division hawked AT LEAST 15 to 20 feet BEFORE the finish line. Why does that matter?? Well obviously once you stop skating to hawk, you are no longer GAINING speed, which is the whole point of Time Trials and on top of not GAINING speed, you have friction going on with the wheels all on the ground and pressure being pushed into the ground, which slows you down even more!!!!!!!! Of course... this is only my opinion!

Back to the Junior guys... Keith finished with a super time of 25.692 for 5th overall. I just had to peek and see where he would have finished in with the World Class Men with that time... he would have finished 18th!! Wow... Keith you are on your way.

Senior Ladies.... WHAT CAN I SAY?????????????????????????????????? USA you ROCK! Sara has been dubbed the "Pocket Rocket" at these World Championships and rightfully so!! Her final was beautiful!! She had some of the best form and tightest track patterns out there and she broke Brittany's World Record (set in the elimination round) and skated a 26.672! But even more fun was to watch her jump into Wouter's arms and get a congratulatory kiss! But the competition wasn't over yet. The Colombian would be up next. In the heat the Jercy Puelo would beat Sara by 4/10's of a second. That's a HUGE amount.... most of the other girls had improved their times and Jercy is not new to this. In fact I was hoping that Britt could hold her off. Jercy came to the line and the camera zoomed in on her face... I could actually see the nerves on her face. While she didn't have any major mistakes, she had one hesitation in the corner and as we know that's all it takes and she crossed the line with a 26.706. Sara was still in first. Brittany came to the line, and she too looked a bit nervous. She took a couple of deep breaths before she stepped to the line. One thing that drives me nuts about Brittany's start is that she is there and gone before you even realize what happened! Today would be no different. The only skater in the Championship 300-meter Finals, Men or Women, to do a side start, Brittany barely came to a stop before she was off and gone. Brittany's strength and power were incredible. But I noticed a change in her technique. I'm not sure if anyone purposely changed it but she has always been shy skating on a right-outside edge and her knee collapses in when she does skate on her right foot, causing her to skate more on a flat instead of an edge. But not this race.... she nailed it. And she did so in ANOTHER World Record time of 26.611. Congratulations goes out to Brittany for breaking the World Record this morning. To Sara for breaking the World Record this evening and for Brittany breaking the World Record one more time for the win. Team USA finished 1st and 2nd in the Women's 300-Meter.

Onto the World Class Men. Team USA's Dane Lewis posted a great time of 25.499 and finished just out of the last qualifying spot for 13th. Argentina beat Dane out with a time of 25.486, which was only 14/100's of a second. Joey would sit in 7th with a time of 25.274. I know people in the US are asking, "What happened to Joey?" Nothing happened. He skated a great time and he is skating against the best in the World!! Korea who was in 1st at this point was only 3/10ths of a second ahead.... think about that for a moment... times up, that's how much of a difference there was..... Anything can happen in the final. And it did!!!

This would be the final event where the skater hawked 15-20 feet before the finish line, where the skaters before and after him coasted in the 3rd turn. I was starting to wonder if there was a problem with the track... but then I thought back to the World Class Women and they hadn't had these problems.... ahhh it must be the testosterone!! LOL They are allowed.. it is the WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS!!! The next skater was on a great run when he went to hawk (I don't understand why!!!!!!!!!) and he hawked backwards for a slower time than he had posted in the heat. Colombia who was in 8th skated next and while he did coast once it was just for a short moment... unfortunately long enough to knock him out of the medals and finish 4th overall. That dreaded 4th place!!! Joey Mantia was up next. Joey came to the line and looked as he always does.... he took his time on his start and he was off. I thought Joey skated one of his best 300-meters ever. He never stopped stepping and every cross in the turn was a powerful cross. Typically he has to coast through the turns or feather his steps in Colorado, but not here. Skating through the line he would post a time of 25.199. I really believe he LOOKED faster than that, but again I was watching through the QuickTime screen. Although better than his heat time of 25.274, he would remain in the 7th spot for his overall finish.

