By Braedon Clark
Marie-Eve Chainey’s kidneys may have failed her, but that hasn’t slowed her down. Chainey was just 18 when, during a trip to Spain 11 years ago, her kidneys simply stopped working. Her blood pressure skyrocketed to 220/147 and her body bloated with close to 50 pounds of water.
She still doesn’t know exactly what caused the problem, but it seemed as though her promising career as an elite high-jumper was all but over. Instead of giving up, Chainey has spent the last decade defying the odds. She even competed in the Canadian track-and-field championships in July 2010, a far cry from when she was wheelchair-bound and couldn’t even wash her own hair.
“Well, my parents would say I’m just too stubborn to stop,” Chainey says with a laugh. “My goal was always just to be back in the gym. That’s just where I feel comfortable and where I belong.”
The amiable 29-year-old is now passing on her drive and determination to others through the Alive to Strive Kidney Fitness Project, a non-profit organization she co-founded with triathlete and friend Nicholas Newell.
The Project’s flagship event is the Alive to Strive race, which will be run from Terry Fox Athletic Facility on April 29 – a change from last year’s August date to avoid scorching temperatures, and to provide a possible tune-up run just before Ottawa Race Weekend.
Participants compete in 1, 5, or 10 kilometre races and funds raised are used to support various charities and to supply weight loss and fitness grants to local dialysis patients. Chainey expects up to 500 competitors this year, including groups from schools, sports teams and businesses. The goal is to raise awareness of kidney disease and to promote an active, healthy lifestyle as a means of prevention.
“What we’re doing is we have a health check booth at the event. We will have the nursing unit out taking blood pressure, blood sugar, weight, things like that to see what your risks are,” Chainey highlights. “It’s a very silent disease. It’s the silent killer. That’s why it’s very important to keep track of your health.”
Nocturnal dialysis key for high jumper
For those who already have kidney disease, treatment has historically meant endless trips to hospitals where they are hooked up to dialysis machines for three or four hours at a time. Chainey started her treatment this way, but when she couldn’t even make it up the stairs after getting home from the hospital, she knew something had to change.
Deborah Zimmerman, Chainey’s doctor and a member of the Alive to Strive board of directors, suggested that she try nocturnal hemodialysis through the Ottawa Hospital, where Zimmerman has worked since 1999.
Under the nocturnal method, patients have a dialysis machine at home and use it overnight, usually six days a week.
“The long frequent treatments allow for more fluid and toxin removal so that people with kidney failure are able to eat a more liberal diet,” Zimmerman explains. “Doing the dialysis when you sleep means the daytime is free to pursue your dreams.”
ENERGY LIFT FOR U OF O NURSING STUDENT
When Chainey tells other dialysis patients about her unique treatments, she doesn’t always get the most enthusiastic response.
“Well if you talk to dialysis patients in general and I say I do it six days a week, they’ll say I’m crazy because people don’t want to do dialysis,” Chainey says. “So why would you want to do it six days a week? But for me I just found such a big difference in energy that the day off that I have a week, I hate it.”
Even accounting for such resistance, Zimmerman says nocturnal hemodialysis is slowly becoming more popular. Chainey says her success with the treatment was part of the inspiration for her trip to the national high-jump championships.
“That’s the main reason why I wanted to go to nationals for high jump, to prove that this treatment works and it’s much better and that three times a week I was in a wheelchair and with nocturnal I’m competing nationally.”
Chainey, now a nursing student at the University of Ottawa and a high jumper for the Gee-Gees, has come a long way from that hospital bed in Spain. Now she wants to make sure, through the Alive to Strive race and organization, that fewer people have to face the harrowing journey she has.
“We want to prevent kidney disease,” she notes. “That’s why we call it a run for kidney health, not a run for kidney disease.”
Visit alivetostrive.ca for more information.
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Canada vs USA women’s hockey exhibition
One year before Ottawa hosts the world championships itself, Canada will face USA in a women’s hockey exhibition on March 31 in the lead-up to the 2012 worlds in Burlington, VT.
Despite setting what was at the time a new women’s hockey attendance record during a 2010 exhibition match at Scotiabank Place, the contest will take place at the smaller J. Benson Cartage Centre at Lansdowne Park.
