From CBCSports…

Olympic silver medallist Marie-Hélène Prémont topped the list of four athletes named Friday to Canada’s mountain biking team for the Beijing Games. Prémont, 30, from Chateau Richer, Que., placed second in the women’s cross country race in Athens in 2004. She finished fourth at last Sunday’s world championships in Italy, and has posted three World Cup top-10 finishes this season.

The other riders named Friday were Catharine Pendrel of Kamloops, B.C., (sixth at this year’s worlds), along with Victoria’s Geoff Kabush (14th) and Seamus McGrath of Carlisle, Ont., (24th).

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The Canadian Press, June 9th 2008

Colin Jenkins is on the Olympic men’s triathlon team because he’s willing to sacrifice his dreams of a medal to get teammate Simon Whitfield on the podium in Beijing.

Whitfield, the Olympic gold medallist in 2000, Edmonton’s Paul Tichelaar and Jenkins, from Hamilton, Ont., were named to the men’s team Monday by Triathlon Canada.

Jenkins was appointed to the team ahead of Victoria’s Brent McMahon, who is ranked higher than Jenkins internationally, because Triathlon Canada says Whitfield’s chances of winning a medal improve with a teammate whose sole purpose is to draft for Whitfield on the 40-kilometre bike leg of the race.

"We’re putting a team together that’s about medal contention and at the end of the day, that pressure falls on me," Whitfield said Monday from Vancouver in a conference call.

"We set this team up and I have to go perform."

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By The Canadian Press

TORONTO - Simon Whitfield of Kingston, Ont., Paul Tichelaar of Edmonton and Colin Jenkins of Hamilton, Ont., have been named to the Canadian men’s triathlon team for the Olympic Games.

Triathlon Canada made the announcement this morning following the 2008 world championship in Vancouver on Sunday.

Whitfield, an Olympic gold medallist in 2000, will compete in his third Olympics, while Tichelaar and Jenkins will make their Games debut in Beijing.

Whitfield, 33, qualified by finishing in the top eight at both a World Cup and a world championship. Tichelaar and Jenkins were nominated to the team by Triathlon Canada’s high performance committee.

The women’s triathlon team will be named within the next two weeks.

The Olympic triathlons will be held Aug. 18 and 19.

CBC News

The first Canadian man and woman to surge across the finish line of the Ottawa marathon this past weekend won’t be going to the Olympics in Beijing in August even though they both met international Olympic standards.

Gitah Macharia came 14th overall at the ING Ottawa marathon Sunday with a time of 2:16:55 and Tara Quinn-Smith came fourth in her category with a time of 2:33:58.

Quinn-Smith beat the women’s international A standard of 2:37:00 by more than three minutes and the B standard of 2:42 by more than eight during her first-ever marathon race.

However, she did not meet Athletics Canada’s tougher A and B women’s standards of 2:29:08 and 2:31:00 respectively.

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An article by Chris Kelsall and posted on Flotrack …

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Anticipation is mounting leading up to the ING Ottawa Marathon as it looms large on the calendar of any Canadian marathon runner hoping to qualify for the Beijing Olympics.

Athletics Canada (AC) and the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) set the precarious date of Sunday, May 25th 2008 for Canadian men and women to achieve the necessary marathon Olympic qualification standards. ING Ottawa Marathon happens to take place on this drop dead date.

Therefore Ottawa becomes the de facto, Canadian Olympic, Marathon Trials.

Continue reading on Flotrack…

Globeandmail.com introduces Olympic triathlon champion Simon Whitfield as a regular Right to Play blogger leading up to the Olympic Games in Beijing this summer. In addition to being one of the top triathletes in the world, the Victoria native is also an Athlete Ambassador for the international humanitarian organization Right To Play. Headquartered in Toronto, Right To Play uses sport and play programs to improve health, build life skills and foster peace for children and communities in the most disadvantaged areas of the world. In their roles as Right To Play Athlete Ambassadors, Simon and dozens of other top Canadian athletes inspire children, are role models for healthy lifestyle choices and help raise awareness and funding for Right To Play projects

Here’s his first entry:

A blog for globeandmail.com by a guy who runs around in his swimsuit for a living . . .