Gregory Duggento went into the finals in the 5th spot. I was surprised as I had been hearing so much on the BONT board about how good he looked, maybe he had had a small mistake, maybe something else had happened, but time would tell. The Italian approached the start line and looked confident as he set up for his start. For me, Duggento could use just a little more flexibility. He is very stiff.... I know he has been the fastest man in the world... but times are changing and if it didn't work this year, and you want a different outcome next year, you must go home and change what you are doing. If you are satisfied with what you have... then there is no need to improve. Don't get me wrong... he is an incredible skater, but he could shave a few hundredths of a second off easily with his start alone. Gregory had two major issues that usually don't affect his performance, but this year it did. He coasted MAJOR TIME through turn 2 and then did it again and even a bit longer (and these are short corners) in turn 3! He really needs to learn to turn... he could avoid having to coast with some simple basics... he finished tied for 8th with the Venezuelan who did a beautiful long hawk. (Please do not think that I am putting anyone down.... I respect every single skater and know most of them, along with their coaches and all of the parents. I know the sacrifice and dedication it takes for a family to get that far!! I am just giving my opinion and that's all it is.)

On to the final four. Kalon Dobbin from New Zealand and Wouter Hebbrecht from Belgium have to be my favorite two guys out there besides Team USA of course. If we can't win, then I am ALWAYS pulling for these two. Kalon would go into the final in the 4 spot, followed by Nicolas Pelloquin from France in 3rd, Wouter in 2nd and a surprise to me, Kyung Tae Kang from Korea holding all of the money. The Koreans have worked long and hard and deserve to be where they are at, but sitting in the top spot??!! Wow this guy must be great and I couldn't wait to see him skate. Only 15/100th's of a second separated the top 4 spots. I can't even fathom that!!!!!!!!!! It could be anyone's game.

Kalon came to the line and almost like Brittany, set up and seemed to "rush-off" the line. But whistles started blowing and Kalon shut down only 2 or 3 steps into the start. The cameras followed Dobbin around the track as he had his head down and coasting and slight pushes all the way around the track. I was surprised that the officials allowed him this courtesy as there had been several other skaters called back and the officials whistled for them to return immediately to the start box. At this point I thought maybe it was a computer error. But as Kalon approached the starting official, the official put his feet on the line to show Kalon what he did wrong. It appeared that the official might have told him that his front foot started ON the line?? I am not sure.... but Kalon looked a little rattled. He took a deep breath and set his feet up. This time looking down before he started. Now I felt he wasn't rushing any more. He EXPLODED off that line like little Ms Pocket Rocket, Sara Sayasane, and never looked back. As he approached the 2nd turn he came in low and stopped skating.... oh no.... he was coasting........ but before I could yell go (from 5000 miles away-lol) he was crossing out of the turn and driving his knees forward into the final turn, turn number 3. Once again he set up his turn so that he came rather low and once again coasted, powering out of the turn and all the way THROUGH the line. There was no hawk... just plain power. My heart sank for him... he had made it through having to start twice and skated great on the straightaways, but those darn corners!! Then the crowd erupted......... the cameras still had not shown his time....... 24.739. He had beaten the Korean's original time from the heat by 2/10ths of a second and had bettered his own time by 3/10ths of a second. He still had 3 very fast men left. He wasn't guaranteed a medal and yet he had just done everything he was supposed to do. Now all Kalon could do was wait!

Next up was the French man, Nicolas Pelloquin. His original time was 25.042. I had heard the French team had really picked up their game and I was looking forward to watching this guy run. Nicolas stepped up to the start and appeared confident. His start seemed to be ok, but he might have broken the beam and he had a stumble in one of the turns. But for me, his final mistake was that long, dreaded, hawk that happens too early that hurt him. Nicolas would fall from the 3 spot into the 11th spot with a time of 25.491. I do not know Nicolas, however he looks young and possibly it was just nerves that got him today. I look forward to watching him skate more this week.

