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CANADA
TAKES SILVER IN BOTH RELAYS!
AND
WE'RE BACK IN BUSINESS, KIDS!
THE
LONG-AWAITED PHOTO ALBUMS ARE UP!
Wednesday, March 1, 2006
First, I'd like to apologize profusely
to all of you for the EXTREME delay in this news story!!! Due to circumstances beyond our control, JG.com was taken
offline for the last 4 days, and nothing we did could get it back up. It actually crashed 4 hours before the relay final.
How great is THAT? Not!! As well, you may have noticed annoying little ads everywhere, and they
are now gone. I've had some delightful photos that Jonathan sent in, waiting in the wings since last week, and was unable
to post a single one of them due to the technical problems. It didn't help that I also had pneumonia. But
enough about me and my problems. This isn't Lori.com! Let's get to the good stuff!!!
| Photo by Noelle Neu |
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| François-Louis Tremblay & Jonathan Guilmette pose for Noelle's camera. Does that make them posers? |
There are four new photo albums going up,
but for today, just one is up -- and not yet complete. But I didn't want you to have to wait forever, so if
you click on The Silver Ladies' Celebration or the photo above, you'll find a photo
album dedicated to the Canadian women and their stellar performance in the 3000m relay, in which they got silver. Congratulations,
one and all! Don't worry, though. A whole lotta Jo is in that album! We've got photos from news agencies,
from Jonathan himself (from the medals ceremony and following party), and a BIG thanks goes out to Noelle Neu
of OhnoZone.net, for coming through yet again!!! She got photos from the same event that Jo sent in, and in some
cases, the exact same pose, just taken from a different angle! How small a world do WE live in??
Later this week, in honor of Flou Tremblay,
Jo's teammate and the only man from Canada to win a short track individual medal, I'll be posting an album
called "Flou's 500m Silver". Congratulations to Eric Bédard, by the way, on his valiant attempt in the 500m, winning
4th place, and to Charles Hamelin for his 4th place finish in the 1500m. That squirrely, little Ahn. He's
just impossible to keep at bay after the start!
Next, I'm assembling an album with shots from the relay final, in which Jonathan did not skate,
but they are some great photos, nonetheless! I have yet to find a single shot of Jonathan skating in competition in
these Games, so if you've located some from the relay semis on February 15th, please send them in! I'm starting to think
no one photographed it at all.
And last, but not least, we've got the
celebration and medals ceremony for Jonathan's Silver that he won alongside Team Canada in the 5000m relay! Oh yeah
... the REALLY good stuff! Since that album isn't yet completed, I'll do what Jonathan does, and "give you a
tease". This is the best picture from that album!
| Valdrin Xhemaj / epa / Corbis |
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| Jo gives a thumbs up while Eric Bédard, Flou Tremblay, Charles Hamelin and Mathieu Turcotte wave |
When I catch my breath,
a Closing Ceremony album will be created, and then I'll interview Jonathan later this week, when he's had adequate time to
recover from his jetlag. So if you'd like to ask him anything about his Olympic experiences, please send your questions
to info@JonathanGuilmette.com and I'll be happy to include
them. Sorry for the late notice, but you know ... site being inaccessible and all that jazz ... so please have your
questions in no later than Friday, March 3rd. Stay tuned for about 50 new photos,
coming later this week, and Marjolaine is working on still MORE wallpapers! Oh, the fun we have around here! :
)
 NEW
WALLPAPERS ADDED
PLUS SOME SITE REORGANIZING
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Our fabulous on-staff artists, Marjolaine Moreau and Michael J. Birkinshaw have
done it again! They have each sent in a new and FANTASTIC wallpaper of Jonathan! Click the black, mini-image below
to see Miko's work, and click the red mini-image to see Marjolaine's. To see all the wallpapers the site has to offer,
click Wallpaper/Fonds d'écran, which is housed under the Fun Stuff!/Amusement! button.
