Canada collects 3 World Cup speedskating medals
Last Updated: Sunday, January 27, 2008 | 11:21 AM ET
CBC Sports
Led by Denny Morrison's gold, Canada collected three medals at the World Cup long-track speedskating competition Sunday in Hamar, Norway.
Morrison, of Fort St. John, B.C., skated to victory in the men's 1,000 metres with a time of one minute, 8.56 seconds. Simon Kuipers of the Netherlands finished second in 1:08.58 and Jeremy Wotherspoon of Red Deer, Alta., earned a bronze after crossing the line in 1:08.59.
Jeremy Wotherspoon set a track record Friday at Olympic Hall in Hamar, Norway, by clocking 34.55 seconds in the men's 500-metre race. He bested his own mark Saturday in a second 500-m event.
(Bas Czerwinski/Associated Press)
Morrison and Wotherspoon continued a successful weekend for the Canadian men.
Wotherspoon won a gold medal in the 500-m sprint on Saturday in a track-record time of 34.31 seconds, with Morrison taking third in the 1,500 metres.
And on Friday, in the first 500-m event of a double-bill weekend, Wotherspoon clocked 34.55 seconds to defeat Keiichiro Nagashima of Japan by 0.19 seconds and take the gold. Morrison was third in the race.
On the women's side Sunday, Christine Nesbitt of London, Ont., took silver in the 1,000, won by Germany's Anni Friesinger in a track record time of 1:14.81.
Nesbitt finished in 1:15.84, and the Netherlands' Ireen Wust took third with a time of 1:15.85. Ottawa's Kristina Groves (1:16.29) placed fourth, while Winnipeg natives Shannon Rempel (1:16.58) and Cindy Klassen (1:17.01) finished sixth and ninth, respectively.
