|  Wys³any: 2019-07-19 03:07:08 Temat postu: microphone during the Arizona Cardinals-Carolina
GLASGOW -- Kirsten Sweetland pumped her arms, grit her teeth and ran hard through the finish line -- and in that moment put six years of pain and frustration behind her. The 25-year-old from Victoria captured Canadas first medal of the Commonwealth Games on Thursday, a silver in the womens triathlon. "Totally pain free. It feels so good," Sweetland said with a tired smile. "It feels unbelievable to get a medal." Sweetland raced Englands Jodie Stimpson neck-and-neck through the 10-kilometre run before Stimpson pulled away down the stretch to win gold in one hour 58 minutes 56 seconds. Sweetland took the silver in 1:59.01, while Englands Vicky Holland crossed in 1:59.11 for bronze. Calgarys Ellen Pennock crashed on her bike and has a broken collarbone. Sarah-Anne Brault of Winnipeg was instructed to drop out during the run to focus on Saturdays relay race. Andrew Yorke of Caledon, Ont., finished fourth in the mens race. Sweetlands race to the podium closed the book -- finally -- on a dizzying bad-luck story that began when she missed out on qualifying for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and included suffering seven stress fractures and a torn plantar fascia. "Were talking about a redeveloping Kirsten here, so awesome. Awesome for Kirsten," said Canadian coach Jaime Turner. "She ran really tough today, I thought she was quite clinical and ruthless out there. "Let the players play and she followed and came up with an awesome result." Sweetland was a rising star in the triathlon world when she became the youngest Canadian to win a World Cup race at the age of 18. She was on pace for a spot on the Beijing Olympic team, standing third in a qualifying race in which she needed only to finish top-eight. But she fainted 400 metres from the finish line. From that point on, its been years of one stress fracture after another, first in her tibia and then her pelvis -- shed later discover the trouble stemmed from one of her legs being longer than the other. The most severe injury was the torn plantar fascia -- the connective tissue that runs along the bottom of the foot. "I would get the whole winter of training done, nobody knew that I was working hard, and then right about race season Id be out again. And again. And again," she said. Last season was the first in years that she managed to put some races together, only to suffer a stomach ailment last summer that was diagnosed as a severe allergy to eggs and milk. "So this is the first year that Im making it through a whole season," she said. Still, her confidence had seeped away with the long months and years of being out and wasnt restored until 10 days before Glasgow, when she raced to bronze in a World Triathlon Series event in Hamburg, Germany. "Thats huge," she said of the mental component of racing. "Until that race I wouldnt have believed I could get a medal today. "I still put these girls on a pedestal. You start to lose a bit of confidence in your running because running is something you need to consistently do. Doesnt matter how talented you are and how much speed you have, to have to consistently train in order to be up with the best. And it had been so long since I had that so I started to lose that (confidence)." She wasnt lacking for any Thursday. The five-foot-four Canadian was 11th in the 1,500-metre swim but laid down the fastest time in the 40-kilometre bike to put her second going into the 10-kilometre run. And then it was a foot race between the top six athletes, with Sweetland and Stimpson barely giving an inch to the other until the home stretch. "I just tried to stick on Jodies shoulder for the run and hang on for as long as I could," she said. Sweetland was asked if she feels sympathy for Canadian teammate Paula Findlay, who finished last at the 2012 London Olympics amid a series of soul-crushing injuries and ailments of her own. Findlay wasnt on the team for Glasgow. Sweetland nodded yes, she understands. The two, in fact, have been each others cheerleader in their attempts to return to top health. "Its really just your approach to it and how your roll with it," Sweetland said. "Its about putting in the work and not expecting the results. "When athletes are younger and dont have injuries to deal with, they think of the work as a means to an end. But if you enjoy the work and put it in without expectations, it just sort of comes up. It feels like I didnt even work for this, its been so fun." The 25-year-old Yorke was 17th out of the water, then 13th after the bike, but made up ground in the run portion. English brothers Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee already had more than a minutes lead on the field by that point, Alistair going on to win gold and Jonathan taking silver. Richard Murray of South Africa won the bronze. Yorke outsprinted Australias Ryan Bailie to nab fourth by three seconds. "I thought that if everything went absolutely perfectly, and some people kind of tanked, I could have come third, but its always a dream," Yorke said. "But to find myself running in fourth, I told myself this morning I had nothing to lose, and that was my motto the whole day. I was out there thinking Youre hurting, but just kick. Whats the worth thing thats going to happen?" The Canadian crossed the finish line then wobbled on his feet for a few steps before dropping to the ground. An official leaned over him to dump water on his face. "I think that was just more indicative of my effort with the kick (than the heat)," he said. A huge crowd turned out for the first medal event of the Games, packing the grandstand at the finish line. They stood a dozen deep at some spots along the picturesque course at Strathclyde Country Park on the southeastern edge of Glasgow, enjoying the cloudless sky and temperatures that soared to 26 C. Sweetlands medal and Yorkes fourth-place finish were the bright spots on an up and down day for Canada. Pennock and Sweetland had come out of the water virtually even before Pennock crashed twice in the bike portion. The first came when she appeared to clip the back wheel of South Africas Kate Roberts, sending the two crashing to the road. The second incident saw her go down when she clipped