Ottawa native Stefanie McKeough, recently chosen as conference defensive player of the year for her NCAA Wisconsin Badgers, was named to Canada’s selection camp roster. The 21-year-old defender dressed for Team Canada at November’s Four Nations Cup.
Ottawa’s Erica Howe, a Clarkson Golden Knight, was also honoured as her NCAA conference’s goalie of the year recently, while teammate Jamie Lee Rattray is a finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award as college hockey’s top player.
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BMO Kicks off Second Year of BMO Team of the Week Youth Soccer Program
–Submitted by BMO
BMO Financial Group earlier this month launched the second season of its nationwide youth soccer program, BMO Team of the Week. The contest, open to youth soccer players ages 7-12, recognizes 15 weekly winners who demonstrate team pride, spirit, community commitment, and passion for the game.
The 2012 Champion will be crowned this summer when Canadians cast their vote to select their favourite team from the 15 weekly winners. The winning team will receive: $125,000 towards a field refurbishment; a trip to see a Toronto FC, Vancouver Whitecaps FC, Montreal Impact or Canadian National Team home match; and a $5,000 donation to the team’s charity of choice.
“The response we had last year to the BMO Team of the Week program was truly amazing, as 300,000 Canadians from communities across Canada – from Whitehorse, Yukon to Gabriola Island, B.C. to Hunter River, P.E.I. and everywhere in between – voted for their favourite teams,” said Sandy Bourne, Vice-President, Corporate Advertising & Sponsorships, BMO Financial Group. “We’ve heard from people across the country who have told us that the program has done an excellent job in promoting the value of participating in sport, along with the importance of being involved in the community. Our hope is that the achievements of last year’s winners will encourage other youth soccer teams across Canada to rise to the challenge and participate.”
For the next 15 weeks, Canadian soccer coaches, parents and community members can nominate their favourite youth soccer team aged 7-12 at BMOsoccer.com. BMO Team of the Week winners will be announced weekly starting on April 18th, and will receive $500, Team of the Week tracksuits, and a donation to a local charity. Each of the winning teams will become finalists for the grand prize and Canadians can vote for the winner starting on August 13th at BMOsoccer.com.
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Trio of Ottawa swimmers shoot for 1st Olympics
By Dan Plouffe
Matt Hawes headlines the Ottawa contingent of swimmers heading to the Canadian Olympic team trials March 27-April 1 in Montreal, but two local teenagers also have legitimate shots at earning trips to the London 2012 Games.
When Karyn Jewell is on the pool deck at her Gatineau Phénix club, she doesn’t stick out.
“Being like a normal kid, I want to go talk to my friends, but I’m not really supposed to talk to anyone before practice,” explains Jewell, whose training regimen varies from teammates’. “I have some really close friends on my team and it’s hard seeing them socialize, and I want to do that, but I also want to do really well this month.”
Jewell is certainly no ordinary kid on the water. The 18-year-old St. Peter Catholic High School student has already achieved the Olympic ‘B’ standard in her signature 400-metre individual medley race with a personal-best time of 4:45.64 and is one of two strong bets to win the trials race.
“I definitely have a shot. I know I do,” smiles Jewell, who’s been receiving e-mails from the Canadian Olympic Committee after making the long list of London hopefuls. “I get those sneak-peaks that nobody else gets, and it’s kind of scary because I’ve never pictured myself going to the Olympics so young.”
Coming off a bronze medal in the 200 IM at last summer’s world junior championships, Erika Seltenreich-Hodgson also has a shot in Montreal.
“I’m actually just really excited,” says the 16-year-old John McCrae Secondary School student. “I try to keep really positive and I’m hoping and praying that it’ll turn out good.”
Seltenreich-Hodgson upset Canadian record holder Erica Morningstar at last month’s Eastern Canadian Championships in Gatineau and also won the 100 m breaststroke, which helped make her believe an Olympic berth is within reach.
“I think it’s possible, but it’s going to be very difficult,” adds the Nepean-Kanata Barracudas athlete. “But that’s my goal, to be honest. I really want to make the Olympics, but five years from now is Rio, so if I don’t make it this time, that’s what I’ll aim for.”
