CESANA, Italy (Jan. 29, 2011) — Alex Gough added a new chapter to the Canadian sport history books as the first Canadian ever to win a medal at the Luge World Championships when she slid to the bronze on Saturday in Cesana, Italy.

Posting some of the fastest training times all week on the track where she made her Olympic debut in 2006 at just 18 years of age, Gough recovered after making a sloppy mistake at the top of her opening run, to nail her second trip down the 17-corner track and post a combined time of one minute, 34.413 seconds (1:34.413).

“It feels so good and I’m absolutely pumped to finish third,” said Gough. “I have been sliding well all week and I had the confidence that I knew I can be there on the podium. I love this track. It is fast and fun and this is just a very proud moment for me and the program.”

Germany’s Tatjana Hufner won the gold with a time of 1:33.969, while Natalie Geisenberger, also of Germany claimed the silver with a time of 1:34.243.

Canadian rookie, Arianne Jones of Calgary, had a stellar day with two consistent runs down the track. One of the smallest athletes on the circuit, the 20-year-old Jones finished 13th with a time of 1:35.548.

Gough’s breakthrough as a contender with the world’s best came in 2009 where she regularly placed in the top-10, and finished fourth at the World Championships that year in Lake Placid, N.Y.

“I think this is some sweet redemption. I was so close at the last World Championships, but especially after last year with the disappointment around everything at the Olympics. It is nice to follow up such a great year with a podium here,” said Gough. “This track is a lot like Whistler. It is very fast and has some tricky points. I have a lot of fun sliding on it.”

The 23-year-old Calgarian has completely rewritten the luge history books this season. She became only the fourth Canadian ever to win a World Cup medal in luge when she claimed her first bronze in Winterberg, Germany. Gough became the first Canadian to win multiple luge World Cup medals after adding another bronze in Park City, Utah two weeks later. She added to that record with her third bronze-medal win in Konigssee, Germany. And Saturday, became the first Canadian ever to stand on a World Championship podium in luge.

“I am so excited for our sport and what this means to all of us,” said Gough. “It is pretty cool to become the first Canadian to win a medal at Worlds, but I’m more happy for everyone involved. A lot of people have worked very hard to help get me to this point.”

While not winning a medal at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, the Canadian Luge Team leveraged the increased attention in Canadian sport to help boost athlete’s pursuit of the podium.

Much of the Canadian team’s success can be attributed to the generous financial support by Own the Podium, who have been the financial lifeline of the national program. The Canadian Luge Association also welcomed its first-ever corporate partner, Fast Track Capital, two years ago, which has helped position them on the podium. Two years ago the team put For Sale stickers on their helmets while sliding at World Cups in Canada, which attracted the additional support from the Alberta-based corporation. Increased funding has equaled medal-winning results.

“This result was shaping up over the last two years. It is a long process and everything needed to match for it to come together,” said Wolfgang Staudinger, who was recruited from Germany in 2007 thanks to funding from Own the Podium. “It isn’t just coaching, or just technology. It is everything. With all of the proper resources in place, suddenly the system works. That was history today!”

Calgary’s Sam Edney was the top Canadian male in 16th spot at 1:44.743. Calgary’s Jeff Christie was 18th with a time of 1:44.802, while Brendan Hauptmann, of Kimberley, B.C. placed 22nd at 1:44.981.

Italy’s Armin Zoggeler won the men’s race with a time of 1:43.538.

COMPLETE RESULTS: www.fil-luge.org
Women’s Top-Five and Canadian Results:
1. Tatjana Hüfner, GER, 1:33.969; 2. Natalie Geisenberger, GER, 1:34.243; 3. Alex Gough, Calgary, CAN, 1:34.413; 4. Nina Reithmayer, AUT, 1:34.470; 5. Anke Wischnewski, GER,1:34.591

Other Canadian Results:
13. Arianne Jones, Calgary, 1:35.548


Men’s Top-Five and Canadian Results:
1. Armin Zoggeler, ITA, 1:43.538; 2. Felix Loch, GER, 1:43.559; 3. Andi Langenhan, GER, 1:44.013; 4. David Moller, GER, 1:44.121; 5. Reinhold Rainer, ITA, 1:44.171.

