BAMF Doc

Yes, everyone else will blog this one too... Thanks to Ryan for putting it together.

Bring it: HGH test ready to catch cheats at Beijing Games

DOPING IN SPORTS
HGH test ready to catch cheats at Beijing Games

New test `scientifically sound,' says WADA chief
Feb 28, 2008 04:30 AM
An "effective" test for detecting human growth hormone will be in place for the Beijing Olympics, the head of the World Anti-Doping Agency said yesterday in Lausanne, Switzerland.

"By the Olympic Games there will be a capacity to detect HGH," WADA president John Fahey said. "There is no doubt that there is an effective test."

HGH is considered one of the most widely abused performance-enhancing drugs in sports, and experts say athletes have been able to use the substance with little fear of being caught. Fahey said traces of the drug could also be frozen and stored in samples for up to eight years, meaning users could still be caught and punished years later.

"Scientists will say very clearly that the storage of plasma is capable of being tested effectively eight years," Fahey said. "It is scientifically sound."

So far, HGH has been extremely hard to detect, partly because it clears the system very quickly. A test was used at the 2004 Athens and 2006 Turin Olympics but yielded no positives because athletes using it would have stopped in time to make sure it cleared the system beforehand. The latest development should allow for more routine testing out of competition.

More at the Toronto Star

Show me the money :-)

OLYMPICS: 2008 BEIJING GAMES
Funding gives a little boost to summer athletes

JAMES CHRISTIE
February 28, 2008
Canada's summer athletes won't feel like second-class citizens next to their winter counterparts, now that the federal government has come through with funds to fuel the Road to Excellence program, says Alexandra Orlando, one of the world's top rhythmic gymnasts.

But it will still cost Orlando and her parents tens of thousands of dollars to keep chasing her Olympic dream to Beijing in the summer.

"I definitely felt the summer athletes were underappreciated," said the Toronto university student, whose coach left to take a post in Spain because there wasn't enough support to keep her coaching in Canada.

"It's too late to think of getting another coach. Mimi Masleva is one of the best and she's coached me since I was 7. So, when I need to get together with her for a coaching session, my family has to pay for a plane ticket to get me to Spain. It costs between $50,000 and $75,000 a year for me to stay in this sport at the top level.

More at the Globe and Mail

Vanessa Fernandes uses cell phones

Meet Paul Tichelaar

Meet Paul Tichelaar

Written by: Herbert Krabel
Date: Tue Feb 26 2008

Paul Tichelaar just won the 2008 Trisports.com Desert Classic Duathlon and is focusing now to qualify for the Canadian Olympic Team. We wanted to know more about this ITU triathlete.

ST: Paul, you just beat a great field at the 2008 Trisports.com Desert Classic Duathlon. You must be very happy with this kind of 2008 season start?

Paul: I am really excited about the result. I was hoping to get off to a great start to the 2008 season and this race was my first really big effort and first test. I've made a lot of changes to my training since last season. I have a new coach, Joel Filliol, I quit my job as an electrical engineer to train full time, I've lost weight, and I am now very focused and dedicated to triathlon. It is good to see these changes paying off. The week before the race I called Simon Whitfield out on my blog telling him I was going to give him a run for his money. I’ve never beaten him in a race and I think a lot of that is mental. For the first time I believed I could beat him and that made all the difference.

More on Slowtwitch.com

Desert Duathlon Blog Round Up

Paul Tichelaar
Desert Duathlon and start of Flagstaff camp
On Friday morning I boarded a plane to Phoenix for the start of the second Olympic prep training camp with the BAMF team. I had a few easy days of training Thursday, Friday and Saturday to get ready for the Desert Classic Duathlon. It is a 5.6km trail run, a 34km non-drafting, hilly bike, and a 4.4km trail run to finish. There were a few good athletes in the field, half of them from our training group. We were up at 5:30am for the 8:15am start. It was weird arriving at the race in pitch black and then watching the sun come up for the start. It's not very often that I race before 11am.

