It was a lightning Bolt weekend for Jamaica at the 2012 London Summer Olympics and nearly a day of thunder Monday for sa国际传媒 in women's soccer.
Hurricane Simon was looking to rip through Hyde Park this morning at 3: 30 PDT in the men's triathlon race as Victoria's Simon Whitfield, Canadian flagbearer in the 2012 London Games opening ceremony and two-time Olympic medal list, was racing not only the clock but time itself in an improbable attempt for a third Olympic medal at age 37.
sa国际传媒 was looking for anything to shake up its stalled climb in the medals table, remaining at 10 medals after a medal-less Sunday and Monday. Three of those medals have come through the impressive 48-member roster of athletes from or based on the Island - silvers from Victoria swimmer Ryan Cochrane in the 1,500-metre freestyle and the Elk Lake-based Canadian men's rowing eight and bronze from Victoria cyclist Gillian Carleton in women's track team pursuit.
If Whitfield required any inspiration for this morning, he needed only look to the incomparable Usain Bolt, who retained his Olympic title in the men's 100 metres. Or to the gutsy and game Canadian women's soccer team, which lost 4-3 at the wire in extra time to the heavily favoured U.S. in a controversial semifinal.
sa国际传媒 has not won a medal in a team sport at the Summer Olympics since the men's basketball team - with Victoria players Doug Peden and brothers Art and Chuck Chapman - captured silver at Berlin in 1936. The Canadian soccer women, who are without injured veteran defender Emily Zurrer of Crofton, meet France in the bronze medal game Thursday at 5 a.m. PDT.
Meanwhile, it's anybody's guess how the - some say needless - distraction of getting involved in Victoria-based Paula Findlay's fall to 52nd place in Saturday's Olympic women's triathlon has affected Whitfield's concentration for his own race. He spent the weekend being highly and publicly critical of the preparation the previously injured Findlay supposedly did or did not receive in the lead up to the Games.
Joining Whitfield in today's Olympic men's triathlon race are veteran Brent McMahon of Victoria, who fought back from an 18-month injury layoff to qualify for the Games, and Victoria-based Kyle Jones.
At the Olympic Stadium, high-jumper Mike Mason of Nanoose Bay, the former world junior champion, tied for 12th with a leap of 2.26 metres in the qualifying round Sunday and barely scraped into today's final of top-12 and ties. But the graduate of Ballenas Secondary in Parksville has a spot in the final and is still alive for a medal - and that's all that counts.
"It was a bit of a tough day technically. It took me a while to get going today and find my mark," Mason said. "Getting my third attempt at 2.26 metres secured my spot for the final. I'm relieved and looking forward to it."
Athletics sa国际传媒 appealed Nathan Brannen's 12th-place finish in the semifinals Sunday, contending the Victoria Middle Distance Training Centre 1,500-metre runner was tripped by another runner as he crashed to the track.
The appeal was rejected, and Brannen did not move on to today's final after it was ruled he went down after clipping the heel of the athlete in front of him.
Richard Clarke of Saltspring Island and the Royal Victoria Yacht Club, who said he has seawater in his veins, finished 12th Sunday in his fifth Olympics with Star Class partner Tyler Bjorn of Montreal at the sailing venue at Weymouth.
Islanders coming up in the second week of the Games include triathletes Whitfield, McMahon and Jones in the wee hours this morning, Mason in the high-jump final today at 11 a.m. PDT, the intriguing Black Creek track runner Cam Levins in the men's 5,000 metres opening round at 2: 45 a.m. PDT Wednesday, rapidly emerging Richard Weinberger of Victoria in the men's 10K open-water swim final in the Serpentine at Hyde Park on Friday at 4 a.m. PDT, veteran diver Riley McCormick of Victoria leaping off the 10metre tower Friday at 11 a.m. PDT and UVic mechanical-engineering grad Geoff Kabush of Courtenay and Tofino native Max Plaxton of Victoria in men's mountain biking Sunday at 5: 30 a.m. PDT at Hadleigh Farm just outside London. [email protected]
