Dutton back in Group A for China

Dutton on Podium in Berlin



(Berlin) Canadian World Cup team rookie William Dutton stepped on the World Cup podium for the first time Sunday in Berlin. "In Berlin they don't give medals to the top three of Group B but the Gummy Bears and flowers were terrific" Dutton said with a smile. He finished second in Group B earning 19 points in World Cup standings.
"I am excited about moving back to Group A, that is what we raced for in B, a chance to race with the top twenty in the world" he added. The top twenty in World Cup points qualify for the World Sprint Championships in February. Combined with his fourth place on Friday Dutton now sits 18th in the men's Group A 500 points standings.
His podium finish moves him up to Group A for the World Cup races in China December 4-5.
Dutton 20, is a second year member of the National Development team. He is also member of the Humboldt Speed Skating Club.

Kramer Done for the Season?

Sports

Olympic speed skating champion Kramer out of season
English.news.cn 2010-11-23 10:13:01 FeedbackPrintRSS
HAGUE, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- Sven Kramer will not compete in the remainder of the speed skating season as the Olympic 5,000m champion is suffering from a right leg injury.

The 24-year-old has already withdrawn from the Dutch single distances championships and the World Cup events in Heerenveen and Berlin.

Kramer hoped that a period of rest would help to heal the injury and he seemed to be on his way back.

But the injury arose again. "It's the inside of my knee", he said to Dutch television channel NOS. "I can not put enough pressure on my leg, so I can not train fully. We will now investigate exactly where the complaints are coming from. That will take some time."

Because of the injury, Kramer will not be able to defend his titles at the European and World Championships.

Editor: Fang Yang

Morrison back in the Hunt

(Berlin) Denny Morrison showed his mettle Saturday in Berlin winning the B group going away. Morrison unexpectedly ended up in the B group as the result of a starting line stumble in Heerenveen left him in second last place in the Mens 1500 World Cup standings last week.

Morrison, clocked at 1:46:98, picked up 25 world Cup points this morning while toiling in the trenches in group B. Out of the lime light, Morrison easily tallied the win. He will move back into group A for the next races in China early in December.

Canadian team mate William Dutton, the Canadian World Cup team rookie out of Humboldt Saskatchewan notched his first International podium finish with a second in the men's group B 500. Dutton moved back into contention for the World Sprint Championship qualification with his morning skate. He will compete in group A at the next World Cup stop in Changchun China.

Racing continues in Berlin later Saturday. The Canadian women are heavily favoured to finish on the podium in the 1500.

Nesbitt Dominant in 1500 World Cup

(Berlin) Christine Nesbitt continued to dominate the womens 1500 in the Essent World Cup of speed skating winning her second Gold in as many tries Friday in Berlin. Nesbitt has won comfortably in both races and finished almost a full second ahead of second place Ida Njatun of Norway and nearly two full seconds faster than Irene Wust of the Netherlands.

The rest of the Canadian team came close to making it an all Canadian podium. Cindy Klassen, clearly on the come back trail after a year off, was fourth but only by two tenths. Britanny Schussler was one-hundreth of a second behind Klassen finishing a strong fifth. Kristina Groves was eleventh and Shannon Rempel continued a strong start to the season placing thirteenth.

The Canadian women are setting a great example for the Canadian men who have yet to hit the podium in this years World Cup. Denny Morrison is among the favourites in the men's 1500. Racing continues Saturday and Sunday with the women expected to hit the podium again in the 3000 and 1000.

Dutton Skates First World Cup Race in Holland

(Heerenveeen) William Dutton skated for his country Friday Nov. 12 in the World Cup of Speed Skating at the Thialf in Heerenveen Holland. He skated to a 15th place tie and lost a tiebreak by 3/1000ths of a second moving him to 16th.
In his World Cup debut Dutton raced Korean Olympic and World Cup veteran Joon Mun. Mun beat Dutton at the line.
"I thought I had him coming out of the final corner but he closed the gap and shot the line" said Humboldt Saskatchewan's Dutton. "I was excited and nervous but good nervous not scared nervous" he added.
Dutton 20 is one of the Canadian men's new generation of skaters who grew up watching the great Jeremy Wotherspoon blister the opposition along with his sidekick Mike Ireland. Now the youngsters are joining some of the less known veterans of the Canadian team and hoping to work their way onto the podium. The young Canadians are skating international competitors who saw mostly the back of Wotherspoon and Ireland for more than a decade. The international men are taking some pleasure beating the young Canadians.
All of this is taking place in the high temple of speed skating in Holland; the Thialf, the first closed speed skating oval in the world. The Thialf is to Holland what the the old Maple Leaf Gardens or the Montreal Forum were to Canadians; the revered home of a sport near to the heart. It can be more than a little intimidating but the Canadian team is not backing down.
Dutton skates Mun in the second 500 as well. This time Dutton falls of the pace but still betters his first time by two hundreths. Team mates and fellow youngsters MacLennan and Junio race in the B group. Junio has a good first race but also falls of the pace in his second start. MacLennan skates a fairly well in the first race then nearly falls in the second losing all momentum.
The kids have mixed feelings about their first time in the temple. Mostly they are turning their minds to the next series in Berlin next weekend."We'll be better in Berlin" said MacLennan as Junio nodded. They will be and the crowd that gathered around asking for autographs seems to agree.