Canadian Results:
16. Sam Edney, Calgary, 1:44.743; 18. Jeff Christie, Calgary, 1:44.802; 22. Brendan Hauptmann, Kimberly, B.C., 1:44.981.

TORONTO, JAN. 28 – After running 250 marathons in 2010, and recently surpassing his $250,000 fundraising goal, Alberta’s very own “Marathon Man” Martin Parnell will meet two individuals directly impacted by his efforts.

As a part of Right To Play’s first-ever Canadian Awareness Program, Parnell will work hand-in-hand with Irene Kpodo and Asana Ayagiba, Right To Play Coaches from projects in Ghana. The Coaches, along with Parnell and three-time Olympic gold medalist Hayley Wickenheiser, will speak at a one-time, free public engagement event Tuesday Feb. 1 in Calgary, to raise awareness about Right To Play and its groundbreaking work using sport and play as tools for development and peace.

“I‘m very excited to meet the Coaches from Ghana,” says Parnell. “I want to know how the Right To Play programs help the children and what the kids think of them.”

It costs approximately $50 to support one child’s participation in weekly Right To Play programming for an entire year. Kpodo and Ayagiba have seen first-hand the impact that these programs have had on children and youth in their communities. They know what a huge difference that contributions like Parnell’s – $280,000 and counting – can make.

Ayagiba, 42, is a mother of two and a teacher in Ghana. She joined Right To Play as a volunteer Coach in 2008, and has been implementing regular weekly sport and play activities in her classroom since.

Right To Play activities have led to increased class attendance and students who are much more attentive in their learning, says Ayagiba.

In a country where only 63 per cent of children enrolled in school finish grade five, the results seen amongst Ghana’s 39,500 children and youth who are engaged in Right To Play activities are promising.

The challenges faced by children in Africa were Parnell’s inspiration for taking on Marathon Quest 250 – a mission to run 250 marathons in 2010 and raise money for Right To Play. A cycling trip from Cairo to Cape Town in 2005 exposed him to the need for sport and play across the continent.

While the speaking engagements in Alberta will be a great chance for Parnell to meet the Coaches and get a first-hand taste of Right To Play’s work, it is his upcoming summer trip to Right To Play projects in Benin that will truly validate his efforts.

Parnell says his trip will be the highlight of 2011.

“Visiting schools where funding raising from Marathon Quest 250 is being used will be amazing,” says Parnell. “I look forward to participating in several Right To Play programs with the kids and to going for a run with them.”

He will also have the chance to turn to an Olympic legend for travel tips. Wickenheiser, who currently plays women’s hockey for the University of Calgary Dinos, experienced Right To Play’s impact herself in 2007 on a trip to Rwanda as an Athlete Ambassador for the organization. Wickenheiser will join Right To Play again this summer at projects in Ghana.

Parnell, Wickenheiser, Ayagiba and Kpodo will be speaking at a free public awareness event Tuesday, Feb. 1, at MacEwan Hall in Calgary.

To register for this free event, visit: www.righttoplay.ca

ASPEN, Colo. (January 27, 2011) - Ski cross Olympic gold medalist Ashleigh McIvor suffered a serious knee injury on Wednesday during training for this week's Winter X Games in Aspen, Colorado.

The 27-year-old, of Whistler, B.C., has a suspected torn ACL and isn't expected to return to competitive action this season. She will require surgery on her left knee at a later date.

"I've definitely seen better days, but things could be much worse," said McIvor. "I just have to keep it all in perspective. I don't have a head injury, and I don't have a spinal injury. This will heal and I'll be back. It's all part of the game."

McIvor is the first female Olympic gold medalist in ski cross, which made its debut as a medal sport at the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver-Whistler. She won the 2009 world championship at Inawashiro, Japan, and has 11 career World Cup podiums, including second- and third-place finishes this season.