And don't forget, time is ticking
down to join the contest to win Jonathan's Olympic tuque! To enter for your chance to win, visit the CONTESTS! page. It's been added back to the main menu, by popular demand, between
Interviews / Entrevues and Fun Stuff! / Amusement buttons, for ease of navigation. More fun stuff and news will be posted as it comes in. We just have too
much fun around here!
PHOTOS
FROM JO IN TORINO POSTED
NEW
JOURNAL ENTRY FROM TORINO
Canadians
Lose Protest
Saturday,
February 18th, 2006
For those of you who have been waiting
on pins and needles to hear directly from Jo while in Torino, your wait is over! He sent in a half-dozen photos from
Torino, along with a nice, long journal entry. He sent them on Saturday, but I was out of town, which is why they are
being posted today (now that I'm back to my computer). Click the Around Torino to see the photo album, or click the photo below.
Jonathan also sent in a great, detailed journal
entry which you can read by clicking February/Fevrier 2006.
In regard to
the protest filed in the 500m women's race, Speed Skating Canada sent out a press release, which you can read by clicking
the link below. In short, Canada's protest was declined, and Anouk Leblanc-Boucher retains her bronze, Evgenia
Radanova retains her silver, and Kalyna Roberge will not be awarded the bronze medal.
| Photo Submitted by Jonathan Guilmette |
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| With the Moon in the Torino sky, Jonathan Guilmette looks pensively on |
NO OUTCOME YET ON PROTEST
New Bio Link Posted
Torino, Italy
Thursday, February 16, 2006
The decision on the protest that Head Coach for Team Canada, Guy Thibault,
filed yesterday (see news story below) has not yet been announced. The official complaint with the Court of Arbitration
for Sport (CAS) concerns the finish of Wednesday's 500-metre women's final. The CAS has not said whether it will review
the Canadian protest further.*
For the bio of Jo that has, at last, been posted on Canoe.ca, click the link
below. I find it to be the most comprehensive and interesting one listed on the net so far.
More news and to come as it is announced.
* Information courtesy of Speed Skating Canada and Canadian Press
5000m RELAY MEN'S
SEMI-FINAL RESULTS
Bronze, Possibly Silver for Leblanc-Boucher in 500m
Possible Bronze
for Roberge in 500m
Torino, Italy
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Today Team Canada skated
their semifinal with Jonathan Guilmette, François-Louis Tremblay, Eric Bédard
and Charles Hamelin. It was Canada, Australia, Germany and Korea skating against each other, and a Korean
skater fell 6 laps into the race. This put Korea almost a lap behind the leaders, Canada. They picked
up the pace, however, and when Tyson Hyung of Germany (a former Development Team member for Team Canada) fell at the 25
lap mark and hit the wall, this freed Korea up to move into second, and they made up over half a lap to finish in 2nd and
qualify for the finals. Germany finished 3rd and Australia, 4th. Canada held first place through the entire
race, and finished it in 6:57.004,
advancing to the final!
The 4 men to skate the
final for Team Canada on February 25th will not be announced until the day the final is raced. Oddly enough, no photos
of the semifinal men's 5000m event seem to be available yet from any of the major news agencies on-line (well, not that include
any clear photos of the Canadian men), but if they become available, I will post them.
After the race was over, CBC TV spoke with all 5 members of the men's short track team. The reporter
asked Jonathan, "When the Korean's went down, how did that affect your strategy?" "It didn't
affect it at all," Guilmette said, smiling. "Our strategy was just to go in front [at] a good pace, so we didn't
change anything, we were just continuing on our pace." Flou Tremblay was then asked, "As the 2-time
defending Olympic champions, how hard is it to stay on top with the Koreans, the Chinese and the Americans coming after
you?" "That's what we've tried to do every day for the last four years," Tremblay stated. "But I think we're doing
good so far because we've been training really hard, we've been really, really fast in training, and there's really a
good chance that we're gonna do really well in the final." From your mouth to God's ears, Flou!!!
