Day 9 sure to be a busy day

Canada hopes to add to their medal count on Saturday with great expectations coming from the speed skating teams, as well as trying to continue domination in curling. Bobsleigh and aerials will also get underway.

Curling: Canada’s Kevin Martin and his team will face Great Britain. Martin heads into session seven round robin match with a perfect 4-0 record and hopes to better that as Great Britain is currently ranked fifth.

On the women’s side, Canada’s Cheryl Bernard and her team will have the day off. The Swedish team who have also been dominant in the Olympics will face Russia who are ranked towards the bottom of the board.

Alpine skiing: The ladies Super-G is set to go in the morning. Lindsey Vonn of the U.S. is a strong contender. Other notable podium finishes can come from Austria’s Elisabeth Goergl and Sweden’s Anja Parson.

This event will be the last for Canadian skiers to get onto the podium. Emily Brydon is the top Canadian but don’t expect a gold medal run as she is currently ranked 21st. Britt Janyk and Shona Rubens will also compete but also have a low rank.

Freestyle skiing: Ladies’ aerials qualification begins with only one Canadian representative, Veronika Bauer, but she is not the favourite going into this event.

China are heavy contenders with Nina Li leading the way and her teammates Xinxin Guo and Mengtao right behind her.

Ski jumping: Long hill individual first round and the medal round will take place. Austrian’s Gregor Schlierenzauer and Simon Ammann are set to go head-to-head as they are the favourites going into this event. The other Austrian’s also have a chance at medaling so don’t count them out.

The only Canadian to qualify for the first round is Stefan Read.

Ice hockey: Five games are scheduled to take place with Canadian men and women both having the day off. Men’s hockey continues with the round robin while the women will be playing semifinals.

  • Men’s group A is Norway vs Switzerland and group C Germany vs Belarus.
  • Women’s semifinals are Switzerland vs China and Russia vs Slovakia.

Cross- Country skiing: The men’s 30km pursuit is led by top contender Petter Northug of Norway. Marcus Hellner of Sweden and Lukas Bauer of the Czech Republic round off the top three. The Italian team are always contenders with Giorgio Di Centa leading the way.

Canada is not expected to medal but could have strong races. Ivan Babikov is the top Canadian, finishing eighth in the 15km race while Alex Harvey, Devon Kershaw, and George Grey hope to better their standings in this event.

Speed skating: Men’s 1,500m final is where Canada hopes to medal. Denny Morrison will need to have a strong race if he expects to contend with heavy favourite, American Shani Davis. Chad Hedrick of the U.S., and Norwegian Havard Bokko may also hit the podium but the Dutch team always has strong skaters.

Canadian Lucas Makowsky is the under dog headed into this race and has potential to steal a medal. Kyle Parrott and Mathieu Giroux round off the Canadian team.

Bobsleigh: The two- man bobsleigh starts with the first two heats. Canada 1 will be represented by Lyndon Rush and Lascelles Brown. Canada 2 by Pierre Lueders and Jesse Lumsden. The medal round is set for February 21.

Short track: Ladies’ 1,500m heats and final will go ahead with three Canadians taking part and being strong contenders. Tania Vincent, Valerie Maltais, and Kalyna Roberge will attemp to skate into the finals.

The men’s 1,000m quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals is where the Hamelin brothers, Charles and Francois of Canada, hope to go one-two on the podium. American Apolo Anton Ohno is always a favourite in this event but not unbeatable.

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By: Rosa Garcia
Posted: Feb 19 2010 9:14 pm
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Filed under: Winter Games
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