At age 26, Hawes has the best shot at claiming an Olympic berth of the trio. Hawes has been training with some of the world’s fastest swimmers at the University of Sydney in Australia since last summer’s world championships, where he placed 19th overall in the 200 m breaststroke.
Visit SportsOttawa.com for up-to-date coverage from Montreal.
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Major Bantam Wild win OEMHL, advance to All-Ontarios
–Submitted by Eastern Ontario Wild ‘AAA’
The Eastern Ontario Wild Major Bantam AAA Team’s storybook season continues after posting a 3-1 win over the Ottawa Senators in Playoff Final action on Tuesday, March 13 at Casselman Arena.
They were crowned the OEMHL-AAA Major Bantam League Champions and the esteemed ODHA/ODMHA representative to advance to the All-Ontario Provincial Championships. The Wild took the seven-point series by a count of 7-3 over the Sens, who finished second to the Wild during the regular season.
The Finals lived up to everyone’s expectations as both teams thrilled the crowds with highly skilled and fast-paced action. Spectators had to continually remind themselves that they were watching 14-15-year-old players compete.
Three of the games ended up in draws, with game #4 tied by the Wild with 30 seconds remaining in the game. The Wild’s head coach, Steve Malette, stated: “Good teams find a way to win and we have learned that you must play hard between the whistles and continue to play until the final buzzer sounds.”
The success of this team over the past two seasons continues to astonish the local hockey community. With an unprecedented roster of the same 17 players as last season, something typically unheard of at any competitive hockey level, this team pursued the team motto that “Success is a Choice!” by working to achieve the Team’s ultimate goal of making it to the Provincials. This would not have occurred without their continual hard work and commitment as a team.
The Wild finished the 2011/12 season in first place with 47 points after posting an amazing win-loss-tie record of 23-4-1. This was 2 points better than the Team’s 45-point total last season (20-3-5), which also placed this Wild team at the top of the regular season standings in the Minor Bantam Division.
The Team’s following accomplishments over the past two seasons have vaulted them to the all-time most successful Wild team of record; and, possibly even within the OEMHL-AAA league:
2011/12 – Major Bantam AAA
- Champions – 2011/12 OEMHL-AAA Playoffs
- Champions – 2011/12 OEML-AAA Regular Season (1st team since the inception of AAA hockey in the National Capital area (2007) to be crowned regular season champion for two consecutive seasons at the OEMHL-AAA Bantam level)
- Champions – 2011 Woodchuck Classic AAA Tournament
- Champions – 2011 Bantam Icefest AAA Tournament
- Semi-Finalist: Frank Selke Conference – 2011 Toronto Marlies AAA Holiday Classic Tournament
2010/11 – Minor Bantam AAA
- Finalists – 2010/11 OEMHL AAA Playoffs
- Champions – 2010/11 OEMHL-AAA Regular Season
- Champions – 2010 Markham Majors AAA Tournament
- Champions – 2010 Bantam Icefest AAA Tournament
- Finalists – 2010 Ottawa Senators AAA Shootout
- Semi-Finalists – 2010 Kitchener Blueline AAA Tournament
- Semi-Finalists – 2011 Oshawa Spirit AAA Tournament
The Team’s first game at the Provincials is set for Monday, March 26, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. when they will face off against the representative of the Northern Ontario Hockey Association (NOHA). We wish the team the best of luck at the Provincials and we can rest assured that the OEMHL/ODMHA/ODHA will be well represented by this Wild Team!
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London next in Conway’s travel plans
By Emily Panetta
“Train, eat, sleep and study. That’s basically it,” John Conway says, describing his life these days.
The 20-year-old Ottawa native is part of the Canadian men’s water polo team, currently preparing for their last-chance Olympic qualifier, set for the beginning of April in Edmonton.
“We go pretty much every day except for Sunday,” explains Conway, outlining a training regimen consisting of an hour or two in the gym in the morning, followed by two to three hours of practice. “And then at night, another two-hour practice.”
