World Cup events begin for Short and Long Track Speedskating

U.S. speedskating athletes are traveling the globe to earn qualifying spots on the 2010 U.S. Olympic team. Under the direction of National Head Coach Jae Su Chun, the U.S. Short Track World Cup team arrived in Montreal, Quebec for World Cup 3 which begins today with qualifying rounds in the Men's and Ladies' 1500m and 500m events. This event (and the final World Cup in Marquette, MI next weekend) will determine how many short track speedskating athletes US Speedskating will take to Vancouver in February.

"It is finally starting to feel like the racing season has truly started," said Olympic gold-medalist Apolo Anton Ohno. "With the first set of World Cups being so close to our Olympic Trials I wasn't in the correct mindset or physical condition to compete internationally but now things are slowly coming back into place."

Injuries have plagued the U.S. National Short Track Team with Allison Baver (Sinking Spring, PA) recovering from a broken leg, J.R. Celski (Federal Way, WA) recuperating from a slashed thigh and Jordan Malone (Denton, TX) out of the remaining World Cup events with an injured knee. All three athletes are expected to be at peak performance once they hit the ice in Vancouver.

"Although Zhou Yang from China has been my biggest competition in the 1500m and Meng Wang from China in the 1000m, right now my biggest competition has been time," Baver said. "It is hard competing in the World Cups leading up to the Olympics knowing you are not at your best yet."

The U.S. athletes participating in the Short Track World Cup are:

Men

Olympic gold-medalist Apolo Anton Ohno (Seattle, WA)

Olympian Anthony Lobello (Tallahassee, FL)

Olympian Charles Ryan Leveille (Atlanta, GA)

Travis Jayner (Midland, MI)

Simon Cho (Laurel, MD)

Jeff Simon (Las Vegas, NV)

Ladies

Three-time U.S. Champion Katherine Reutter (Champaign, IL)

Olympian Allison Baver (Sinking Spring, PA)

Olympian Kimberly Derrick (Memphis, TN)

Alyson Dudek (Hales Corners, WI)

Lana Gehring (Glenview, IL)

Jessica Smith (Melvindale, MI)

In Europe, the Long Track World Cup runs from November 6-8 in Berlin, Germany. The first of five LT World Cup events, this is the first international competition of the season and a proving ground for U.S. athletes. Olympic gold-medalist and U.S. National Head Coach Derek Parra is working with Olympians Chad Hedrick (Spring, TX) and Catherine Raney (Elm Grove, WI), preparing them for competition on the world stage.

 "I want to use the World Cups as a springboard for high level competition but we're still in training," Parra said. "These World Cups are like a dress rehearsal. We have to build ourselves to have a great performance at the Games."

The U.S. athletes competing at the Long Track World Cup are:

Men

Olympian Shani Davis (Chicago, IL)              

Olympian Chad Hedrick (Spring, TX)

Olympian Tucker Fredricks (Janesville, WI)

Olympian Nick Pearson (West Allis, WI)

Trevor Marsicano (Ballston Spa, NY)

Brent Aussprung (Madison, WI)

Matt Plummer (St. Louis, MO)

Jonathan Kuck (Champaign, IL)

Brian Hansen (Glenview, IL)

Ryan Bedford (Midland, MI)

Ladies

Olympian Jen Rodriguez (Miami, FL)

Olympian Elli Ochowicz (Palo Alto, CA)

Olympian Catherine Raney (Elm Grove, WI)

Olympian Maria Lamb (River Falls, WI)

2009 U.S. Sprint Champion Heather Richardson (High Point, NC)

2009 U.S. Allround Champion Nancy Swider-Peltz, Jr. (Glenview, IL)

Lauren Cholewinski (York, SC)

Rebekah Bradford (Apple Valley, MN)

Jilleanne Rookard (Woodhaven, MI)