In the other semi, the U.S., China, Japan and Italy skated against each other, and when a Chinese
skater hit a patch of bad ice in the corner, he fell, taking out the Italian skater nearest him. This caused Italy to
be advanced into the final, so are you ready for this? There will be five, count them, FIVE teams skating in
the relay final! 20 men. A couple of on-ice referees as well. 1 ice rink. Thousands of fans packed
in to see if Italy can make it to the podium on their home soil. It should prove to be a very exciting race!
In other Canadian short track news, Anouk Leblanc-Boucher won the bronze in the 500m women's final
today. "The best thing is when you say hi to the crowd and they're cheering for you," Leblanc said in her interview
with CBC TV after the race. Fu of China was DQ'd and Wang of China won the race. Evgenia Radanova of Bulgaria
came across the line for the silver, but her blade tip was not down, as the rules require, and Canadian Head Coach Guy Thibault
has filed an official protest, after having reviewed the video. If Radanova is DQ'd as a result of the protest, not
only will Anouk's bronze turn to silver, but Kalyna Roberge of Canada, who finished 1st in her B final, will move from 4th
place up to 3rd, capturing the bronze. The decision will be made tomorrow, before the medals ceremony takes place.
I will report the outcome of this protest then.
As for Jonathan, let's hope he skates the 5000m on the 25th and helps Team Canada to an Olympic
medal!
NEW
FRENCH VIDEO FROM RADIO CANADA
L’essentielle
préparation psychologique des athlètes
Monday, February 13, 2006
Well, if Jonathan Guilmette doesn't have
the best fans on the planet, I don't know who does! You guys make my job so darn easy! Sing Min-Rim from Korea,
and Anabel Porovsky of Poland have both sent in a great, French language video link that is over 12 minutes long! So
for our French speaking visitors ... ceci est pour vous !
Jonathan is featured in it repeatedly,
and both speaks and skates quite a lot in it. At the end, you can even catch a glimpse of him making dinner in his
kitchen! Visit the Video Clips page, and click on the top link, Le Point. This links to an hour-long show, and the story in which Jo appears is at about the 32:40 minute
mark. Click on the 10th of February on the calendar to the left (once you've clicked on "Le Point", and you can see
whole show.
As well, and this should please all you gals in Korea who have been diligently writing to
ask after him, Jonathan said today that he will be sending in photos from Torino tomorrow!!! I'll get all of it posted
just as soon as I can, so stay tuned. Lots more great stuff is coming down the pike, but for now, enjoy the video!
NEW
PHOTOS AND VIDEO ADDED
Saturday, February 11, 2006
Well, we site members have certainly
got a great friend in Olga from St. Petersburg! She has single-handedly
found every single new photo of Jonathan that has been posted on this site for the last week! Click on the Opening Ceremonies, Torino, 2006 link, scroll down to the photos of the Canadian team, and you'll find a nice, big picture that features Jo (as well
as Alanna Kraus and Amanda Overland, both hat-free, just like Jonathan). Is it a small image of Jonathan in a very
big picture? Well, yes. But until we see the stuff he's promised to send, we'll rely on our St. Petersburg
connection. (No pressure, Olga!) ;o)
And not only that, but
for those of you who would like to see a new video in which Jo is featured and skates (but unfortunately does not speak),
she found us a French video, too!! What a gal! I think I'm gonna have to put this girl on the payroll.
(Ok, so there is no payroll.) Go to the Video Clips page, and you'll find the new video at the top of the page called "En route vers Turin".
Once you've clicked on that link, you'll have to scroll down to where it says "31 Janvier /
Les patineurs de vitesse sur courte piste" on the lower, righthand side of the page.
Keep those links a-comin' kids, and send in anything
you find. We all greatly appreciate it.
Ah yes. And would someone please send Olga some
flowers?!?
LET
THE GAMES BEGIN!