Conway recently returned from eastern Europe, where the national squad was training with a Croatian professional team in preparation for the big tournament. Croatia is just the beginning of Conway’s extensive travels. Water polo has taken him all over the world to more countries than he can readily remember.
“I’ve been to China, Australia, Italy, Montenegro, France, Spain, Hungary, Serbia,” Conway lists.
But don’t ask him for travel tips. Conway says these trips are almost exclusively for training purposes and he hasn’t soaked in anything but pool water.
“People say, ‘You must get to see all these great sights,’” he recounts. “But the only sights I get to see are the airport and the pool.”
Conway isn’t complaining. The University of Calgary business student is thrilled to be competing at the highest possible level, and preparing for a shot at the Olympics.
“This has been a childhood dream for me,” the former Ottawa Titans star highlights. “It would just be a huge honor and an amazing experience.”
While Canada is known for cultivating athletic talent on the ice and on snow, you don’t often hear of young children taking up water polo. But for Conway, it was in the family, with his mother introducing him to the sport at age seven.
“I just grew to love it,” recalls the Ashbury College grad who was involved in soccer, cross-country running, cross-country skiing and triathlons before turning his primary focus to water polo when he was 15. “That’s when I started to travel in the summers, and play some international games, so that’s when it got really serious for me.”
A member of numerous youth and junior national teams, Conway was a part of the first-ever Canadian gold medal-winning team at the Junior Pan American Championships in 2010 and transitioned rapidly into a starting role on the senior squad after moving to their full-time training centre in Calgary.
Now he hopes to conquer an even greater mountain – the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London, England.
“We’ve already had a couple chances (to qualify) that we’ve missed out on,” notes Conway, whose team fell to the U.S. 7-3 in the Pan Am Games gold medal final this past fall. “So this is our last chance.”
Canada will face each of their pool opponents – Venezuela, Turkey, Spain, Brazil and Argentina – on consecutive days as they vie for all-important seeding for the quarter-final round against the other group of Montenegro, Germany, Greece, FYR of Macedonia, Romania and Netherlands.
With four spots available, the semi-finalists will advance to the Olympics. Securing a 2012 Olympic Games berth at a home event would not only be a triumph for Conway and his teammates, it would also be a victory for the water polo community in Canada.
“Water polo is becoming more popular, partly due to the fact that we’re advancing and we’re growing and we’re becoming a force to be reckoned with,” Conway adds. “I think that if we were to medal (at the Olympics), that would be huge for our sport.”
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GG Desforges is Crashed Ice champ
By uOttawa Gee-Gees Sports Information
The Gee-Gees women’s hockey team has a world champion in their midst after Fannie Desforges skated her way to victory at the Red Bull Crashed Ice World Championship in Quebec City this past weekend.
Wearing her garnet hockey socks and with a Gee-Gee logo emblazoned on her helmet, Desforges posted the fastest time in Friday’s preliminary runs. True to the Gee-Gee namesake she burst out of the gate to begin Saturday’s final race, giving herself the all-important lead position, and skated to victory almost untouched on Saturday night in front of over 100,000 spectators.
“Coming down the last jump, I thought she was right behind me,” said the high-energy Desforges, describing her thoughts as she crossed the finish line. “I didn’t know I was that far ahead. I was just focused on staying on my feet.”
Desforges was at the event last year and finished fifth overall. She says that experience was crucial to topping the podium this time around, especially since mild weather caused some practice sessions to be canceled.
“Last year I noticed that I needed to skate more, that you actually have to push and not just cruise down the track. And then the course this year was quicker, there was less technique and you needed more speed.”
The Fournier, Ontario native has earned the nickname Fearless Fannie, but she admits she was “a little nervous,” going into the final race, knowing who she was stacking up against. She beat out last year’s winner, Kyhala Salla of Finland, and fellow Canuck and experienced racer Marquise Brisebois.
Now Desforges is the one to beat, and she plans to continue to race. Currently, the Quebec City event is the only event on the four-city schedule which has a women’s competition. If that were to change, Desforges is eager to compete at the international events as well.
uOttawa’s Dominique Lefebvre also qualified for the championship races, finishing with a 1:09.44 best time on Friday, placing her in fourteenth position. Lefebvre fell in her quarterfinal heat and did not move on.