Colin Jenkins
Welcome to 7000ft
Here we are for round 2 of our training camps. Back to Flagstaff, AZ. We were here for 3 months last year and it is good to be back...back to the suffering.
We are set up nicely in a hotel for the 4 weeks that we are here. We have a stove top, living room, and a bedroom so there is lots of space in each of the rooms. My roommate is Dano...best one to roommate with out of the group!

Daniel Wells
Victoria to Phoenix to Flagstaff
I flew out to Victoria on Wednesday, and stayed that night at Joel’s. After swimming the next morning, we went to pick up the rental van that I’d be driving down to Phoenix, and ultimately up to Flagstaff. Thursday afternoon was spent driving around collecting cross bikes and extra luggage from everyone, and then the fun task of loading up the van and catching the 4pm ferry to Port Angeles, WA.

Kyle Jones
Start of Camp #2
We are now in Flagstaff, Arizona for our second training camp of the year. This time we’re at altitude and the focus is a bit different. We’ve laid the foundation and now it’s time to put in some solid work as we’re only one month away from the first race of the season in Mooloolaba, Australia.

Simon Whitfield
Tich is reading Watership Down (one of my favorite books) and I'm licking my wounds.
Well that was a whooping. Nice to get a race under the belt and out of the way. IT was our third trip to the desert duathlon in Phoenix. It was the first year we arrived on time.... after 2 previous debacles where we warmed up on the start line ("just jump up and down, that'll get the blood flowing")

Jordan Rapp
Welcome Back... The Race Season Begins!
Desert Classic Duathlon
2.24.2008 - Fountain Hills, AZ
As it was last season (and the season before), the Desert Classic Duathlon was my first race of the season. The previous two years, it has come after training in Flagstaff; this year, it was the precursor to a five week training camp up at altitude. Every year I've done this race, it's been on a new bike and new wheels, and this year was no exception. This was my first chance to really test out my new rig - a Felt DA with Zipp 999 clinchers and Zipp Vuka aerobars. I was hoping to retain the "fastest bike split" title and hopefully improve on my 2nd place finish from last year. It would be a lot tougher this year with David Thompson and several other fast cyclists in the field. I was coming off a great two and a half weeks in SoCal, splitting training time between the Slowtwitch Ranch and Glendale. I felt like everything was really going well, and that I was ready to have a good race.

Youth Olympics - Why?

SINGAPORE TO HOST THE 1ST SUMMER YOUTH OLYMPIC GAMES IN 2010
Hélène Toble 21 February 2008
Singapore will host the 1st Summer Youth Olympic Games in 2010. The result was unveiled by IOC President Jacques Rogge at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne.
Singapore beat moscow in the final by 53 votes to 44.
http://www.olympic.org/uk/news/olympic_news/full_story_uk.asp?id=2491

Two thoughts - what does this event mean for late maturation sports such as triathlon compared to early maturation sports such as gymastics? Its oddly positioned as the ages are 14-18, while the triathlon junior category goes until 19, so we wouldn't even be able to say its an event for the top juniors. Some sports like gymnastics might not look much different from the regular Olympics, while other sports will not be serious competitive or deep events.
Second, why dilute the Olympic brand? The Olympic Games are known as the premier competition for most sports, and qualifying for and competing in the games is a significant career goal for many athletes. Being an Olympian means something, that you were among the best in the world at your sport. This new event diminishes the meaning of being an Olympian. Athletes in many sports already mis-represent themselves, and now we'll have a whole number of athletes claiming to be Olympians and Olympic medallists who will not be the best in the world at their sport, thereby diminishing the accomplishments of the real Olympians and Medallists.

'Anger control' key to recovery

'Anger control' key to recovery

Learning to control your anger may also speed up the healing process after surgery, US research suggests.
The Brain Behavior and Immunity study indicates stress has a major impact on the body's ability to repair itself.

Nearly 100 participants were asked to rate how well they could control their temper, and the speed at which they recovered from a blister was monitored.

Hotheads were more than four times likely to take more than four days to heal than mild-mannered counterparts.

Your body prioritises and sorts one thing out at a time, so if you are stressed your body works through that before it gets on with the process of healing
Steve Bloom
Imperial College London

The team at Ohio State University gave participants blisters on one of their arms and then monitored how the wound healed over the course of eight days.

