J.R. Celski of the United States leads during the Short Track Speed Skating Men's Semi-Final of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics
J.R. Celski did not think the late timing of his final event of the ISU Short Track World Cup season opener in Calgary was conducive to posting his most impressive times.
He was wrong.
Celski became the first skater to break the 40-second mark in a 500-meter short-track race, winning the gold medal Sunday with a world-record time of 39.937 seconds.
“It’s been a long weekend of racing,” said Celski, a bronze medalist at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. “Ice tends to break down over time, but it held its ground and I’m really excited to come out with that world record today.
“I set up my pass with two laps to go and just tried to stay on my feet for the rest of the race.”
Celski added a bronze medal in Saturday’s 1,000-meter final.
John-Henry Krueger finished third to take the bronze medal in 40.588.
The World Cup stops next in Montreal, Quebec, beginning Friday.
FIGURE SKATING
The United States claimed two gold medals Sunday, winning the women’s and ice dancing events, at the Hilton HHonors Skate America in Kent, Wash.
U.S. reigning women’s champion Ashley Wagner earned her first Grand Prix Series gold medal and her American teammate Christina Gao followed in second place with her first Grand Prix medal of any kind.
“(The competition) went exactly as planned,” Wagner said. “I really fought for some of those jumps, but I was pleased with what I put out.”
Meryl Davis and Charlie White, ice dancing Olympic silver medalists in Vancouver, won their third straight title at the event.
“Overall, it was a good start to the season and we’re on track to accomplishing our goals on the ice,” Davis said.
Ice dancers Lynn Kriengkrairut and Logan Giulietti-Schmitt finished a career-best fourth.
The first U.S. medal of the weekend came Saturday in pairs when Caydee Denney and John Coughlin finished third.
Jeremy Abbott, a 2010 Olympian, was fifth among the men Saturday.
TeamUSA.org was on-site in Kent. Click here for more coverage.
ROWING
The University of Washington successfully appealed a 10-second penalty for a buoy violation, allowing it to win the Men’s Championship Eights for the third time in five years in the 48th Head of the Charles Regatta Sunday in Boston.
Harvard had the lead, at home, until the ruling was overturned.
US Rowing won the Championship Women’s Eights race and finished last in the men’s eights after receiving a four-minute penalty for not giving way when the University of Washington tried to pass.
The U.S. women’s team featured Mary Whipple, who was also the coxswain for the U.S. gold-medal-winning eights at the London 2012 Olympic Games. She retired after the London Games but decided to compete one last time at the Head of the Charles, the biggest two-day regatta in the world. (For more on her experience at the regatta, check out TeamUSA.org's recap.)
Olympian Gevvie Stone won her third straight Head of the Charles title in women’s singles.
TRIATHLON
Gwen Jorgensen took the silver medal at the ITU World Triathlon Series Grand Final Saturday in Auckland, New Zealand.
Jorgensen, a 2012 Olympian, needed just 2:11:00 to finish the 1,500-meter swim, 40-kilometer bike and 10-kilometer run. She had the day’s fastest run split at 34:10.
The season-best result by Jorgensen allowed her to finish ninth in the final season standings. Sarah Groff, also a 2012 U.S. Olympian, was ninth Saturday and seventh in the season standings.
“When you get off the bike, you want to put together the best run you can,” Jorgensen said. “I was feeling good, thankfully, and I just kept moving up and ran as fast as I could.”
Jarrod Shoemaker, a 2008 Olympian who went into the weekend 24th in the season standings, was unable to finish the men’s race Sunday.
Tamara Gorman made an impressive world championship debut with a bronze medal Sunday in the Junior World Championship.
Meanwhile, U.S. athletes won 13 medals and two titles at the Paratriathlon World Championships in Auckland. Paralympic swimmer Melissa Stockwell won the TRI-2 title for the third straight year and Patricia Collins won the TRI-5. Paratriathlon will be added to the Paralympic program at the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Paralympic Games.
