day11 mon22 N o r t h
North Shore
S h o r e
G u i d e
t o
t h e
2 0 1 0
W i n t e r
Groves skates to silver Benjamin Alldritt
balldritt@nsnews.com Kristina Groves became Canada’s first multi-medal winner of the Vancouver Games Sunday when she won silver in ladies’ 1,500metre speed skating. Groves stopped the clock at the Richmond Olympic Oval after one minute and 57.14 seconds, a quarter of a second slower than gold medallist Ireen Wust of the Netherlands. Martina Sablikova of the Czech Republic raced to a bronze medal, also her second medal at the Oval. Groves started briskly, and was ahead of Wust by as much as .61 of a second coming through the 1,100metre split. But even with a noisy crowd willing her to gold, the 33-year-old from Ottawa slowed through the the last lap of the contest. Groves’ podium finish brings Canada’s medal count up to nine, pulling the hosts back into a tie with South Korea for fourth spot in the medal race overall. Ranked fourth in the world, Groves Kristina Groves of Canada crosses in front of Katarzyna Bachledaalready boasts an Olympic Curus of Poland on her way to the silver medal in the women’s bronze medal from the 3,000 1500-metre speed skating event Sunday. metre speedskating on Feb. 14. pairing rival throughout the race. Brittany Strong starts and laboured finishes were Schussler, of Winnipeg, Man., skated alongside the order of the day for the Canadian skaters. the eventual bronze medallist, but was well Christine Nesbitt, who topped the podium in out of the frame in the final lap. Despite being Thursday’s 1,000-metre event, was outpacing ranked fifth in the world, her two minute, Wust through all three splits but dropped 4.17-second time earned her a disappointing nearly 1½ seconds in the final 400 metres and 35th place. placed sixth. Groves, Klassen and Schussler will be back Cindy Klassen, Canada’s most decorated at the oval in Richmond Wednesday for the Olympian, finished in 21st place, trailing her 5,000-metres.
O L YM P I C S
U.S.A. rent Hockey Place Benjamin Alldritt
photo John Mahoney / Canwest News Service
An Experience to Remember.
Y o u r
balldritt@nsnews.com Clearly someone forgot to provide the American men’s hockey team with a copy of the script for the 2010 Olympics, as the boys in red, white and blue humbled their Canadian hosts with a 5-3 win Sunday night. Brian Rafalski beat Martin Brodeur only 41 seconds into the game, stunning the crowd at Canada Hockey Place. Eric Staal would bring the red jerseys even midway through the first, but the home side would not lead at any point during the game. Ryan Miller was sensational in net for the Americans, clearly outplaying his three-time Stanley Cupwinning counterpart. Rafalski also had a great night, bagging the first two goals for the United States. Dany Heatley would tie the game early in the second period, but goals from Chris Drury and Jamie Langenbrunner restored the visitors’ advantage. Sidney Crosby got the Canadians within one with three minutes to play. With Brodeur pulled for an extra attacker, a familiar face — Vancouver Canucks forward Ryan Kesler — found the empty net on a diving hustle play and that wrapped up the night for the
See Canada page 4
medal rankings 1 United States
7
7 10
2 Germany
6
7
5
3 norway
5
3
4
4 Canada
4
4
1
No booze for you For a second night in a row, Vancouver police forced downtown liquor stores to close their doors early at 7 p.m. Sunday night. Spokeswoman Const. Jana McGuinness said that Saturday’s experiment in early closures cleared some of the alcohol from the crowds on Granville Street, and made for an easier night for police. “We saw a marked improvement in the atmosphere of the crowds, with a lot less intoxicated people,” she said. Police say they are reserving the right to ask for early closures in coming days.
Volunteers run valleyFest The courtyard complex next to the Lynn Valley library, recently dubbed Lynn Valley Village, is home to a volunteerled mix of concerts, children’s entertainment and activities, and a giant screen that attracts crowds during big Olympic events like the Canada vs. U.S.A. hockey game. See story page 3
West Vancouver Community Centre
Spirit Square an official 2010 Celebration site Enjoy Live Music & Performance Explore Sport, Space, & Art we s tva n co uve r 2 0 1 0 . c a