They were asked to fill in a questionnaire which looked at how anger was expressed - whether externally, by shouting at others, for instance, or internally, when one rages insides but keeps a cool exterior.

More at the BBC

Trew's Olympic Watch: February

Trew's Olympic Watch: February
Posted by: Editor
Posted on: Wednesday 20th February 2008

Beijing | Olympics | Steve Trew

We may still be more than six months away from the Beijing Olympics but that doesn't mean that we can't speculate about who might be going, and how they might do when they get there. So, the Editors have set me a little task: provide a running monthly commentary on who's who and what their chances are and to keep it updated as the various national squads get selected.

“And the results of the Beijing Olympic triathlon in 2008 are; in first place…”

Everybody knew exactly what was going to happen at the Athens Olympics in the women’s race, didn’t they? Loretta Harrop (in my very humble opinion one of the absolute best athletes in the World - in any sport - that I have ever been privileged to watch) was going to be in the lead pack out of the water, would hit it on the bike along with Sheila Taormina and Barb Lindquist, and then would put the hammer down on the run to take the Olympic medal. A medal that circumstances had proscribed she was not to win in Sydney four years earlier (Loretta finished in fifth at Sydney).

.....

Simon Whitfield, the 2000 Sydney Olympic champion is still around, very much around; no-one (pretty much no-one) expected Simon to win in Sydney… Kate Allen is still around as well; two of the last four Olympic Champions will bring all their experience to China to be challenged by the known and not so well-known newcomers."

More at Tri247

2008 Team Teck Cominco

2008 Team Teck Cominco
January 31, 2008

Triathlon Canada announced its 2008 National Team which, as a result of a new sponsorship agreement, has been branded Team Teck Cominco.
Highlighting Team Teck Cominco is 2000 Olympic Gold Medalist Simon Whitfield, of Victoria, BC. Whitfield is coming off a resurgent year in which he won three World Cup Races (Vancouver, Kitsbuhel and Cancun), finished fourth at the World Championships and finished the year at number two on the ITU World Cup Rankings.

More at Triathlon Canada
Congrats to those full time BAMFs on the list:
Simon Witfield (Victoria, BC)
Paul Tichelaar (Edmonton, AL)
Colin Jenkins (Hamilton, ON)
Kyle Jones (Oakville, ON)
Kirsten Sweetland (Victoria, BC)

And part time / seasonal BAMFs:
Jill Savege (Penticton, BC)
Kathy Tremblay (Montreal, QC)
Lauren Groves (Vancouver, BC)
Brent McMahon (Victoria, BC)

Old news, but I missed it when it was announced.

ITU Launches Olympic Triathlon Website

ITU Launches Olympic Triathlon Website
This report filed - February 19, 2008
Press Release: International Triathlon Union


Vancouver, Canada (February 18, 2008) - With exactly six months to go until the Triathlon competition at the Beijing Olympic Games, the International Triathlon Union (ITU) launched its official Olympic website, www.triathlon.org/olympics.

"As we near the pinnacle of our sport, we recognize that attention on triathlon will be at a premium so we created this website to satisfy the appetite for Olympic news and updates," said Loreen Barnett, ITU Executive Director. "Our media team has done a marvelous job of developing the site to be the first destination the public and media would visit for everything related to Olympic triathlon."

Go there

Old School ITU World Cup

In other news, the Fire Dept's own Rappstar is spending some time with the winner of this race today...

Hmmm

"Success is the result of good judgment, good judgment is a result of experience, experience is often the result of bad judgment."

- Tony Robbins

Colin Jenkins is a Legend

For compiling this for me...