An article on AskMen.com, included in the list are BC athletes Jon Brown of Victoria (marathon), Tyler Christopher of Chilliwack (400m sprint) and Brent Hayden of Maple Ridge (swimming).

You can read the full article here.

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Written by Damian Inwood and published in The Province on Monday, February 11, 2008

Anyone who has always wanted a job as an “Olympic flamewatcher,” will get their chance tomorrow. That’s when the 2010 volunteer program kicks off and 25,000 jobs are up for grabs — from parking cars to greeting heads of state.

One of the more unusual jobs is making sure that the Olympic cauldron at B.C. Place Stadium keeps burning throughout the 17 days of the Winter Games.

“We have a shift of people making sure that the flame doesn’t go out,” said Donna Wilson, 2010’s boss of human resources. “We fondly know of them as ‘flamewatchers.’ ”

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Published Wednesday 9 January 2008 by IAAF Athletics

Encouraged by his silver medal winning performance in Osaka last summer Canada’s Gary Reed has begun his preparations for the Beijing Olympics where he has high expectations in the 800m.

“My goal is to win it,” he reveals, “I go into every race intending to win.” If that sounds a wee bit arrogant then you don’t know Gary Reed. Quietly confident, yes, but there is nothing remotely close to brashness in the 26-year-old Canadian’s makeup.

When he crossed the finish line one one-hundredth of a second behind Kenya’s Alfred Yego in Osaka most observers felt disappointment for him because he had led the entire race. But Reed was just as excited as if he had won the gold medal.

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By Chris Bush - Nanaimo News Bulletin - December 27, 2007

Nanaimo’s Steve Osaduik is Canada’s second-fastest marathoner, but he may not get to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

To get there he needs to shave minutes off his time and get funding from Sport Canada.

For funding from Sport Canada, the organization that sponsors Canada’s national athletes, he has to beat a time of two hours, 12 minutes, 38 seconds – nearly four minutes faster than his current best time – at a January marathon in Houston, Texas.

Setting such high standards is Sport Canada’s and the Canadian Olympic Committee’s way of ensuring they concentrate dollars on athletes with the best chances of winning medals.

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The Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee for the 2010 Games is looking for 25,000 volunteers to put out the welcome mat for the world. Spokeswoman Donna Wilson said Wednesday that Canadians across the country have shown an interest in volunteering at the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Vancouver and Whistler.

“Every one of our provinces have indicated that they want to bring volunteers here,” said Wilson, adding that more than 10 per cent of the volunteers will come from outside British Columbia, along with about one per cent from other countries.

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Gary Reed, Victoria, BC - Single Outstanding Performance of the Year - Cal D. Bricker Memorial TrophyGary Reed is the recipient of the Cal D. Bricker Memorial Trophy for his outstanding performance at the World Championships. As a relative unknown on the international stage, he burst on the scene winning his heat, and semi-final to qualify for the final. Reed was at it again leading from the start in the final coming down to a photo finish earning his first World Championships medal just off the gold by one-hundredth of a second.

Dylan Armstrong, Kamloops, BC - Top Athlete in Field Events - F.N.A. Rowell Trophy
Dylan Armstrong set a new personal best in the shot put early in the season setting the stage for a career year. Dylan won the Canadian shot put title at the National Championships and captured gold at the Pan American Games. Competing in his first World Championship, he qualified for the final finishing 9th overall.

Wynn Gmitroski, Victoria, BC -Outstanding Coach of the Year
This 2007 Outstanding Coach of the Year is Wynn Gmitroski, coach of 2007 World Championships silver medalist Gary Reed. Wynn has been coaching for 28 years which has seen him involved in four Olympic Games, twelve World Championships, and five Commonwealth Games.