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CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Edmonton AM host Mark Connolly retires after 37 years with CBC
Anyone lucky enough to have spent time around Mark Connolly knows the story of how he got his unconventional start at CBC. Connolly was 14 years old and helping his father, Mike Connolly, with the family janitor business when he first walked through the doors of the old CBC Edmonton building on 75th Street. Between mopping floors and emptying garbage cans, Connolly got a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the broadcasting business. He thought it looked pretty fun and enrolled in NAIT's radio and television arts program. It was the beginning of an impressive broadcast career, spanning more than four decades and 37 years working at CBC. After the last 12 years hosting the city's top-rated morning radio program, Edmonton AM, Connolly can turn off his 3:45 a.m. alarm. He retires on July 31. During his career, Connolly has become the voice of Edmonton, always a passionate supporter of the city and northern Alberta, said Stephanie Coombs, CBC Edmonton's director of journalism and programming. "Whether he was covering the Olympics, interviewing guests on Edmonton AM or meeting people at community events or live broadcasts, it was always clear that this place, and its people, holds a very special place in his heart," said Coombs. "I know that our listeners felt that with Mark and it's why he connected so well with them." Connolly never did finish that NAIT degree. He was a few credits short when he got a broadcast job in Fort McMurray, doing play-by-play for the Fort McMurray Oil Barons hockey team, alongside now Senator Rodger Cuzner. Connolly worked in private radio in Fort McMurray, Red Deer and Edmonton before starting a part-time weekend job at CBC Edmonton in 1988. WATCH | Mark Connolly's long career with the CBC ends on Thursday: CBC's Mark Connolly is retiring and here's what he wants you to know 23 minutes ago For his first 22 years at CBC, Connolly was a sports reporter, a job that took him to athletic events around the world. Connolly remembers being in the newsroom and getting a very important phone call that would shape his career. He was going to the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. "I was almost speechless," Connolly recalls. "I stood up to take the call. It was just one of those moments in your life that you know everything is going to change." Connolly covered 12 Olympic Games in his career, calling tennis, sliding sports and cycling. He also covered numerous world championships, the Commonwealth Games and the Pan Am Games. Olympic bobsledder Helen Upperton remembers Connolly as a journalist who athletes respected and enjoyed talking to. They first met when Upperton was a 22-year-old athlete at the 2004 World Championships in Bavaria. "I remember him being really knowledgeable about the sport and really passionate about the athletes and amateur sport in general, which I think a lot of people would say about Mark Connolly," Upperton said. The pair went on to call bobsleigh together during the 2014 and 2018 Olympics. Upperton trusted Mark as a mentor, a friend and a calm presence when things went sideways. Like the time when Upperton's husband, Jesse Lumsden, was racing in the four-man bobsleigh at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi. Hopes were high for team Canada to get on the podium. The men had a solid start in their second heat of the day. They zipped down the track at speeds exceeding 100 km/h when the sled came out of turn 11 slightly wrong and flipped, skidding upside down on the track. "He [Connolly] reached over and put a hand on my arm because I think he knew I might swear during the broadcast," said Upperton. "I just took a breath. He gave me a second to collect myself and we continued on." Connolly took the lead during the broadcast and they made it to a commercial break. Connolly turned to Upperton and said, "You did great." Upperton thought, "No, you did great, thank God you were there." In between his Olympic adventures, Connolly's leadership and good-humour was a welcome part of the Edmonton newsroom. Connolly began co-hosting the CBC Edmonton supper-hour news with Portia Clark in 2010. Kate Scroggins, now a senior broadcast producer at The National, was starting her career at this time. Scroggins recalls Connolly's mentorship as she was learning the ropes during her first full-time journalism job. "Mark has an impressive way of putting those around him at ease and building up his colleagues to bring out their best," Scroggins said. "He's generous with his time, advice and even his things. My father still has a CBC Sports winter jacket that Mark passed on. It made me the star of Christmas gift giving that year." Connolly's generosity extended beyond his colleagues in the CBC building. He was the face and voice of many fundraisers over the years. He had a passion for charities supporting children and sports, including Kids with Cancer, Free Play for Kids and KidSport, where he served as a board member for six years and still volunteers. "We are truly grateful to get the opportunity to work alongside such a reliable, generous and kind-hearted volunteer," said Dayna Josdal, executive director of KidSport Edmonton. "Mark always shows up with big ideas and an even bigger heart. Because of Mark, more than 25,000 kids had the opportunity to grow through the power of sport, regardless of their family's financial circumstances." Current CBC radio listeners will know Connolly best as the host of Edmonton AM, a job he started in 2013. Almost immediately, Connolly knew this job was a great fit. He loved the intimacy of radio and how invested people were sharing their stories with him. In his retirement, Connolly will sleep in, play even more golf and spend time with his wife, Alyson, and his two sons. But Mr. Edmonton will still be a force for good in his hometown. In August, Connolly plans to call the Servus Edmonton Marathon and will host a charity dinner for The Man Van, a mobile men's health clinic run by the Prostate Cancer Centre. "I'm not going to be sitting in a rocking chair," Connolly said. "I plan to work, but what form that will take, I'm not sure. People will still see me out in the world, doing different things."