“I am very happy for Fannie, she put on quite a show,” said Gee-Gees women’s hockey head coach Yanick Evola, who is very supportive of his athletes participating in the extreme sport. “Fannie is an outstanding athlete and she has shown that she is very fast and above all very focused. She has made us all proud, it’s not every day you can brag about being world champion…. But Fannie can now do that and savor her victory.”
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Ravens claim record-tying 8th W.P. McGee Trophy
By Canadian Interuniversity Sport
HALIFAX (CIS) – The top-seeded Carleton University Ravens claimed a record-tying eighth W.P. McGee Trophy with a dominating 86-67 win over the No. 2 Alberta Golden Bears in the gold medal final of the 50th CIS men’s basketball championship, presented by Subway, on Sunday, March 11 at the Metro Centre.
It was the second straight national title for the Ravens, who have captured their eight banners in a span of only 10 years. The powerhouse from Ottawa has now won each of the last seven CIS tournaments contested in Halifax since 2003 and is riding a 23-game winning streak at the Metro Centre dating back to a 78-77 quarter-final loss to McMaster in 2001.
Carleton is now tied with the Victoria Vikes, who won a record seven consecutive titles from 1980 to 1986 and triumphed again in 1997.
The OUA champion Ravens, who beat No. 8 Acadia 82-68 in Friday’s opening round and defeated No. 5 Fraser Valley 83-65 in Saturday’s semifinals, conclude the season with an unblemished 34-0 overall record against CIS competition.
The Golden Bears were playing in the national final for the first time since 2002, when they edged Western 76-71 to claim their third McGee Trophy. The Canada West champions dominated No. 7 Ryerson 81-52 on Friday, before beating No. 6 StFX 91-83 in the semis.
Carleton led the 50th CIS gold medal game from start to finish and was up 31-17 after one quarter, 52-32 at halftime and 76-50 after 30 minutes.
The Ravens finished with a significant advantage in every statistical category. They out-rebounded their rivals 38-29, dominated 44-20 in points in the paint, shot 57.4 per cent from the field, compared to 34.4 for Alberta, and scored on 40.9 per cent of their three-point attempts, compared to 25.0 for the Bears.
“It was definitely our best all-around effort of the weekend,” said Carleton head coach Dave Smart, who was named CIS coach of the year for a record fifth time before the tournament. “We defended really well early on and it set the tone.”
Phil Scrubb, who was announced as the CIS player of the year on Thursday, completed a dream week when he received the Jack Donohue Trophy as the tournament MVP. The sophomore guard from Richmond, B.C., led the Ravens in scoring for the third straight day with a 26-point output in the title match. He had netted 25 in the first round and 18 in the semis.
“It feels great. This was our goal since the start of the season,” said Scrubb, who finished third in tournament scoring with 23.0 points per game. “All the guys made big plays today. It was a complete team effort. Tyson was awesome.”
Tyson Hinz earned game-MVP honours for the winners thanks to his 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field. The third-year forward from Ottawa, last year’s CIS most outstanding player, also had four rebounds, one assist and one steal.
“We came out aggressive and we kept the pressure on. We had a great game plan and I guess it worked pretty well,” said Hinz, who accompanied Scrubb on the championship all-star team. “I have two years left, and I want two more.”
Willy Manigat also scored in double figures for the champs, with 14 points. The guard from Ottawa was one of three fifth-year seniors on the team along with Cole Hobin of Ashton, Ont., and Elliot Thompson of Fredericton.
In his final university outing, Daniel Ferguson paced Alberta with 25 points to finish as the tourney’s top scorer with an average of 26.3 per contest. He was named the Bears’ game MVP and a championship all-star.
The impressive point total doesn’t tell the whole story however. The fifth-year guard from Malton, Ont., was bothered all day by Carleton’s relentless defence and made only six of 22 field goals, including 3-of-12 shooting from beyond the arc. He scored 10 of his points on 11 free throw attempts.
Edmonton natives Shar Saffa and Jordan Baker both scored 12 points in the loss. Saffa was selected to the all-tourney team.