Paul Tichelaar (ranked 19th in World):
- 2006 Commonwealth Games Team (8th Place)
- 2003 and 2007 Pan American Games Team
- 2007 Cancun World Cup (7th)
- 2007 Vancouver World Cup (5th)
- 2007 Mooloolaba World Cup (7th)

Daniel Wells:
- Past Junior National Champion
- Two top 10 results in ITU Continental Cup races
- Multiple National Triathlon Team Member
- NCAA Division I Swimmer

Kyle Jones:
- 2007 Pan American Games Team (4th place)
- 2006 Corner Brook World Cup (7th place)
- Past Junior and U23 National Champion
- Ranked in top 50 in World

Simon Whitfield:
- 2000 Olympic Games Triathlon winner
- Ranked #2 in world
- Winner of Cancun, Kitzbuhel, and Vancouver World Cups in 2007
- Multiple National Champion

Colin Jenkins:
- 2006 Commonwealth Games Team
- 2007 Vancouver World Cup (7th place)
- Past Junior and Under 23 National Champion

Jordan Rapp:
- 5th Place 2007 Ironman Canada
- 70.3 Series Star
- Next big Ironman superstar
- Injured while training for US National Team for Rowing so took up triathlon while studying at Princeton.

Andrew McCartney
- Past Junior National Champion
- Multiple World Championships triathlon teams
- Top 10 performances at ITU Points races

Kirsten Sweetland:
- 2006 Junior World Triathlon Champion
- 2006 Junior World Duathlon runner-up
- Multiple Junior National Champion
- Ranked top 10 in World
- 2007 Richards Bay World Cup Winner

Paul and Kyle featured on..

The Cervelo website: here

Finding May Solve Riddle of Fatigue in Muscle

By GINA KOLATA
Published: February 12, 2008

One of the great unanswered questions in physiology is why muscles get tired. The experience is universal, common to creatures that have muscles, but the answer has been elusive until now.

A New Explanation of Muscle Fatigue

Scientists at Columbia say they have not only come up with an answer, but have also devised, for mice, an experimental drug that can revive the animals and let them keep running long after they would normally flop down in exhaustion.

For decades, muscle fatigue had been largely ignored or misunderstood. Leading physiology textbooks did not even try to offer a mechanism, said Dr. Andrew Marks, principal investigator of the new study. A popular theory, that muscles become tired because they release lactic acid, was discredited not long ago.

In a report published Monday in an early online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Dr. Marks says the problem is calcium flow inside muscle cells. Ordinarily, ebbs and flows of calcium in cells control muscle contractions. But when muscles grow tired, the investigators report, tiny channels in them start leaking calcium, and that weakens contractions. At the same time, the leaked calcium stimulates an enzyme that eats into muscle fibers, contributing to the muscle exhaustion.

More at the NY Times

The athletes at the Fire Department take this special medicine called HTFU. Works wonders for this "fatigue" problem.

St Valentine in action

PacificSport honours Island's best

PacificSport honours Island's best
Athletes focus attention, training on 2008 Summer Games in Beijing

Cleve Dheensaw, Times Colonist
Published: Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Victoria track star Gary Reed and the Elk Lake-based Canadian men's rowing eight were proud to be recognized last night for what they did last year.
But they realize that it is what they do later this year in Beijing that they will be truly judged and remembered.
The annual Hellies were presented at the Empress Ballroom during the PacificSport Gala.

Named in honour of George Heller, president and CEO of the 1994 Victoria Commonwealth Games, the awards are given by the national training centre to the top Island-based PacificSport athletes.
Reed won the Hellie as top male athlete of 2007 for his breakthrough silver medal in the 800 metres at the world track and field championships in Osaka.

Rising teen triathlete Kirsten Sweetland won the female Hellie for her two World Cup victories last year. The Canadian eight scooped the Hellie as top team for its gold medal at the 2007 world rowing championships in Munich.

More at Times Colonist

"May God strike me with lightning if..."

Athletes have major food concerns

2008 OLYMPICS
Athletes have major food concerns

Hiring personal chefs to avoid possible hazards
Feb 12, 2008 04:30 AM
RANDY STARKMAN
SPORTS REPORTER

Simon Whitfield and his triathlon teammates plan to bring their own chef named Cosmo – whose specialties include yam omelettes and fennel french fries – to the Beijing Olympics this summer.

Hurdler Perdita Felicien is pretty sure she'll hire her own cook, too.

And the Americans will be able to dine on three nutrition-packed meals a day at the U.S. Olympic Committee's training centre at Beijing Normal University.

The reason for the extra care is multifold: Fear of food-borne illnesses in China, a desire to ensure proper nutrition and the fact some athletes and teams are staying outside the athletes' village.