SOCCER
The two top-ranked women’s teams in the world played to a 1-1 tie Saturday before 19,522 fans at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill., when the United States faced second-ranked Germany.
The friendly was part of the United States’ Fan Tribute Tour following its Olympic gold medal in London.
Abby Wambach scored her 147th career international goal off an Alex Morgan assist 1:47 into the game.
The teams will play again Tuesday at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Conn. The United States is 23-1-2 on the year.
SWIMMING
Olympic champion swimmers Anthony Ervin and Jessica Hardy were among the double individual winners at the FINA World Cup in Berlin Saturday and Sunday and were also part of the winning mixed 4x50-meter medley relay.
Ervin won the 100-meter freestyle Saturday and the 50-meter freestyle Sunday. Hardy won the 100 breast Saturday and then won the 50 breast while also finishing second in the 100 freestyle Sunday.
Sean Mahoney won the 200 breast Saturday and Tom Shields won the 100 butterfly Sunday. Shields also took third Saturday in the 200 butterfly.
Leah Smith won gold in the women’s 800 free Saturday took a silver in the 400 free Sunday.
Becca Mann, a 15-year-old from Clearwater, Fla., finished second to Smith in the 800 free then added two third-place finishes Sunday in the 400 individual medley and 400 freestyle.
Kylie Stewart took second in the women’s 200 back Saturday. Celia Li took bronze in the 200 individual medley and 200 butterfly and Kaitlyn Jones did the same in the 100 back.
Etc.
BOBSLED/SKELETON: Nick Cunningham and Johnny Quinn finished first in the men’s two-man bobsled, while Jamie Greubel and Aja Evans finished first in the women’s bobsled national team selection races Saturday in Lake Placid, N.Y. Cory Butner-Jesse Beckom were just 17-hundredths of a second behind Cunningham-Quinn. Jazmine Fenlator and Olympic hurdler Lolo Jones led after the first of two women’s runs and finished second. Olympians Bree Schaaf and Emily Azevedo were third. U.S. Bobsled/Skeleton Selection Races continue through Friday.
FENCING: Will Milne won the men’s 50-59 saber event Thursday at the Veteran World Championships in Krems, Austria. Other medalists were: Chaz Smith, silver, women’s 50-59 saber; Judith Offerle, silver, women’s 60-69 foil; Joseph Streb, silver, men’s 60-69 saber; Jeannine Bender, bronze, women’s 50-59 silver; Wang Yung and David Seuss, bronze, men’s 60-69 saber; Patricia Bedrosian, bronze, women’s +70 epée; and Jim Adams, bronze, men’s +70 foil.
TRACK AND FIELD: Zach Bitter and Connie Gardner won the USA 50 Mile Championships in Boalsburg, Pa. Bitter finished in 5:35:51. Gardner successfully defended her title in 7:07:42.
CYCLING: Katie Compton earned an elite women’s silver medal at the Cyclo-cross World Cup opener in Tabor, Czech Republic, Sunday. Zach McDonald was fourth in the men’s U-23 division.
Elsewhere, Bryce Hocking from Marian University and Stephanie Caluag from Lindsey Wilson College won Div. I titles in the Dual Slalom Sunday when the USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championship concluded in Angel Fire, N.M. Saturday’s Division I titles went to: Rotem Ishay, Fort Lewis College, men’s short track cross country; Lauren Catlin, Fort Lewis, women’s short track cross country; John Swanguen, Lindsey Wilson, men’s downhill; and Brittany Clawson, Fort Lewis, women’s downhill.
EQUESTRIAN: Hannah Sue Burnett on Harbour Pilot won the USEF National Three-Star Eventing Championship in Elkton, Md.
Story courtesy Red Line Editorial, Inc. Tom Robinson is a freelance contributor for TeamUSA.org. Material from various news services and press releases from National Governing Bodies was used to compile this report. This story was not subject to the approval of any National Governing Bodies.