“It’s a different thing scouting them on tape than playing them,” said Alberta head coach Greg Francis. “Dave (Smart) has set the gold standard for CIS men’s basketball programs. It’s a great thing to chase after.”
The Bears took their only lead of the final two minutes and 42 seconds in when a Matthew Cardoza three-pointer made it 11-8 Alberta.
Carleton responded with a 23-6 run to close out the opening quarter and from there, the outcome of the championship match was never in doubt.
Manigat ended the first half with back-to-back treys, the second one with three seconds remaining, to send his team to the locker room with an insurmountable 20-point advantage.
Hobin made it a 25-point affair, at 61-36, with a three-point shot of his own midway through the third, and a bucket by Kevin Churchill with 35 seconds left in the frame opened a game-high 30-point gap (75-45).
The Final 8 tournament goes back to Scotiabank Place in Ottawa for the next two years.
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GGs capture bronze at CIS women’s basketball nationals
By uOttawa Sports Information, geegees.ca
The University of Ottawa Gee-Gees women’s basketball team captured the bronze medal at the CIS Final Eight, earning the school’s best ever finish at the national tournament. They led throughout the match but had to finish strong in order to overcome the confident and pesky hosts from Calgary by a final score of 79-73.
Ottawa’s front court trio of Jenna Gilbert, Hannah Sunley-Paisley and Bess Lennox had an excellent game with all three scoring in double digits in a physical defensive contest. Ottawa’s bench also chipped in with 22 points.
Ottawa led by as many as thirteen early in the fourth but Calgary kept coming, executing on their final few possessions to keep the pressure on the Gees. Clutch free throw shooting by Jenna Gilbert sealed the win, as she stepped to the line with 26 seconds remaining and sank her two opportunities, extending the Ottawa lead to 77-71.
Ottawa started the game in control, executing well on their offensive sets. Teddi Firmi hit a pair of mid-range shots, and Lennox and Gilbert were rolling into scoring position under the hoop. Calgary countered with outside shooting from senior guard Jenna Kaye. Both teams were shooting at an impressive clip in the early going with Ottawa sitting at 53 per cent accuracy, just above Calgary’s even 50 per cent.
Ottawa opened up a ten-point lead in the second quarter thanks to the three-point shooting of Tatiana Hanlan and Jenna Gilbert, as well as strong offensive rebounding by the team. Calgary remained within striking distance by fighting their way to the free throw line and converting six of eight second-quarter attempts.
Leading 43-38 after halftime, Ottawa went on a 7-0 run to open the third quarter but Calgary responded once again as Jenna Kaye seemed to will her Dinos to answer each time the Ottawa lead reached double digits. Sarah Nolette checked into the game and immediately sank a three-pointer to extend the lead back to 9.
Ottawa opened the fourth with quick scores by Ring and Sunley-Paisley to take a 12-point lead, their largest lead since the second quarter. With four minutes remaining, Lennox spotted up in the corner and hit a key shot as Calgary was pressing, making the score 66-56. Calgary’s Tamara Jarrett made a tough basket while taking a hard foul and the Dinos were chipping away, finding her inside once again to make it 67-62.
Kellie Ring showed her poise and skill at the point throughout the game, controlling the tempo and dribbling out of trouble. She totalled thirteen assists on the day – a tournament high.
A pair of layups by Ring and a transition Sunley-Paisley conversion were the final field goals scored by Ottawa before the free throws which sealed the win.
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OGC gymnasts shine at St. Catharines qualifier
The Ottawa Gymnastics Centre continued to add to its collection of champions March 9-11 at a women’s artistic gymnastics provincial championships qualifier in St. Catharines.
Six OGC athletes topped the all-around standings in their divisions at the event – Grace Boxer (Level 6, Age 10), Rebecca Richardson (Level 6, Age 14+), Sarah Hu (Level 7, Age 10), Adrianka Forrest (Level 7, Age 11), Meaghan Smith (Level 8, Age 12-13) and Bella St George (Level 9, Age 14+).
