Felix, Americans dominate podium at worlds
LONDON — Allyson Felix earned a second gold medal on Sunday and highlighted the overwhelming performance of the United States at the 10-day world championships.
In doing so, Felix made sure she became the most decorated athlete in the history of the event — and that includes Usain Bolt.
Felix won gold in the 4-x-400metre relay a day after winning the same colour medal in the 4x-100 relay. She also earned a bronze medal in the 400-metre race to give her 16 in her career. Bolt finished his career with 14.
“It’s an honour to run in the relay for Team USA,” said Felix, who won her first medals at the 2005 worlds in Helsinki.
In a world championship of upsets right up to the last event, Trinidad and Tobago beat the United States in the men’s 4-x-400, producing only a little dent in an all-powerful performance.
The Americans finished with 30 medals, 10 of them gold. That was only one short of the overall record held by East Germany.
Bolt, however, will leave London without a gold medal. Running at his last major championship this week, the Jamaican got a royal farewell from the 60,000 fans at the Olympic Stadium on Sunday as they cheered his famed “To The World” pose.
“It was brilliant,” said Bolt, who pulled up in his last race as he was running anchor in the 4 by100 relay. “Everything happens for a reason.”
Kenya was the only other team to break into double figures with 11 medals overall.
The African nation got two more gold on the final day with Hellen Obiri winning the 5,000 and Elijah Manangoi leading a 1-2 Kenyan finish in the men’s 1,500.
Bolt gave Jamaica gold medals and chutzpah for a decade, but his farewell only produced a bronze in the 100 metres. Jamaica slumped to four medals this year, compared to 12 only two years ago.
The world championships also got its only world record on Sunday, and it was in the only new event — the women’s 50-kilometre walk.
Ines Henriques of Portugal bettered her own mark by finishing in four hours, five minutes and 56 seconds on the two-kilometre loop in central London. Only seven women started the race and only four finished.
On the track, the most overwhelming performance came from the U.S. women.
They won the 4-x-400 relay by about 50 metres.
Britain took silver and Poland got bronze.
Besides Felix, 400 champion Phyllis Francis also won a second gold medal.
Mutaz Essa Barshim won the world high jump title by clearing 2.35 metres without a miss. The Qatari will get a chance to defend his title at home in 2019 when the world championships are in Doha.
Two-time Olympic champion Sandra Perkovic won the discus with a throw of 70.31 metres, well ahead of silver medallist Dani Stevens of Australia. She set a continental record with a throw of 69.64 metres.
Caster Semenya won her third world title in the 800 metres, using her finishing kick to sweep past the competition in the finishing straight and win with ease over Francine Niyonsaba of Burundi.
In the 5,000, Obiri ran away from favourite Almaz Ayana with 250 metres to go to deny the Ethiopian a long-distance double. She won in 14:34.86.
CALGARY — Bailey Bram and Shannon Szabados brought their dogs to Calgary. Emily Clark says she and roommate Genevieve Lacasse have talked about getting a fish.
Their lives will revolve around little else but hockey for the next six months, but the women want to leave a little space in their lives for something that doesn’t involve ice and pucks.
The majority of the 28 players invited to try out for the Olympic women’s hockey team have relocated to Calgary from other parts of Canada.
After a week of moving, fitness testing and meetings, they’ll get on the ice Monday at the Markin MacPhail Centre at Canada Olympic Park.
The 23 players chosen to wear the Maple Leaf in Pyeongchang, South Korea, in February, and chase a fifth straight gold medal, will be selected from this group.
The Olympic hopefuls will be on the ice and in the gym together almost every day and will play upwards of 50 games to determine who makes the team.
“A lot of things that we’re doing is really to build a warrior mindset and get our kids being comfortable with being uncomfortable,” head coach Laura Schuler said Sunday. “Whenever you are surrounded by uncomfortable situations, you can really grow.
“We’re going to be putting our players in different roles, different scenarios to figure out ultimately where are their strengths, so we can make sure they’re being fit where they need to be to help us be at our best.”
Schuler, assistant coaches Dwayne Gylywoychuk and Troy Ryan and Hockey Canada general manager of national team programs Melody Davidson chose the centralization roster.
They’ll ultimately decide — as early as December and as late as Jan. 21 — Canada’s 2018 Olympic team.
“I think I’ve done everything in my power to be prepared for this,” said forward Blayre Turnbull from Stellarton, N.S. “I’ve worked so hard for this over the past two years and I’m as ready as I could be.
“We’re going to play 50-plus games which is a lot more games than I’ve played in the past two years. A little fearful of that, but at the same time, I’m ready for the challenge.”
The size of Olympic women’s rosters has been increased from 21 to 23 for 2018, meaning participating countries can carry two more skaters on their rosters than in 2014.
Goaltenders Szabados of Edmonton, Lacasse of Kingston, and Ann-Renee Desbiens of La Malbaie, Que., already know they’re going to Pyeongchang, but will be competing for coveted starts at the Winter Games.
The Canadian women will play six exhibition games against the U.S. as well as a full schedule of games against male midget triple-A teams in the Alberta Midget Hockey League.
Canada faces the U.S. on Oct. 22 in Quebec City’s Videotron Centre, with dates of the other five games yet to be announced.
The U.S. has won seven of the last eight world championships beating Canada in overtime in the finals of the most recent two.
Hockey Canada’s budget for this portion of the camp is about $3 million.
Sport Canada funding plus Hockey Canada’s living allowance works out to approximately $5,000 a month per player while they’re in Calgary.
For those who don’t live in Calgary, Hockey Canada paid their moving expenses and provides financial assistance to those who have a mortgage in another city.
They’re covered by Hockey Canada’s regular player insurance, but Davidson says extra rehabilitation costs are covered.
Hockey Canada also covers the costs of sports psychology, nutrition and supplements.