OPENING CEREMONIES PHOTO
ALBUM POSTED
CBC TV Schedule Announced
Friday, February 10, 2006
The Games of the 20th Winter Olympiad are
officially open! Is it just me, or did it seem like they'd never get here? Whew! I've been about the web
today, and here is an Opening Ceremonies photo album that I've started. Just click on the picture.
| Photo Courtesy of the Edmonton Sun |
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| Danielle Goyette bears Canada's flag (is that Flou to her right? Sure looks similar!) |
As well, here are the stories
I've found for you to link to about the Opening Ceremonies and Canadian TV schedules:
Article about
the Opening Ceremonies on Slam!
Skiier ignites
flame, kicking-off Olympic Games. Danielle Goyette bears Canada's Flag.
Roch Pilon,
the guy who writes news flashes for SSC, talks about Canada's 5000m medal possibilities
Yahoo! Sports coverage of the Opening Ceremonies
Yahoo.ca coverage of the Opening Ceremonies
Jonathan's bio
on CBC.ca sports
CBC Television
Schedule -- please note, times are subject to change.
PLEASE LOOK FOR THE WORDS "SHORT TRACK", AS "SPEED SKATING" REFERS TO LONG TRACK AND "PURSUIT" IS A
TEAM SPORT NOT ASSOCIATED WITH THE SHORT TRACK RELAY.
WIN JONATHAN'S OLYMPIC TUQUE!
Thursday,
February 9, 2006
Would you like to own a piece of
Olympic history? How about a piece of Jonathan's personal Olympic history? What if you
could win an autographed photo of him to go with it? Well, here's your chance! Click on CONTESTS, (or on the photo of the tuque below) and join the fun! The contest begins
when the Olympic Flame is lit, and will end one month after it is extinguished. Find a photo for a business,
product, etc. with the words "Jonathan", "Jo", or "Guilmette" in it, send it to info@JonathanGuilmette.com, and you could win! Jonathan will choose the winning 6 entries for the tuque and autographed photos after the contest
closes. Have fun, and ... Bonne chance a tous !
A CLOSE SHAVE!
Tuesday, February 7, 2006
Ah, the beauty of it all. Canoe.com has posted artistic, serious photos
of Canadian Olympians from several different disciplines. A barefoot Mathieu Turcotte, wearing street clothes in the
stands, poses in starting postion. Charles Hamelin stands on a spiral staircase, looking meaningfully into the
beyond. Tania Vicent sits cross-legged, her blade tip on fire. And this is what Jonathan does:
| Photo by Olivier Jean / Journal de Montréal |
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| Now that's what I call a close shave! |
If life imitates art (or vice-versa), I'm not sure I wanna
see his razors! Oh, our dear Jo. Always the silly one in the group. But we wouldn't have him any other way.
No one else has one nearly so funny, but thanks to alert site member, Olga from St. Petersburg,
Russia, we have the following link, where you can see all of the members of Team Canada, for short track and
other sports, at:
She also sent this link, which has a photo of the team together
(this time with the alternates Melanie Gagnon and Steve Robillard included).
There are lots of other photos of the Canadian Team practicing there, not the least
of which, is this one. Check out the new skin suits! Nice!!!
| Photo by Mike Ridewood |
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| Jonathan skating in his Olympic skin suit ... 2002's that is! |
Now wait just a minute!!! That's not the new skin suit!
Well there's Jonathan, being original again. He said that they were keeping the skin suits very secret until the actual
Games begin, so it's possible that the one in the photo below isn't the one we'll be seeing in the Olympics. Here are
Flou and Eric laughing on the ice, Eric all in black, Flou in the possible Olympic skin suit. It looks good!