Also winning medals at the competition were Suzanna Diacomescu, Abby Johnston, Amanda Henderson, Maddison Kelleher-Radey, Mackenzie Connelly, Emma Christie, Bradey Rosettani, Nathalie Joanette, Samantha Prosper, Sofia Baggio, Kelsey Won, Lindsay Hemstock, Kati Dobrei, Mary Villemaire, Brielle Johnston, Lubina Nayak and Holly Nevison, while all other OGC athletes also recorded top-10 results.
The provincial championships will be hosted by the Nepean-Corona club April 19-22 in Ottawa.
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Last gate error costs Cutts brothers Olympic quota position
By Canoe-Kayak Canada
Foz do Iguacu, Brazil – David Ford of Edmonton, Alberta pulled through in dramatic fashion on the March 10-11 weekend, winning the whitewater canoe-kayak Pan-American Championships and securing an Olympic quota in the men’s K1 event in London.
Racing was very tight and the Brazilian competitors took full benefit of home course advantage. David Ford placed 1st just 0.13 seconds ahead of Pedro Da Silva of Brazil. Ricardo Martins Taques also of Brazil placed third. Paul Manning-Hunter of Edmonton finished 4th while John Hastings of Aurora, Ontario finished 5th.
In the women’s K1 event Ana Satila of Brazil claimed the women’s Olympic quota with the win, Jess Groeneveld of Innisfail, Alberta placed 2nd while Thea Froehlich of Ottawa, Ontario finished in third position. Sarah Boudens of Round Lake, Ontario raced hard and paddled extremely tight lines right to the bottom of the course however unfortunately incurred a 50-second penalty on the second last gate finishing in 8th position.
The Canadian competitors in the C1 and C2 events were up against a strong American team who persevered throughout the competition and claimed the C2 and C1 Olympic quota. Tom and Dan Purcell of Innisfail, Alberta placed third behind two American crews. Jamie and Adam Cutts of Ottawa, Ontario laid down a blistering fast run right up until the bottom section of the course last gate but took too aggressive of a line towards the finish which resulted in a major time loss. Without this mistake the Cutts were on pace to win the race and claim the Olympic C2 quota for Canada.
Fellow Ottawa River Runner Cameron Smedley of Ottawa, Ontario raced hard and fast in C1 but placed third also behind two American competitors. Julian Potvin-Bernal also placed 5th in the C1 event.
Ana Satila of Brazil finished 1st in the women’s C1 event while Haley Daniels of Calgary placed 2nd and Maria Sol Cassini of Argentina placed 3rd in the non-Olympic women’s C1 event.
At the end of the competition, Canada was named the winner of the overall Nation’s Cup for the Pan Am Championships.
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2 podiums for Ottawa swimmers at Olympic team trials
By Dan Plouffe
Two Ottawa teenagers went toe-to-toe for a place on the podium at the Canadian Olympic swim trials on March 28 at Olympic Stadium in Montreal.
The slightly older athlete, 18-year-old Karyn Jewell of the Gatineau Phénix swim club, earned the slight advantage at the finish line, stopping the clock in four minutes, 45.26 seconds to place third in the women’s 400-metre individual medley, just ahead of 16-year-old Nepean-Kanata Barracudas athlete Erika Seltenreich-Hodgson in 4:45.65.
“I definitely felt the difference between this morning and this evening. I was calm out there,” said Grade 12 St. Peter Catholic High School student Jewell, who snuck through the preliminaries in eighth place before setting a personal-best time in the final despite the tough Lane 8 draw. “My coach gave me a really good pep talk and said, ‘If you have a lane, you have a chance of doing anything,’ and I’ve always believed in that.”
For Seltenreich-Hodgson, it was the second time in the same day that she knocked four seconds off her personal-best time in the event.
“I am so happy,” smiled the Grade 11 John McCrae Secondary School student, emotion evident in her eyes. “You always hope that you’re going to go a little faster in finals because it’s more exciting, and this was Olympic trials, so I was so much more excited than any other meet.
“I felt like I took off four seconds this morning, so I kind of told myself this evening, ‘Why not take off another four seconds?’
“I actually did it. I’m slightly surprised, but I’m really happy.”
Ravens of Carleton swim club representative Matt Hawes also got on the Olympic trials podium, but a bronze medal was little consolation for the 26-year-old since his 55.62 clocking in the men’s 100 m backstroke wasn’t good enough to send him to London.