She was second at last year's X Games, and was hoping to claim her first X Games title this week.

"I was really excited to run the course here in Aspen," said McIvor. "It's always the biggest and burliest on the circuit. I'm so glad I got one flight in off the massive last jump before hurting myself on a smaller jump that I hadn't even thought to be scared of. I just came into this triple a little too hot and overshot it, landing way out on the flats."

Canada Ski Cross head coach Eric Archer said he's confident McIvor will make a successful comeback from injury.

"It's disappointing when one of your best athletes goes out but it's part of the sport. All the athletes understand that," said Archer. "Ashleigh will take some time off and come back stronger than ever."

The Spartan Race, a five-kilometre muddy trail race with 10 or more outrageous obstacles such as crawling through mud under barbed wire is coming to Vancouver on May 14.

Race organizer Dean Stanton says the race draws inspiration for its name from tough as nails Spartans.

“Our goal is simple,” says Stanton, “to get you off your couch, throw you in the mud, and feed you one crazy day that will be the adrenalin rush of your life.”

The race is designed to test resilience, strength, stamina, and ability to laugh in the face of adversity.

Stanton says the unique obstacle course will demand every ounce of “strength, ingenuity, and animal instinct you thought you lost three generations ago.”

For more information about Spartan Race Vancouver, contact Dean Stanton at Tri 1Events. 604-879-8433.

ASPEN, Colo. (Jan. 25, 2011) - Canada's ski cross stars are hoping to recapture the magic that saw them sweep the men's podium and finish second and third in the ladies' event at last year's Winter X Games.

Chris Del Bosco, of Sudbury, Ont., is hoping to make history this weekend by becoming the first man to win consecutive titles, after he won the 2010 event ahead of teammates Dave Duncan, of London, Ont., and Calgary's Brady Leman.

On the women's side, Whistler's Ashleigh McIvor, the Olympic champion, is hungry for her for first X Games title after losing out to Ophelie David of France last year. Kelsey Serwa, of Kelowna, B.C., who was third in that race, has been the athlete to beat on the World Cup circuit this season and leads the overall standings.

"No one's ever won back-to-back at the X Games so the goal is definitely to try to do that," said Del Bosco, who won his first World Cup race of the season at Les Contamines, France, on Jan. 16. "For me, the X Games is huge. It's kind of where our sport started."

Canada's ski cross team takes part in qualification Friday and men's and ladies' races on Sunday, January 30.

"It's basically the biggest event our sport has, other than the Olympics," said McIvor of the X Games. "It's so chilled and fun-focused. It takes us back to our roots - why we all started racing ski cross.

"I feel like they really kept our sport going when it wasn't going to get added to the Olympic program. That's why we feel it's important to go and compete there."

The X Games format is slightly different to World Cup races and the Olympics. Instead of four racers in each heat, the X Games features six. The extra skiers add an element of drama and excitement and the Aspen course is also renowned for being challenging.

"It's a bigger and better course than anything we see all year," said Serwa, who was third at last year's X Games and sixth in 2009. "There are lots more opportunities for passing. I think we almost have a better chance of advancing.

"I've been close for the last two years. One of my goals heading into the season was to stand on top of the X Games (podium)."

Canada's men's team

Davey Barr (Whistler, B.C.)

Brian Bennett (Quesnel, B.C.)

Chris Del Bosco (Sudbury, Ont.)

Dave Duncan (Golden, B.C.)

Stan Hayer (Calgary, Alta.)

Stan Rey (Whistler, B.C.)

Nik Zoricic (Toronto, Ont.)

Canada's ladies' team

Ashleigh McIvor (Whistler, B.C.)

Julia Murray (Whistler, B.C.)

Danielle Poleschuk (Calgary, Alta.)

Kelsey Serwa (Kelowna, B.C.)

Marielle Thompson (Whistler, B.C.)

LIVE TV COVERAGE

ESPN is broadcasting live from the X Games. Sunday's finals are scheduled for 1:15 p.m. ET.

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