There's also the worry that tainted food could lead to a positive drug test. A caterer working for the USOC told the New York Times of finding a half chicken breast measuring 14 inches while shopping in a Chinese supermarket that could have fed a family of eight.

"We had it tested and it was so full of steroids that we never could have given it to athletes," Frank Puleo told the Times. "They all would have tested positive."

Adds Whitfield: "That's an eye-opener right there and I'm sure it will factor into how we try and approach it."

More at the Toronto Star

CBC's Beijing Bound

Check out the CBC's Beijing Bound Website, including their Countdown to Beijing athlete videos. Love the CBC.

Zero Gravity NERD

Somebody buy me these for Valentines Day please.

Signs I saw while on my long run today

Not sure if I was hallucinating or what...

Interesting: Wary U.S. Olympians Will Bring Food to China

By BEN SHPIGEL
Published: February 9, 2008

COLORADO SPRINGS — When a caterer working for the United States Olympic Committee went to a supermarket in China last year, he encountered a piece of chicken — half of a breast — that measured 14 inches. “Enough to feed a family of eight,” said Frank Puleo, a caterer from Staten Island who has traveled to China to handle food-related issues.

Enlarge This Image

Kevin Moloney for The New York Times
Vegetables await lunch service in the kitchen of the U.S. Olympic Training Center.
“We had it tested and it was so full of steroids that we never could have given it to athletes. They all would have tested positive.”

In preparing to take a delegation of more than 600 athletes to the Summer Games in Beijing this year, the U.S.O.C. faces food issues beyond steroid-laced chicken. In recent years, some foods in China have been found to be tainted with insecticides and illegal veterinary drugs, and the standards applied to meat there are lower than those in the United States, raising fears of food-borne illnesses.

In the past two years, the U.S.O.C. has tried to figure out how to avoid such dangers at the Olympics. It has made arrangements with sponsors like Kellogg’s and Tyson Foods, which will ship 25,000 pounds of lean protein to China about two months before the opening ceremony, but will hire local vendors and importers to secure other foods and cooking equipment at the Games.

More at NY Times

Interesting: Stuck records

From The Sunday Times
December 23, 2007

Stuck records
A report claims that no world records will be set after 2060. Could this be the year athletics shakes off its dodgy past?

David Walsh
....
Hoberman’s reservation about scientific studies and the contribution of intellectuals to sporting questions is that they often don’t understand the extent and the impact of doping; consequently, they underestimate its influence. “I would question using Florence Griffith-Joyner’s 10.49sec as a valid data point. And there is no doubt that doping has allowed athletes to perform beyond their natural physiological capacities. Three of the five men who have run under 9.80sec in the 100m [Ben Johnson, Tim Montgomery, Justin Gatlin] have tested positive for anabolic steroids. Look at the all-time performance list in the shot put – it’s virtually wall-to-wall dopers at the top.”

World records were once considered the crown jewels of sport, especially in athletics and Olympic sport. From Roger Bannister to Sebastian Coe, generations of British sports followers were nurtured on world-class performances by the country’s middle-distance runners. When Bob Beamon smashed the world long jump record by almost 2ft at the 1968 Olympics, those who witnessed the feat had a memory that could never be forgotten.
....

With the widespread doping of the past 3½ decades, records have been set that puzzled as much as thrilled, that led to questions rather than celebrations. Sport has picked up the tab for its inability to deal with doping. “Doped record-holders have devalued the world record list,” says Hoberman. “In athletics, the IAAF hasn’t lifted a finger to do anything about it.”

More at the Times Online

My opinion: many sports have become too focused on records, and less on real racing, which is tactical, and often slower, but for the purist, much more exciting than many athletics records which are often artificial paced time trials. In addition, the focus on records has contributed to the doping "arms race", by pushing the limits of performances higher and higher.

Interesting: All work and no play slows China's Olympians

From Times Online
February 8, 2008

Western coaches say an obsession with training could work against the home country as they seek to strike gold in Beijing

A silver medal is like fourteenth place - that was the message relayed recently to China's Olympians. And, with six months to go today until the Beijing Games, this is why you would be hard-pushed to find a group of professional sportsmen and women who are under more pressure than the the home team at the Olympics in the summer.