Well now Kalon KNEW no matter what happened he had a bronze medal..... but Kalon doesn't like bronze. He'll TAKE bronze, but he prefers GOLD! Wouter was up next. I could hear Team USA and Sara Sayasane screaming at the top of her lungs all through Wouter's race. It made me smile to know that they support each other so much. They are such a cute couple! Back to Wouter.... Again I don't know if the track conditions changed or if when you hit those speeds the dynamics of how you approach the turns and skate the turns change. I haven't had an opportunity to be there and actually watch in person to form an opinion... but Wouter would fall to that deadly, "power the straightaways" and coast all the way through the turns... or so it felt. In both turn 2 and 3 there were major delays..... and coming to the line, Wouter almost looked confused on what to do. I can't imagine what is going through a skaters mind at this point, should I hawk, should I jab, do I skate???? What do I do??? Wouter appeared to hawk and it appeared to be to soon. I could see his disappointment immediately after he crossed the finish line. Up went his time of 24.960. Absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. He had improved on his original time by almost 5/10ths of a second... they always say you must be on the brink of being out-of-control in order to be the fastest you can!! I think Wouter did that today and that's all you can ask from your athlete! There was one skater left... the Korean.

If their placements in the Junior Ladies 300-meter (2nd and 3rd), the Junior Men 300-meter (2nd) and World Class Ladies (5th) had any indication... this guy was going to medal!!! Kyung Tae Kang stepped to the start line. Shaking each leg out one last time.... he looked down and shook his right foot again. And again. He rolled back from the line. You could see a little panic starting to settle in (no duh). He rolled to the referee and pointed to his skate. Now I could see panic in his eyes. Were they going to let him fix whatever his problem was? It is the skaters responsibility to be prepared. The coach came right over... a moment of speaking, although I wonder if it was the same language... although panic is panic in any language!! The skater yelled to someone in the stands who immediately produced a wheel tool. His frame appeared to have come loose in the back. You could see that there was room to tighten the bolt. With the wheel off he kept hitting the back wheel against the ground trying to make sure it was tight. He put his wheel back in and tightened it down and rolled a moment, still shaking the right foot. A skater can feel when their equipment isn't right. I wondered had he been able to keep his frame in the same spot that he was used to or did it move that fraction of millimeter that could cause the skater discomfort as he skated? Wow.. the referee motioned him to the line. No more time. Kyung Tae stepped up to the line again. Deep breaths.... followed by the "set" position and he was off and gone. I swear I saw him hesitate on his third cross into the corner, but maybe not..... he too had so much speed that he hesitated and coasted in turn three. He raced to the line with everything he had.... would it be enough for the win? NO.... but it would be enough for 2nd place!! After his equipment ordeal, I have to hand it to him, he is a true champion with his 24.934 time. But the win would go to Kalon Dobbin of New Zealand with a time of 24.739.

I have been on my computer for 6 hours. Originally just wanting to watch my own sons race with no luck. For some reason all of the links would not work until the 300-meter races came up. When I finally got results from Josh's race, they only posted the top 5 skaters for the 10K Points/Elimination race. Josh and Michael had not placed top 5. But as usual, I got into the moment when I started watching the 300's and figured why not write about what I was seeing. There are some people who have to work and maybe just one parent will know how their skater did, who couldn't watch.

In the meantime, Josh called.... He told me he was tied for 2nd with 8 points, with the winner of the race who is from France, Yann Guyader. And with 8 laps to go, the Korean skaters hit one of the small cones and fell. Josh made it over the skater, but not over the cone. He fell to the ground. Back up and chasing the pack he was unable to catch them. He kept saying to me, "I felt so good... I really felt good, I KNOW I could have gotten at least a silver."

I have seen so many of our skaters and skaters from other countries, skate so well and something unexpected happens. Something out of their control. It's just the way it is. It hurts and it's even devastating at the time. But we have to pick up our marbles for the day, go home and figure out how we can play the game better tomorrow. I hope that all of the skaters who's dreams did not come true today, go back to their hotel and take a moment to reacess their plan of attack!

KICK A$$ Team USA---- I miss you all! Linda
p.s. I apologize for any misspelled words or names.....