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
After salvaging career, DeBues-Stafford betting on herself to run world 1,500 and 5,000m double
Social Sharing It was June 2024 and Gabriela DeBues-Stafford had arrived in Burnaby, B.C., for the Harry Jerome Track Classic. Her hopes to run the 1,500 metres at the Paris Olympics that summer were "dead in the water" but remained alive in the 5,000. About one hour before the women's 5,000, DeBues-Stafford had a meltdown and felt she couldn't take the start line at Swangard Stadium. After talking with her husband and then-new coach Rowan DeBues, a former assistant with the University of Victoria cross-country and track team, she decided to compete. Late in the race, DeBues-Stafford trailed Alma Cortez by nearly 30 metres but delivered an "insane" final lap, DeBues recalled, blowing past her Mexican opponent and winning by one second in 15 minutes 17.48 seconds. "She knew if she wanted a chance at [qualifying for Paris] she had to go sub-15:20 and win because of the bonus points for winning," he recalled in a recent interview with CBC Sports as DeBues-Stafford prepared for this week's Canadian Track and Field Championships in Ottawa. But coming off two injury-marred seasons, the Toronto native failed to qualify for her second Olympics and first since 2021 in Tokyo by one world ranking point, the equivalent of 0.3 seconds across [her best] three 5,000m [qualifying races]. Six days later, she ran 4:19.38 for ninth place in the 1,500 at the Montreal Classic and was prepared to leave competitive racing. DeBues-Stafford had clocked 4:23.48 five weeks earlier, a long way from her 3:56.12 Canadian record that has stood since 2019. "I felt confused, broken and fell out of love with the sport. I wasn't enjoying it," she remembered. "It's not an easy sport, even when you're fit and healthy. I was very close to [retiring] last June." "In the moment it feels like you're giving up when it reality I don't think I had the fitness to be a factor in the kind of races I needed to be running and the times I needed to be running to be at the level I wanted to be at." DeBues-Stafford felt she owed it to herself to finish the season and ended on a positive note by winning the 5,000 on June 27 at the national championships in Montreal. "It was very difficult when I didn't feel I had any confidence. I gritted my way through it," she told CBC Sports. "[I figured] if I finished the season and did OK, that [gave me] the potential to continue to [receive funding from Nike] for another year and a shot to see if the next year can be better." In July or August, DeBues-Stafford set a goal to race the 1,500 and 5,000 for the first time at a major championship, and the former Bowerman Track Club is on track to do so at the Sept. 13-21 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. WATCH | Sprinters Blake, Leduc, McCreath among storylines entering Canadian championships: What to expect from Canadian Track & Field championships 2 days ago Nearing 4-minute barrier in 1,500m DeBues-Stafford, who placed fifth in the 2021 Olympic 1,500 final, first met the automatic entry standard in the 5,000 for worlds, running 14:47.83 in her first race in the distance this season on June 7 in France. She qualified for the 1,500 three weeks ago, going 4:01.19 at the Morton Games in Dublin. "It's been a bit of a surprise to be so close to my old form," DeBues-Stafford said. "It's tempting to compare myself to the 2019 and 2021 Gabriela, but I have to keep perspective of where I'm coming from and not get too greedy." Having achieved standard, DeBues can secure her spot at worlds with victories in each event this week. The senior women's 5,000 is Thursday evening at Terry Fox Athletic Facility, with the 1,500 semifinals slated for Saturday at 6:48 p.m. ET. The final is Sunday at 11:56 a.m. DeBues stills marvels at his wife's performance at the Harry Jerome Track Classic, wondering if DeBues-Stafford had found more races and an extra week to spare before