They must do it for their country and for the Party, and it must be gold. Nothing else is good enough. And, crucially, they must win more gold medals than the United States.

From the outside, Westerners sit in wonderment: what are those Chinese up to? Before 1984, China had not won an Olympic gold medal; they won 32 in 2004, four fewer than the US, so they represent the fastest-growing Olympic force since East Germany.

The similarities with the East German model raise the fascination, too. China is also working hard behind a veil of secrecy. Likewise, China has had doping issues. The difference is that, on this occasion, the secrets can get out.

More at the Times Online

Pacific Sport Gala

Team Fire Department is up for 3 awards, plus with Kirsten and DJ Jazzy Jazz hosting, it should be a fun night.

Yes another News Item: Good omens buoy Whitfield before world championships

Good omens buoy Whitfield before world championships
Gary Kingston, Canwest News Service
Published: Monday, February 04, 2008

VANCOUVER- Simon Whitfield is a pretty superstitious guy, so when the Olympic triathlete from Victoria was handed a new licence plate for the Honda he purchased last November, he was ecstatic. Good omens don't come any clearer.
The plate reads 001-FPL or, as Whitfield deciphers it, first place.
That's exactly where the 32-year-old is aiming to be at least twice this year - at the 2008 International Triathlon Union world championships in Vancouver in June and at the Beijing Olympics in August.
"It was the greatest thing ever, I was so happy with that," an excited Whitfield said Monday of a plate. "001-FPL, first place. (The insurance guy)hands me it and says 'this one OK?' I'm like 'No way!'
"I asked him if they'd send one to Spain (home of 2007 overall World Cup leader Javier Gomez) that said fifth place," added a laughing Whitfield. "I was pretty stoked. I'm superstitious just like anyone else. You look for signs that things are rolling in the right direction."

More at the Calgary Herald

News Item: Vancouver preps for 2008 qualifier

MATTHEW SEKERES
February 5, 2008

VANCOUVER -- Canadian triathlete Simon Whitfield admitted that Summer Olympians feel some "positive envy" toward all the attention heaped on their winter counterparts these days.

But that is set to change this year when, for one weekend at least, Vancouver's eyes will turn to a Summer Games sport.

Yesterday, Triathlon Canada announced that Vancouver's event on the International Triathlon Union will serve as the sport's 20th world championships and as a last-chance qualifier for Canadian men and women wanting to compete at the 2008 Games in Beijing.

The event, sure to attract world-class fields, takes place June 5 through 8. It is Vancouver's second race on the ITU circuit. Whitfield won the men's event last year.

"It's exciting to see a World Cup not only in our country, but with such a backdrop," said Whitfield, the gold medalist at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. "It's certainly a huge advantage [for Canadian triathletes] with the familiarity with the city of Vancouver and the weather."

More at the Globe and Mail

What it Takes

News Item:Beijing or Bust: Victoria's raft of Olympians feted at ceremony

Athletes delighted with reception they received from enthusiastic schoolkids
Cleve Dheensaw, Times Colonist
Published: Thursday, February 07, 2008

Beijing-bound field hockey player Ravi Kahlon looked around Saanich Commonwealth Place yesterday amid the clamour of nearly 700 schoolchildren and shook his head in near disbelief.
"It's unreal. Only in Victoria could you pull something like this together for Olympians," he said.
Qualified or aspirant 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic athletes from Vancouver Island, in several sports, were honoured in a ceremony titled Beijing or Bust. The athletes met with the students and signed autographs.
More at the Victoria Times Colonist

News Item: Olympics, Family and Teamwork - an Interview with Simon Whitfield.

Six year old Eric is playing basketball in his backyard, he takes a few wobbly shots, some actually hit the backboard, while most graze the net and make it whiff as if the wind caught it. None go in, but Eric keeps trying, because Simon said it was a good idea.

One shot deflects off the edge of the backboard and caroms into the cedars, it wedges firmly between branches; I help him retrieve the ball.

Suddenly in a spasm of joy, he remembers what happened at school earlier in the day. He looks up at me as I hand him the ball, eyes ablaze and the size of garbage can lids, “YOU KNOW WHAT, CHRIS?”

