I Heart Edmonton

During the Olympic Games Edmonton area athletes reminded us why we're called the 'City of Champions' BY EMIL TIEDEMANN I 'VE never really watched past Olympics, Winter or Summer, and I had no intention in starting with the 2010 Games in Vancouver . But, like so many fellow Canucks, I was drawn into the spectacle that would connect a whole nation like nothing before it had. Patriotic Canadians from coast to coast revelled in every bronze, silver and gold medal victory of our hometown heroes, themselves fuelled by a united pride that caught many of us--and outsiders alike--offguard. For seventeen days, millions were glued to TV sets as we not only ended our dubious distinction of being the only country not to earn a gold medal on home turf, but went onto win a record 14, more by a single country in any previous Winter Olympics ever! By Sunday (Feb. 28) Canada had logged 26 medals in all, enough for third place, behind the U.S. (37) and Germany (30). Some of those medals ...

Local curling superstar and co. sweep the Norwegians to take the gold at the Vancouver Olympics BY EMIL TIEDEMANN P RIOR to the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics Canada had never won a gold medal on home turf. Last night (Feb. 27) Edmonton curler Kevin Martin led his team to our nation's 13th gold medal of these Games! This was also Martin's first trip to the top of the podium, previously taking silver in 2002. The 43-year-old Martin and his hand-picked team of Canucks' John Morris , Marc Kennedy and Ben Hebert beat Norway's Thomas Ulsrud et al 6-3 on Saturday to give Canada its 25th medal for 2010. "We put this team together with the idea to get to Vancouver and we did it," Martin said. "It was a lot of hard work to try and get back in the Olympic Games and with all the hard work, we made it to the finish line." Ironically, it was Team Norway who kept Martin from taking gold at the '02 Games in Salt Lake City, though neither team made it to t...

Grant MacEwan goaltender shut out the U.S. to win gold in women's hockey BY EMIL TIEDEMANN "S HE was like a rock," admitted defenseman Colleen Sostorics , referring to Edmonton-born goalie Shannon Szabados ' shutout to win gold at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. The team beat the U.S. 2-0 last Thursday (Feb. 25), and Szabados made an impressive 28 saves. "I was standing there on the blue-line after and I thought to myself, 'I can't believe I got a shutout'," remembered Szabados, 23, who is of Hungarian descent. "But I would have been satisfied with a 9-8 score, as long as we won." St. Albert 's Meaghan Mikkelson , 25, is also part of the world's best female hockey team, which also won gold medals at the Winter Olympics of 2002 and 2006, in Salt Lake City and Torino, respectively. They won silver during the 1998 games in Nagano. Szabados' goaltending career began long ago, when her father Gary brought home a set of g...

Local speed skater makes family of Olympians proud with a silver medal win in Vancouver BY EMIL TIEDEMANN E DMONTON'S own Jessica Gregg --who happens to be my boss' niece!--shared in Team Canada's silver medal victory in women's 3,000-metre short track relay last Wednesday (Feb. 24). At her side during podium ceremonies in Vancouver were Tania Vicent , Kalyna Roberge and Marianne St-Gelais , all of Quebec. Initially Canada had finished the race in third place, but the 2nd place South Koreans were disqualified after it was discovered that team member Min-Jung Kim bumped rival China's Linlin Sun near the end of the 27-lap run. Thus, Canada took silver, the U.S. snatched bronze, and gold went to the Chinese. "The spirit was so good, we worked so hard for this," commented Vicent, 34, who became the first woman in Canada to win a medal in four straight Olympic Games. Gregg, who turns 22 on March 16, comes from a family of Olympians. Her father Dr. Randy Greg...

Mike Robertson of Canmore became the fourth Canadian to reach the podium in Vancouver BY EMIL TIEDEMANN "It was kind of bittersweet," said Mike Robertson of his second place finish in men's snowboard cross on Monday (Feb. 15). "Obviously I wanted to win for sure, but I'm so happy to be second. It's amazing." Robertson, who turns 25 next week (Feb. 26), barely lost to American boarder Seth Wescott , 33, who took gold on Cypress Mountain at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics . France's Tony Ramoin , 21, finished with a bronze medal, ahead of American Nate Holland . "I definitely made a mistake at the bottom, and [Wescott] capitalized and he's the winner now, and I'm second," continued Robertson. "But I can't complain. Second's amazing." Although Robertson--who happens to be the youngest member on Canada's snowboarding team--was born in Edmonton, he moved to Canmore , Alberta when he was just six. Although he...