“I’m quite upset,” Hawes said. “I guess I just fell short. Some days you have it and some days you don’t. I’m pretty upset, but I came to do my best, and that’s all you can do, really.”
Both Hawes and Seltenreich-Hodgson have their signature races remaining at the trials, which continue until Sunday. Hawes will race in the 200 m back on Saturday, while Seltenreich-Hodgson lines up for the event from which she earned her world junior championships bronze medal last year, the 200 m IM on Friday.
“I feel ready now,” added Seltenreich-Hodgson, who had been ranked 13th in the 400 IM and is rated fifth in the 200 IM. “I’m glad I got a final in this race so I could experience it before my big race. Now when I go into the 200 IM, I’m going to be a little bit calmer instead of kind of freaking out before it.”
The Olympic qualification system is fairly complex, but race winners from the Canadian team trials are generally assured a trip to London 2012. Second-place finishers who attain the Olympic ‘A’ qualifying standard time are also guaranteed a place, while second-place finishers meeting the ‘B’ standard play a wait-and-see game based on worldwide swim trials times.
Look for more coverage in next month’s Ottawa Sportspage.
Read previous story: NKB swimmer sets 4-sec PB to reach Olympic trials final
Read previous story: Trio of Ottawa swimmers shoot for 1st Olympics
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Global Talent
By Jaehoon Kim
From war-torn Sudan through Egypt and eventually here to Canada, Brazil is now the latest stop in Nevello Yoseke’s life as a budding soccer star.
From a young age, Nevello Yoseke knew he wanted to become a professional soccer player. And if the 16-year-old’s recent four-month stint with a Brazilian Série A club’s youth team is any indication, it’s a wish that could become a reality.
“Soccer is like my girlfriend,” smiles the amicable Woodroffe High School student. “It’s my everything. I love it.”
That Yoseke is able to talk about a career as a soccer star stands in stark contrast to the first years of his life in war-torn Sudan.
“Back in my country, there are a lot of great players, but they have a miserable life and can’t go anywhere,” notes Yoseke. “I’ve been given a great opportunity.”
When he was three years old, Yoseke’s mother escaped from Sudan to Egypt, where she raised her five children in an environment that proved to be just as tough. As a single mother working as a housekeeper, she had to leave a full day’s food on the table for her young kids before leaving for work at 5 a.m. and returning late in the evening. She remembers stones being thrown at her family.
New life begins in Ottawa
In 2006, the Yosekes’ lives finally took a turn for the better – their refugee application to Canada had been accepted at last. The hard road didn’t stop then for Yoseke’s mom as she worked multiple jobs for cleaning companies, but the strong desire to give her children the chance at a bright future appears to be coming to fruition – on top of the potential for a soccer star, her oldest daughter is studying at the University of Ottawa, with aspirations of attending medical school and working for Doctors Without Borders.
“Nevello’s mom is an amazing woman with a great work ethic,” highlights Woodroffe Tigers soccer coach Matthew Blackwell. “She’s done so much for her family, to bring them to Canada.”
Yoseke feels fortunate to be where he is at the moment, explaining that nothing would have been possible without the contributions of many along the way.
“I really appreciate everyone who has helped me,” says Yoseke, who received assistance to pay for his flights from Brazil. “Obviously, coach [Blackwell], he has been like a second father to me. And most of all, my mom, she has always been there for me.
“I wish some day that I can pay all of them back.”
Soccer journey leads to Brazil
The Ottawa Fury U16 player may have taken the first step in that quest this past September when he was invited to train with the U16 squad of the Cruzeiro Esporte Clube – a historic soccer club in Belo Horizonte that plays in the top Brazilian league.
Woodroffe soccer team’s connection with the two-time Brazilian league champions started in 2009, when an exchange student who played for the Tigers turned out to be the son of Cruzeiro’s club president.
The Woodroffe Tigers went on a 10-day trip to visit Cruzeiro later that year, and while Yoseke was too young to travel on that occasion, Nelson – the Grade 10 student’s older brother and soccer mentor who used to play for the Fury’s PDL team and is now on the Brock University soccer team – joined the tour.
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