her wheel on a barrier. She was taken from the course by ambulance to the Games medical centre. "Oh no, Ellens my good friend and my little buddy," Sweetland said, when informed of the crash. "Thats terrible to hear." Turner made the decision then to pull Brault from the race early on in her run. "We need Sarah-Anne in two days time with fresh legs," Turner said. "Theres no point Sarah marching on in the individual race without being in a dominant position." Brault, 24, struggled on the swimming portion, coming out of the water in 16th place. "Today wasnt there," Brault said. "Its really disappointing because I thought I was ready to have a good one, and I think it would have been a lot fun to race up at the front with the girls but when you come out of the swim that far back (its difficult to make up much ground)." Kyle Jones of Oakville, Ont., was 11th in the mens race, while Matthew Sharpe of Campbell River, B.C., was 21st. Roman Josi Jersey . -- Josh Smith made a 3-pointer as time expired and finished with 20 points to lift the Detroit Pistons to a 99-98 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday night in both teams exhibition finale. Viktor Arvidsson Jersey .Y. - Referee Ed Hochuli referred to replay official Tom Sifferman by his nickname Jungle Boy, which was heard on the in-stadium microphone during the Arizona Cardinals-Carolina Panthers NFC wild-card game Saturday. http://www.authenticpredatorspro.com/Mattias-ekholm-predators-jersey/ . -- Brendan Leipsic had two goals and an assist and Nicolas Petan extended his point streak to 11 games as the Portland Winterhawks slipped past the Red Deer Rebels 5-4 on Saturday in Western Hockey League action. Ryan Ellis Predators Jersey . The Packers, Lions and Bears were a combined 35-15 and as long as Jay Cutler can say healthy, all three could make the playoffs in 2012. Craig Smith Predators Jersey .Y. - The NFL has fined Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch $20,000 for making an obscene gesture during last Sundays NFC championship game, a person with knowledge of the fine told The Associated Press on Thursday.LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Robbie Gould saw no reason to shop around. The Chicago Bears announced a four-year extension with Gould on Friday, locking in one of the most accurate kickers in NFL history through the 2017 season. A person familiar with the situation said the deal is worth $15 million and includes more than $9 million in guaranteed money. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because financial terms were not announced. ESPN first reported the terms. "At the end of the day I couldnt see myself playing in another jersey," Gould said. "Id just look funny in another colour I think." Gould has converted 86 per cent of his attempts in nine seasons and ranks as the third most accurate kicker in NFL history behind Mike Vanderjagt (86.5 per cent) and Nate Kaeding (86.2 per cent). He has hit 26 of 29 field goals this season, including a franchise record 58-yarder against Cincinnati in the opener. He has 11 game-winning field goals in his career. With 1,021 points, Gould is closing in on Kevin Butlers team record (1,116) "I thought it was important that I remain a Bear," Gould said. "I think it means a lot for my career. I think it means a lot to be able to do some things down the road individually but also I think if Im going to hold a trophy up, I want to hold it up with the Chicago Bears." The deal comes as the NFC North-leading Bears prepare for an all-or-nothing finale against the rival Green Bay Packers at Soldier Field on Sunday. The winner captures the division title and advances to the playoffs. A tie would also do the job for the Bears (8-7). Gould was one of many Chicago players with expiring contracts, including quarterback Jay Cutler, return specialist Devin Hester and cornerbacks Charles Tillman and Tim Jennings. "Youve got guys that are up that if the deal weve struck gives a little extra money to keep guys around, then Im all for it," he said. "At the end of the day, all I want to do is win a championship. Hopefully we can start by doing it this weekend." The deal was a bit of a surprise consideriing general manager Phil Emery said at the start of training camp he didnt see the Bears extending any contracts during the season because they were up against the cap.dddddddddddd He also wanted the focus to be on the field and not the negotiating table. That announcement did not sit well with Gould, who was critical at the time. But any hurt feelings were soothed. He and Emery were on the same page in one key area, though. "I think we both agreed on what our vision was," Emery said. "And our vision was that together, some day we would hugging one another and had a big smile on our face and holding up that championship trophy. So the extension of Robbie Gould gives that some legs now and into the future and am very happy to announce that." With the season winding down, Emery said there was some money available to extend a contract. "We didnt use all the remaining emergency fund that we had," Emery said. "We were very open the last couple weeks of internally discussing the possibility of signing at least one player if we could find somebody that would fit into that equation. We were not aggressive in terms of our pursuit of those players." Goulds agent, Brian Mackler, contacted the Bears this week, and they reached an agreement over the next few days. There still will be plenty of issues for the Bears to address after the season, given all their expiring contracts and problems on defence, but one task is out of the way. A "negotiation can go as fast as you want it to go," Gould said. "Its all about, can you get on the same page, do they have the same value or number in mind that you have. I think, realistically, it was probably the easiest negotiation Ive ever been a part of. I appreciate the Bears that they think that highly of me to get something done before the end of the season." Note: WR Earl Bennett remained away from the team tending to a family matter in Texas and is questionable for Sundays game. LB Lance Briggs (shoulder), the only other Bears player on the injury report, is listed as probable. ' ' ' |
microphone during the Arizona Cardinals-Carolina 