I didn't find one of Jo wearing it. Click on the photo of Flou and Eric below to see
the Pre-Olympic Photo Album that I'm creating. I will add to it as we go, and if you find any pictures
of Jonathan on-line, please send them in!!
| CP PHOTO, Paul Chiasson |
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| Eric Bédard and François-Louis Tremblay laugh during a practice at Palavela Arena in Torino. |
TORINO'S OLYMPIC MEDALS
UNVEILED
NEW OLYMPIC LINKS & ARTICLES
OLYMPIC SHORT TRACK POOL
NEW INTERVIEW FROM THE HAGUE
BORMIO PHOTO ALBUM PUBLISHED
Monday, February 6, 2006
There's nothing like the Olympics to make fun, games, information and photographs
come outta the woodwork! So let's get straight to the fun!
First, the below photo shows what the medals will look like that will
be awarded to winning Olympians in Torino. Can't you just see Jonathan with one of these around his neck?
| Photo Courtesy of www.speed-skating.net |
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| The medals that will be awarded in Torino, Italy |
As well, there are a lot of very interesting articles coming out
just in time for the Olympics. Here they are, and a brief description accompanies each:
ING to provide long-term support to Canada’s national speed skating
teams. Jonathan is in the photo included with the story, front & center. Marc Gagnon is also in the photo,
lower front, right.
Calendar for all speed skating events in French, complete with photos!
Jo's bio for the NBC (United States TV channel) coverage of the Olympics.
Jo in a short track photo album on the Torino Olympics site.
Jonathan's Olympic Bio on the Torino Olympics site.
Montréal Gazette talks w/Eric Bédard about team's goals for gold
in the 5000m. Jonathan and the team are mentioned.
Click the logo above to visit a new site, Speed-Skating.net,
and join their pool. "Bet" on your favorite athletes to win in the Olympics, and if your predictions are correct,
you could win a Speed-Skating.net T-shirt, an autographed 8x10 photo of Jonathan, or one of many other prizes, soon to be
announced. But hurry, because the pool closes on February 9th, 2006! There is also a long track pool that you can join, if you'd like. Send all entries to pool@speed-skating.net.
Working our way backward in time, one of our site members, Saskia
von Hoeven, conducted an interview with Jonathan when he was in The Hague, Netherlands in November, 2005.
She did this as a school project, and would like to share it with all of you. Thanks, Saskia! To read the brief
and entertaining interview, click on Homework. What a great journalist we have in Saskia!
Ok, one last thing ... the Bormio World Cup photo album from last year, which I created
months ago, is up. I simply forgot to publish it! Sorry about that. To visit it, click on Bormio, World Cup, and you'll go straight to it!
OLYMPIC COMPETITIONS ANNOUNCED
KOREA AND HAGUE PHOTO ALBUMS UP
Friday, February 3, 2006
There are 2 new photo World Cup albums up, and you can view them by clicking
Seoul and The Hague. Thanks so much to Park Da-Young and Noelle Neu for these great photos!
As well, the event that Jonathan will be skating in the Olympics is the 5000m
relay.
The semis will be on February 15th and the final
will be on February 25th. Skating will be shown on TV at different times, so watch your local TV listings for times
and channels! Exact starting times for the relay, Torino time, are 9:05 p.m., (12:05 pm Pacific)
on the 15th and 9:17 pm (12:17 pm Pacific) on the 25th at the Palavela Arena.
For more short track times and schedules, visit http://www.torino2006.org, click on Competitions and Schedules, then either click
the dates you want to check, or search by discipline. Make sure to choose "short track speed skating" and not just "speed
skating", or you'll get long track and pursuit speed skating.
Jonathan said that he has been tentatively advised that Canada will
be skating against Germany, Australia and Korea in the semis. The results of the semis on the 15th will, of course,
determine the 4 teams which will skate in the final on the 25th. The top 2 teams in each race will advance to the final
(as only the top 8 from World Cups 3 and 4 this season can skate in the relay in the Olympics).
If you have not yet signed Jonathan's Olympic Good Luck e-card, please click
the light blue button at the top of this page and do so before he skates on the 15th. The more support we can give him,
the better he is likely to skate!
More news, more photos, and an impromptu interview from The Hague,
conducted by a female junior short tracker, coming next week!
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| Click the logo to visit www.torino2006.org |
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