Edmonton Journal du lieu suivant : Edmonton, Alberta, Canada • 28

SYDNEY" 2000 C6 EDMONTON JOURNAL SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2000 Gack! Its a stretch! Simon says thanks A golden grimace Where there's a wheel i ii" I I mi ii nil i ii'T I i A i i ii i i.i A ,1 ASStXIAllDPRISS mi associated press U.S. swimmer Josh Davis, possibly emulating ancient Egypt's Sphinx, stretches on his swimming cap before winning his men's 200m freestyle today at the Sydney International Aquatic Centre, advancing to the finals. IMF ASSOCIATED PRESS US track star Maurice Green hugs India's 400-metre runner Rosa Kutty during a training session at the Homebush Olympic training track on Saturday- THE ASSOCIATE PRESS Simon Whitfield of Canada clasps his hands together in joy during the medal ceremony for the men's triathlon at the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney earlier today. The young Canadian had an incredible run to take the gold. Germany's Robert Bartko powerfully pounds the pedals on his speedy way to establish a new Olympic record in the men's 4,000 meters individual pursuit race at Dune Gray Velodrome on Saturday.

ihi Assoc ih miss The mightiest mite of them all, Turkey's Halil Mutlu raises the bars in the clean and jerk category in the men's 56 kg division, setting a new world record of 167.5 kg on Saturday. Mutlu broke his own world records in the clean and jerk, snatch, and total lift. eventh sucks! After flu, Lori-Ann content with 13th Tanya needed a I Iarley to catch flying French rider .1 A. ff, A (S It Wavne Scanlan SvdnevZOOO VOnjv? The powerhouse from France.Felicia Ballanger turns on the afterburners as she wheels to gold in the women's 500m time trial at Sydney on Saturday. And, below, there's Winnipeg's Tanya Dubnicoff churning along for an eighth spot which left her far from pleased.

pw-fc -sCPS THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ODY WARWARUK journal Staff Writer EDMONTON' For Olympic cyclist Lori-Ann Muenzer, finishing 13th in the women's 500-metre time trial is a win in itself. "How can I be disappointed? This is the Olympics," she said in a phone interview from Australia. The 34-year-old Edmon-tonian competed in her first Olympic Games Saturday afternoon in Sydney despite being knocked out with the flu the week before. "I couldn't even get onto the track until Thursday morning," she said. "Before then I wasn't even upright" It wasn't the first obstacle Muenzer faced getting ready for Sydney.

While mountainbiking last October in the Mill Creek Ravine, she fell off a six-metre cliff, landing on her pelvis. The accident took two months off her training time. Monica Nelson, a close friend who witnessed her fall, knows how hard Muenzer worked to get to the Games. "She has the best attitude," said Nelson. "She'll take anything that comes her way and uses it as a way torefocus." Nelson and her husband, David, stayed up until the wee hours of the morning to watch their friend compete.

It was a rush seeing Muenzer on TV, she said. "You might think someone who trains at a world-class calibre would be different from the average person. But she's a regular, nice girl. You can'thelp but be in a good mood when you're with her." Steen Madsen, Muenz-er's coach, also had to watch his prized pupil on TV because, by the time she was accepted on the team, it was too late for him to apply for Tanya Dubnicoff has this notion of buying a Harley Davidson motorcycle for alittle recreational pursuit. She could have used a Harley to pursue French track cycling ace Felicia Ballanger in the Olympic women's 500-metre time trial.

The incomparable Ballanger let the Olympic field have its fun before settling into the start gate as the 17th and final rider of the evening. Powering to an Olympic record time of 34.140 seconds, approaching her own world rime of 34.01, Ballanger was more than half a second faster than silver medallist Michelle Ferris at 34.696. China's Cuihua Jiang had the bronze ride. As Ben Johnson once put it so eloquently: "gun goes, race be over." The line fairly suits Ballanger, whose trophy case is cluttered with 10 world championship tides, including a record five straight sprint championships. Unfortunately for Dubnicoff, a 30-year-old Winnipeg track veteran who trains in Calgary, it wasn't just Ballanger who had her number at the Dune Gray Velodrome.

Dubnicofffinishedeighthamong 17 riders, nearly a full second behind Ferris, who delighted the home nation with an Olympic record that lasted about 10 minutes. Dubnicoff disappointing time trial was par for Canada's rough course. First the twin crashes in the women's triathlon, then Joanne Malar's seventh in the pool. And Dubnicoff wasn't able to ride to the nation's rescue. Though she told reporters later she felt during the race she was having "the ride of my life," Dubnicoff instead continued a life of disappointment in Olympic competition.

"I looked up, saw my time of 35.4 (35.486 to be exact) and said, what?" said Dubnicoff. "I swore a little bit I thought rd be under 35, but it didn't happen. I just don't have the answer right now." It never seems to happen at an Olympic venue for Dubnicoff, whose track record is pretty fair outside of the five-ring competitions. A 1993 world champion and 1999 Pan Am Games double gold medallist, Dubnicoff has stood on a podium at every other significant event. lustrated said this about the prognosis for the women's time trial: "Ballanger would dust her foes even with two flat tires." For Dubnicoff, it isn't about rising to Ballanger's level It would be enough to be considered worthy of competing with the riders just below the great French trackster.