the qualifying window closed if she would have found the extra ranking points to secure a spot for Paris. The fact she emptied [the tank] in a no-hope situation and pulled out [the win]. She's psychologically tough," he said. "When I saw her [comeback], I knew the fight was there." Looking back, DeBues-Stafford added: "I think Harry Jerome was the race that I realized I still have it in me to be able to race, to want to race, to want to put myself through a lot of pain in order to try to win. It was a slow regaining of trust that I could still be good." Surviving the 2024 summer season of racing, the 29-year-old pointed out, gave her a chance to salvage her career. "When I didn't make the [Paris] Olympics, I was annoyed about it. It showed me I still wanted it," said DeBues-Stafford, who holds Canadian indoor/outdoor marks in the 1,500, mile and 5,000, along with the indoor 3,000. She returned to training last fall at Athletics Canada's West Hub in Victoria, where she lived, working with Mark Rowland, a renowned middle-distance coach in Oregon the previous two decades. DeBues-Stafford cut short her 2022 season due to a stress reaction in her sacrum, a single bone comprised of five separate vertebrae located at the bottom of the spinal column, connecting it to the pelvis. 'Bad running mechanics and patterns' An MRI simultaneously diagnosed her with osteitis pubis, an inflammatory condition of the joint between the left and right pelvic bone. "Mark is very good with form and drills," DeBues-Stafford said of Rowland, who left AC last November to become head of endurance running at the University of Edinburgh in his native United Kingdom. In March, the Canadian runner joined him and moved back to Scotland, where she lived from 2019 to 2020. "With the osteitis pubis and sacrum, I got into bad running mechanics and patterns," said DeBues-Stafford. "I couldn't muscle my way through working hard the way I had been able to previously." DeBues-Stafford added Rowland has a wealth of experience working with older athletes returning from injury who need to relearn good habits such as opening their stride, "We did some running drills and hurdles," she said. "We continued that process when we got to Edinburgh, and it led to speed sessions. The difference in my form from the fall versus now is night and day. "If you can work on your top speed, then your stride becomes more efficient at all the speeds down. I hadn't been healthy enough to work on my top speed in several years." There have been hiccups along the way, including a right Achilles tendon injury that limited DeBues-Stafford to fewer than 20 kilometres a week in training runs early in her recovery. She also lost a lot of weight from food poisoning or a bacterial infection in South Africa that sidelined her from running for a week. These days, DeBues-Stafford is back averaging around 100 km a week, feeling close to her prior form and excited about worlds. "Fingers crossed. I still need to be named to the [Canadian] team, but I'm feeling good about my odds," said DeBues-Stafford, who is planning to train at altitude following nationals in in the Pyrenees mountains in southwestern Europe. "I feel a lot more connected with my body, feeling a lot more fluid on the track. "The 1,500 on the women's side is way, way, way deeper [than at the 2021 Olympics]. I fancy my odds at getting into the [world] semifinals. If I can get into the final in the 1,500, I feel that would be the biggest coup ever." DeBues believes his wife enters this week's competition with pressure and a target on her back. "All the other women could say, 'Well, I'm not the Canadian record holder,'" he said. "They get to think of themselves as the underdog, even though it was Gabriela who missed being on the [Olympic] team last year. "I risk speaking for her, but I think this year has shown she's not thinking of retirement anymore. Given where we came from last year and how bad January was this year with her health, we've still had a pretty good season.