“Sure I know what, W-H-A-T”.

“Noooo, we had an assem bow lee in the gym and Simon Whitfield was there and he put his gold medal on me and I got to run around the gym in front of everyone with it on, THAT’S WHAT!”

More at FloTrack: Track is Back. Lots of great endurance content on Flotrack.

Macbook Air

The Fire Department is an all Mac shop (its a requirement to be in the squad in fact), so we were excited with the new addition of the Macbook Air tonight. Colin is the proud papa of this new machine.

Colin has only used the Air for 5 mins, but he already says it's insanely great. (disclaimer: one or more members of the squad may be apple stock holders). In other news, Colin has a classic 12 inch Powerbook for sale here Colin says "WOW! You are not going to find a laptop on eBay in this great condition loaded with this many awesome applications and extras that are included!" Happy bidding.

News Item: Simon Whitfield Officially Launches 2008 Vancouver BG Triathlon World Championships at news conference

Vancouver, Canada (February 4, 2008) - Olympic Gold Medalist Simon Whitfield was in Vancouver this afternoon to officially launch the 2008 Vancouver BG Triathlon World Championships. The event will take place from June 6th to 8th and will be the final Olympic qualifying race for the Canadian Triathlon Olympic team.
"It's a thrill to be in Vancouver and it's exciting to feel the momentum building towards this World Championships here in Vancouver, especially against such a fantastic backdrop of this city," said Whitfield.
Last year's second ranked triathlete in the world spoke about the home crowd support that will hopefully propel him to victory in June, which would make him the first triathlete to win both Olympic and World Championship gold.

More from Trifuel.com

News Item: Gold-medal triathlete not concerned about air quality in Beijing

Gary Kingston, Vancouver Sun
Published: Monday, February 04, 2008

Triathlete Simon Whitfield of Victoria, who won gold for Canada at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, says that despite widespread concerns about air quality at Beijing in 2008, he doesn't think it's going to be an issue.
"We are 45 mintues north of the city," Whitfield, 32, said Monday at a news conference to promote the 2008 world championships in Vancouver on June 8.
"I mean it is such a big isuse now that they have to address it and I just don't think it's going to be an issue [in August]. We're certainly preparing for worst case scenario and I just think they're going to address it."

More at the Vancouver Sun

ITU Season Promo

The FIRE DEPARTMENT is ready for 2008, bring it!

News Item: Whitfield to chase world title at home

Whitfield to chase world title at home
Vancouver Sun
Published: Friday, February 01, 2008

B.C. triathlon athlete Simon Whitfield, who has qualified for the men's event at this summer's Olympics in Beijing, will be aiming for a first world title when Vancouver plays host to the 2008 world championships June 6-8 at English Bay.
Whitfield, who was born in Kingston, Ont., and lives on Salt Spring Island, was a gold medallist in the triathlon at the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics. He qualified for the Beijing Games with a fourth-place finish in the 2007 world championships last September at Hamburg, Germany.

More at the Vancouver Sun

Colin Jenkins Enjoys Clean Air

Champion profile - Colin Jenkins

Why I'm a Clean Air Champion:

Being a member of CAC is important to me because I see the issue of clean air at an all time high right now. Being an athlete and being outdoors for most of the day training, I can see the effects that all the pollution has on the environment and the effect that it has on people. This past September I travelled to Beijing for the Olympic Test Event and was appalled by how bad the air quality was. Being in that environment made me realize that things have to change, and I want to be a part of that change.

More at cleanairchampions.ca

News item: The Sport B.C. Athlete of the Year awards

The Sport B.C. Athlete of the Year awards have been a fixture on the B.C. sporting calendar for the past 42 years.

This year’s list of nominees includes athletes from 21 B.C. communities, representing 20 different sports. The awards in 16 categories will be handed out March 5 at the Hyatt Regency in Vancouver.

Freestyle moguls skier Kristi Richards and triathlete Kirsten Sweetland are the other two nominees in the Senior Female Athlete of the Year category. The finalists were chosen by a committee of media and sport representatives from around the province.

More at Whistler Question