"I have to go and figure things out," said Dubnicoff. "It's not over by any means." In the men's 1km time trial, Dubnicoff Calgary training partner, Jim Fisher, another Winnipeg native, was a respectable eighth in his first Olympic event Fisher called it his second greatest experience. His No. Competing in the Pan Am Games at home in i i in the time trial at 35.846 seconds. Acase of the flu kept Muenzer off the track until last Thursday, limiting her preparation.

"I was sick, and to come back and be competitive, rmmore than happy," said Muenzer. One of those sprint "girls" Dubnicoff referred to for the next event is none other the awe-inspiring Ballanger. This woman has more power than the average land rover. "An incredible specimen," said Dubnicoff in admiration. "She would be in the top 10 with the men for one lap." The phys-ed teacher from Vendee, France, believes her secret is in her makeup.

And we don't mean her mascara. Ballanger told Time magazine that her muscles have a capacity for speed and power that is "rare for a woman. "I tend to reach my peak speed faster that most people," she said. "And from there it's a question of just holding on." It's hard to fathom anyone but Felicia winning the women's sprint final next week. It would be her third career Olympic gold medal.

While predicting double gold for Ballanger in Sydney, Sports Il The Games, though, have her muttering four-letter words under her breath. All the sports psychology in the world can't change her assessment of this latest result, to go with the ones before them. After telling a group of Canadian media that she 'loves life" and has to "live for the moment," right out of the Sports Shrink 101 text, Dubnicoff offered this bluntly: "Seventh?" asked Dubnicoff (we weren't going to break the news she was eighth). "Seventh sucks." At Adanta, Dubnicoff, suffered a race disqualification for cutting off an opponent and finished eight in the sprints. In 1992 at Barcelona, she was sixth as an up-and-coming name.

"I love riding," said Dubnicoff. "It's awesome. I mean, look aroundhere.Unforumately,with all you have to do to get here you want to get a P.B. and it's really frustrating." At least in Sydney, with the addition of a 500m time trial event for women, Dubnicoff gets a second shot. Her best event is yet to come, the sprints, pitting rider versus rider instead of a race against the clock.

It calls forstrat-egy, to go with the power. "I'm mad," she said. "I feel sorry for those girls on the 18th (in Winnipeg last THE CANADIAN PRESS "Seventh? Seventh sucks." Tanya Dubnicoff who, in fact, finished eighth the sprint). I want this to sink in and get ready." Lori-Anne Muenzer of Toronto, now living in Edmonton, was 13th i IL Canucks battle back in pool war This water-polo battle looked like old-style Russia-Canada hockey Lori-Anne Muenzer The entire Juvenilis Cycling Club is proud of her and thrilled to have one of their own competing in the Olympics, he said. "She's overcome a lot.

We're all really happy for her," Madsen said. "And she's 13th on the planet that's something to be proud of." Muenzer said her only disappointment was not having her coach at the games. 1 always go faster when he's around." Although she only moved to Edmonton from Toronto last September, she has adopted it as her home. "The winters are bloody cold, but other than that, Edmonton is a fantastic city and a great place to Muenzer is already gearing up for races in Europe this falL And she's already planning for her next chance at glory in the 2004 summer Olympics in Athens. Marie-Claude Deslieres, a mother of three from Montreal, scored the tying goal with 2:21 to play, bringing Canada back from a fourth-quarter, two-goal deficit It was a happy ending to a game of catch-up for the Canadians, who were to face the United States in their second game today (1 a.m.

MDT). Montreal'sAnn Dow had three goals, while Johanne Begin of Sainte-Foy, added two and captain Cora Campbell of Calgary added another. "The difference is we didn't put the ball in the net when we had the opportunities," said head coach Dan Berthelette. "There are little details we have to take care of, but the Russians are a good team and Tm proud of the character we showed. We never quit" Australia pounded Kazakhstan 9-2 on Saturday, while the Americans scored a 6-4 win over the Netherlands.

"A tie is good," Campbell said. "Our first game was almost exactly what I thought it would be, except I thought we'd be ahead, not playing catch-up. But no one panicked, and I think we performed well under pressure." 5 y-t r'" DAVE STUBBS Southam Olympic Bureau SYDNEY Typical Canada-Russia game, it was: flaring tempers, a lot of rough stuff behind the referee's back, a little spilled blood, a spirited Canadian comeback and finally a tie score, with lots of unfinished business for the return match, when and if it comes. In fact, you almost found yourself looking for Paul Hendersoa Off to a slow start, and thrown off stroke from the outset by a wildly physical Russian squad, Canada battled back Saturday night at the suburban Ryde Aquatic Centre to earn a 7-7 women's water-polo tie, a hugely im-portant result in a round-robin tournament where one loss is usually the kiss of death. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Canada's Ann Dow challenges Russia's Ekatarina Vassilieva during a tough water polo match at the Ryde Aquatic Leisure Centre in Sydney on Saturday..