Freestyle skier was pegged as Canada's sure thing for gold, but had to settle for second place instead BY EMIL TIEDEMANN S O, it wasn't Canada's first gold medal on home turf, but it was the nation's first medal of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics ! I'm, of course, referring to Spruce Grove native Jennifer Heil 's silver medal victory on Saturday night (Feb. 13), settling for second place in Ladies' Moguls. American Hannah Kearney edged out Heil's 25.69 points total with her 26.63 score, while fellow U.S. team member Shannon Bahrke took the bronze with a 25.43 final. "I definitely felt like I could have done better," said Heil, 26, who took home a gold medal at the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy. "There's no doubt about it. I was shooting for gold tonight. But I really do feel like I won silver." Currently studying at Montreal's McGill University, Heil was expected to capture Canada's first gold medal on home soil....

e O LYMPIC pride was undeniable on the snowy field in the photo below, as students of Spruce Grove 's Woodhaven Middle School showed off their support for local Olympic hero Jennifer Heil yesterday (Feb. 10). Heil, who won a gold medal in freestyle skiing at the 2006 winter games in Turin, Italy, is from Spruce Grove and, in fact, attended Woodhaven School. She is going for gold again when the 2010 Olympic Games kickoff tomorrow (Feb. 12) in Vancouver. To capture this shot Global 's news helicopter, Global 1 , hovered above the junior high school, where hundreds of students formed the five celebrated rings that make up the official symbol of the Olympics, as a pair held up a sign that read "Go Jenn Go." Some of the other locals who will be competing in the Vancouver Olympics include curlers Kevin Martin & Adam Enright (of Edmonton), speed skater Tamara Oudenaarden (of St. Albert ), bobsledders Pierre Lueders & Neville Wright (of Edmonton), hockey playe...

But who is he, exactly? BY EMIL TIEDEMANN " I SAT and thought about it for a couple hours, and was like, that's awesome!" That's what local sculptor Jason Carter told Citytv, after he was asked about being chosen as one of only six Aboriginal artists to represent Canada at Vancouver's 2010 Winter Olympics . "Awesome" would be an understatement! Carter's craft, moulding soapstone and designing paintings of traditional Canadian mammals, is something this Edmonton-bred artist has been doing for about a half-dozen years. "I started carving soapstone in 2003 after I had mentioned offhandedly to my sister that I would love to try sopastone carving, and at Christmas I got a piece of soapstone, which I left in the closet for a while. "But as I continued looking to connect with my spirituality," he told Vue Weekly , "I was looking for a flat piece of stone to smudge with and carry around with me, I ended up cutting off a piece of this so...

It may not be Vancouver, but for a moment or two it felt like it! BY EMIL TIEDEMANN S O it wasn't the actual Winter Olympics itself, but it was the next best thing! The official Olympic flame touched down in Edmonton yesterday (January 13th) for the traditional torch relay that'll eventually come to an end in Vancouver just in time for the kickoff of the 2010 Winter Olympics (February 12-28th). Sir Winston Churchill Square was electrified that evening, as thousands of Edmontonians were momentarily connected with a mutual pride for our brief visitor. The flame lit up the Square like almost nothing else could, boasting a history that stretches more than 80 years of global journies and worldly bearers. And for just a few hours on Wednesday, Edmonton shared in that glorious legacy. Commemorating the theft of fire from Greek God Zeus by Titan Prometheus , who--according to Greek mythology--gave it to the mortals, the flame was kept alive throughout the ancient Olympics celebratio...

The Oilers made it five in a row for a franchise record, and Kevin Martin heads to the Olympics BY EMIL TIEDEMANN I T was an exceptional weekend for sports in Edmonton, as the Oilers and local curler Kevin Martin reminded us why we're the "City of Champions." On Friday (December 11th) the Oilers came back from a 3-0 game against the Blues in St. Louis, to score five consecutive goals, closing the third period with a 5-3 victory. That was the team's fifth straight win on the road (same road trip), setting a new franchise record. "I think after winning five on the road, it's tough to play any better," Dustin Penner told reporters. "It's tough to play any better than that." Penner scored once during Friday night's game, in addition to three assists. Shawn Horcoff and Sam Gagner eached shared a goal as well, while Gilbert Brule made two. Unfunately, the Oilers weren't able to make it six in a row when they returned to Rexall Place ...

The Canadian Curling Trials takes place in Edmonton to determine who will head to the 2010 Olympics BY EMIL TIEDEMANN T OMORROW (Sunday, December 6) marks the kickoff of the 2009 Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings (presented by Monsanto ), which serves as the Canadian Curling Trials that will determine who will head to Vancouver in February to represent Canada in the 2010 Winter Olympics . Both the men's and women's teams will be crowned during the week-long (Dec. 6-13) tournament at Rexall Place . The round robin format has the 1st place teams automatically advancing to their respective finals, where they will be up against the winners of the semi-finals, which is made up of the 2nd and 3rd place teams. Confused yet? Me, too! The women's finals will take place at 6:00PM on Saturday, December 12th, and will be taped by TSN. That same network will also televise the men's finals the following afternoon (Sunday, December 13th) at 1:00PM. In addition to the TV spots, the event ...