Thursday, December 20, 2001
Marshall returning to Games
By CAMERON MAXWELL -- Calgary Sun
No doubt Kevin Marshall will be on the phone today with his travel agent, booking a ticket to Salt Lake City.
The 28-year-old long-track speed skater earned a berth on Canada's Olympic team yesterday at the Oval by winning the 1,000-metres in the Canadian team trials.
With his time of one minute, 9.75 seconds, Marshall beat Canadian veteran Patrick Bouchard (1:10.49) and Sterling Sobczak, who was third at 1:10.73.
Marshall will join Jeremy Wotherspoon and Mike Ireland, who already qualified, as the Canadian 1,000-m skaters.
"It was actually very nerve-racking because Jason Parker (who didn't qualify) is my training partner and he's very strong and I know Pat Bouchard is from the sprint side, so I knew he was going to start pretty fast and it was just a question of how much he was going to hold on at the end," said Marshall, who competed for Canada in the Nagano Games in 1998 in the 1,500m, finishing 26th.
Marshall, an all-rounder, admits he was pretty tense before the race as you could hear a pin drop inside the Oval.
"I was trying hard to control my nerves and maybe 10 minutes before the race is when I really got everything under control," said the Calgarian, who will also try to lock up a spot in the 1,500m today.
"But it was nice just to get this under my belt. I still want to qualify for the 1,500 but just knowing I've got a spot now is going to take a little bit of the pressure off me."
Meanwhile, on the women's side, Susan Auch skated a time of 1:18.78, giving her a chance to skate the 1,000m. She'll be joined in the event by Cindy Klassen and Catriona Le May Doan.
It was the first time since October Auch, 35, had competed in the distance and acknowledges it's not her favourite as she focuses her training and energy on a 500-m medal.
"I had my fastest 200-metre opener ever, so that's pretty exciting for me," said Auch, a three-time Olympic medallist, who will be competing in her fifth Olympics.
"I went to the first World Cups and wasn't sure about doing the 1,000, so I decided to focus on the 500 -- that's where my medal chance is."
While Auch says she'll likely skate the 1,000m in Salt Lake City, there's a slim chance she may not.
If that happens, she wouldn't be taking another skater's spot because no other women met Canadian Olympic Association time standards before the trials.
"You never know, I might get better at it but the 1,000 is one of those races that's hit and miss for me, sometimes I do it well and sometimes I don't," Auch said.
The trials continue today with the men's and women's 1,500m races.
2002 Games Long Track Speed Skating Coverage