CTV News
a day ago
- CTV News
‘I felt like the old Genie': Bouchard extends career with first-round win at NBO
Eugenie Bouchard of Canada celebrates after defeating Emiliana Arango of Colombia during her first round match at the National Bank Open tennis tournament in Montreal on Monday, July 28, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov MONTREAL — Eugenie Bouchard's retirement will have to wait. The former world No. 5 — and first Canadian woman to contest a Grand Slam final in the open era — upset Colombia's Emiliana Arango 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 in the first round Monday night at the National Bank Open, extending her tennis career for at least one match. 'I told my family that if I won the tournament, I would come out of retirement,' she said from centre court. 'I felt like the old Genie out there.' Bouchard, who also earned her 300th singles win, announced on July 16 that she would hang up her racket at the end of her hometown event. The 31-year-old from Westmount, Que., rose to prominence with a sensational season in 2014. At only 20, she reached the Wimbledon final, played in the Australian Open and French Open semifinals and won her only WTA title. Bouchard never returned to that level in a short-lived run among the best in tennis, but for one night at least, she resembled her old self — striking the ball with flair and painting the lines with forehand winners. 'I woke up this morning just telling myself, look I can't control the result, I just want to have a good attitude, have good fight and try to feel good with my shots, feel good with my game,' she said. 'No matter what happens, I wanted to walk off the court having enjoyed that gritty battle. 'I enjoyed every second of it.' Now ranked 1,062nd, Bouchard has moved away from the pro tennis circuit in recent years, spending more time on the PPA Pickleball Tour, where she ranks 12th in singles. Knowing it could be her last dance, fans mostly filled IGA Stadium, welcoming Bouchard with loud applause when she stepped on the court and cheering her on — with mixed chants of 'Let's Go Genie!' and 'Allez Eugenie!' — with every point. Bouchard could feel the crowd's energy running through her. Sometimes a little too much. When Bouchard broke the 82nd-ranked Arango twice in the decisive third set — first with a forehand, then from the Colombian's missed volley — to build a 5-1 lead, she described the feeling as an 'out-of-body' experience. 'The crowd was so noisy that I didn't feel my body for 30 seconds,' she said. 'And I lost the game after that. It didn't help me at the time.' Arango broke back with Bouchard serving for the match to make it 5-2, but the Canadian went up 40-love in the ensuing game. Arango then sent her forehand wide on Bouchard's second match point. The local favourite held her hands above her head in disbelief, blew kisses to the crowd, and later told a shouting fan 'I love you, too!' 'It was electric out there,' Bouchard said. 'I'm so proud of how I competed and stayed focused throughout the whole match and fought. It was a physical battle, a mental battle, and it just felt amazing to play in Montreal in front of everyone.' Bouchard will take on 17th seed Belinda Bencic of Switzerland in the second round Wednesday night. She came out with flashes of her attacking style, pushing Arango out of position with a dangerous backhand before hitting a forehand winner to go up 1-0 in the first set. After holding serve to go up 5-4, Bouchard earned double breakpoint and hit a forehand winner down the line to take the set. 'I know that I have good tennis, but I didn't know if I could show it today,' she said. 'I put effort into practice recently and I really wanted to have a good performance. So I knew I could do that, but it depended on whether I could stay in the game mentally and not be in my emotions or think about all the things that were around this game and around this tournament. 'I'm proud I was able to do that. I still have my focus.' Bouchard's momentum didn't carry into the second set as Arango broke her three times to comfortably force a third. Then she got it back. Also on Monday, Canada's Kayla Cross, Ariana Arseneault and Carson Branstine dropped out of the NBO after the first round. Cross let a one-set lead slip away in a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 loss to Kamilla Rakhimova of Russia, and Arseneault of Richmond Hill, Ont., fell 6-4, 6-2 to Japan's Naomi Osaka. Branstine, who grew up in California but represents Canada through family ties in Toronto, pushed former world No. 3 Maria Sakkari to three sets, but ultimately dropped the two hour, 23-minute match 6-2, 3-6, 7-5. Toronto's Victoria Mboko, Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ont., and Vancouver's Rebecca Marino advanced to the second round with wins Sunday. Andreescu's status for the remainder of the tournament is unclear after she hurt her left ankle on match point against Czechia's Barbora Krejcikova. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 28, 2025. By Daniel Rainbird
