Sport Shorts: Jasey-Jay Anderson Wins Snowboard Bronze
Snowboard Bronze: Three-time Olympian Jasey-Jay Anderson won a bronze medal on Oct. 9 at a World Cup snowboard event. This alpine race was parallel slalom and took place in Landgraaf, Netherlands. Anderson (Mont-Tremblant, Que.) is a veteran and a Canadian legend in snowboard, a two-time world champion in parallel giant slalom (2009 and 2005), a four-time overall World Cup champion. Last year, he finished third overall on the World Cup circuit.
Anderson leads a strong team of Canadian snowboarders who are gearing up for a run at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games at Cypress Mountain. His teammate Michael Lambert (Toronto) finished 12th, eliminated in the second round by Anderson himself. In ladies snowboard, the top finishers were Caroline Calvé (Aylmer, Que.) in 10th, Kimiko Zakreski (Calgary) 11th and Alex Loo (Richmond, B.C.) 14th.
That Amazing Oval: The Richmond Oval, site of Olympic speed skating next February, has been given a major nod in the engineering department. On Friday the Institution of Structural Engineers awarded it the gold medal for sport or leisure structures. The Oval’s most impressive feature is its arched roof of wood salvaged from regional pine beetle infestations. In winning gold, the Oval beat out the much-lauded Bird’s Nest stadium in Beijing from last year’s Olympic Games, as well as Wimbledon’s Centre Court with its new retractable roof.
Field Hockey Action in B.C.: Field hockey is a game historically dominated by several countries, none of them Canada and one of them India. On Sunday, the Canadian national men’s team took on India in a test match at the University of Victoria. A sell-out crowd of 1,500 spectators watched Canada hang tough for a 4-3 loss. India is an eight-time Olympic champion in men’s field hockey. In 2007, an underdog Canadian team won a dramatic gold medal at the Pan American Games, which set them up for the Olympic Games in Beijing. There, the team finished 10th.
Good Start for Tandy: Late last month, 2010 hopeful Megan Tandy won not one but two gold medals at the IBU Summer Biathlon World Championships in Oberhof, Germany. On Sept. 27 the Prince George, B.C. native captured the junior women’s sprint and on Sept. 28 she dominated the pursuit race. Biathletes competed on paved rollerski tracks. With many of the world’s top biathletes there, it was an excellent tune-up to the 2009-10 season.
