Latest news with #CBCSports'
CBC
16-04-2025
- Sport
- CBC
All-Montreal Victoire line in the spotlight for Canada at women's hockey worlds
It took only six minutes into the first period of Canada's first preliminary-round game at the women's world championship for the first line to strike. The rookie, Jennifer Gardiner, scored her first career world-championship goal against Finland, thanks in part to a secondary assist from her linemate and captain, Marie-Philip Poulin. Veteran forward Laura Stacey completes the all-Montreal Victoire first line, which has been Canada's best so far after four games. Gardiner and Stacey have each recorded five points, while Poulin leads all forwards at the tournament with eight points. They'll take on Japan in the quarterfinals on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. ET in České Budějovice, the Czech Republic city hosting this year's tournament. "They're a fun line to watch, not a fun line to play against," Boston Fleet forward Jill Saulnier, who won Olympic gold alongside Stacey and Poulin in 2022, told CBC Sports' Hockey North this week. "They're obviously pretty skilled, a pretty deep group. Great people. It always comes back to that." While the main goal at the tournament is win a world championship for a second consecutive year, it's also the last chance to test potential line combinations in a tournament format ahead of the Olympics next February. Twenty five players are wearing the red and white in the Czech Republic, but only 23 will go to Italy for the Olympics. But it was hard to ignore the magic between Gardiner, Poulin and Stacey when the trio have played together for the PWHL-leading Victoire. Poulin leads the Victoire in points (23) followed by Stacey (20) and Gardiner (16). "They have a little bit of everything," Canadian head coach Troy Ryan told The Canadian Press last week. "Stacy and Pou are going to have some just natural chemistry, Stacey [is] someone who will be first on pucks ... likes to take pucks below the goal line. Pou, the way she thinks the game is next level, can finish as good as anybody. Gardiner is a good mix of a little bit energy and a little bit of youthfulness, but enough skill as well." Surrounding Poulin with her Victoire linemates also frees up Fillier to play on a skilled second line with Sarah Nurse and Daryl Watts, the Toronto Sceptres forward who has recorded two goals in her first senior national team tournament. Speed and skill Stacey has played on the national team roster with Poulin for several years, but often lined up in a bottom six, energy type of role. For a while, she was part of a third line with Emily Clark and Blayre Turnbull that could do a little bit of everything, on top of being annoying to play against. But Stacey's game has grown significantly over the last couple of years. Her foot speed, drive to the net and vision made her a standout in the final season of the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association circuit in 2022-23. Then, in the PWHL, she tied for fifth in league goal scoring (with Poulin and Watts) last season while playing in all situations for Montreal. She's been a staple on the Montreal power play, but her size, reach and speed also help her thrive in a shutdown role. Stacey scored the lone goal for Canada in a 2-1 preliminary-round loss to the United States on Sunday, cashing in on her second breakaway of the game. Saulnier has played with or against Stacey for nearly two decades, beginning in junior hockey in Ontario, continuing through the Canadian Women's Hockey League and the Canadian national team, and into the PWHL Watching Stacey's progression over that time has been "outstanding" both as a teammate and as a friend — Saulnier was part of the wedding party at Poulin and Stacey's wedding last summer. "It's been an honour as a friend of hers to just watch her thrive," Saulnier said about Stacey. "That's all you want for your friends in sport is to just to see them pull out the best version of themselves, and I think that's what the world is seeing of her right now." The rookie Gardiner, meanwhile, has immediately clicked alongside Poulin in her rookie pro season. The captain has praised her young teammate's vision, speed and shot as she's watched her gain confidence and an opportunity on the national team. The 23-year-old from Surrey, B.C. was on the cusp of making last year's world-championship team, and had been identified as one of the next players up on Team Canada. "Her season and her play all season long in the PWHL showed that she's ready for the challenge of playing on the international stage," Canada's GM Gina Kingsbury told CBC Sports before the world championship began. Poulin, meanwhile, is playing in her 13th world championship and proving she's still the best player in the world, whether it's scoring goals when Canada needs them, blocking a crucial shot or winning battles along the boards. She goes into the quarterfinals just two points shy of the Canadian world championship career points record held by Hayley Wickenheiser (86), three assists away from Wickenheiser's Canadian assist record (49) and two goals from passing Jayna Hefford as the top Canadian goal scorer at the tournament (40). All of which Poulin downplayed to The Canadian Press. "I don't care about individual [records] at all," Poulin said. "I really don't care." Knowing who Poulin could play with could mean one less difficult decision for Kingsbury, Ryan and the rest of the staff to make ahead of 2026. "Just having those extra reps in practice, I feel like it helps knowing where they're going to be, what they're going to do, what they like to do, and kind of where we all excel," Stacey told The Canadian Press about Gardiner and Poulin. "If I can get the two of them the puck on the forecheck, they can put the puck in quite well." The winner between Canada and Japan will move on to the semifinals on Saturday. The gold-medal game is set for Sunday at 12 p.m. ET.
CBC
06-04-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Canada's Grondin wins snowboard cross gold after securing season title in Quebec
Social Sharing Éliot Grondin didn't let up after securing the men's snowboard cross overall World Cup season title. About 24 hours later, the Sainte-Marie, Que., native defeated Frenchman Aidan Chollet in the big final on home snow at Mont-Sainte-Anne on Sunday. Loan Bozzolo, Chollet's teammate, placed third in the final World Cup event of the season Grondin has back-to-back Crystal Globe wins on the World Cup circuit, and it comes a week after he won world championship gold in Switzerland. The 23-year-old needed a top-three finish in Saturday's event to claim the Crystal Globe and followed through with a loss in the big final to Austria's Jakob Dusek. Grondin won three gold medals, three silver and a bronze on the World Cup circuit this season. WATCH | Grondin sits down in Switzerland to talk snowboarding success: Éliot Grondin sits down in Switzerland to talk snowboarding success 11 days ago Duration 14:19 The two-time Olympic snowboarder tells CBC Sports' Anastasia Bucsis about what the support of his community means to him and how he lost the gold medal at Beijing 2022 by a 'photo finish.'
CBC
04-04-2025
- Sport
- CBC
New Grand Slam circuit offers track nerds plenty to debate early in season
Social Sharing Putting Sydney McLaughlin in the final race of the final day of the inaugural Grand Slam Track event was a simple choice for organizers. She's American and mediagenic and a generational performer. Three trips to the Olympics and counting. Four gold medals, with more coming if she stays healthy and motivated. Every time she steps on the track she threatens the 400-metre hurdle world record. Except Sunday afternoon she'll be running the flat 400, which, as of right now, is her second-best event. And instead of lining up against Grand Slam Track's other 400m standouts, like current world leader Salwa Eid Nasser, 2024 Olympic champion Marileidy Paulino and 200m gold medallist Gabby Thomas, the new circuit's format will pit her against other hurdlers in a race without obstacles. That first matchup — a four-way battle royale among tip-tier elites — is a headliner at any track meet on the planet, and the kind of high-speed, high-profile showdown that intrigues hardcores and drive-by fans alike. It's also the kind of race the new league teased when it promised to gather best-in-class performers in a unique format. And the main event they're delivering on Sunday? It's a series of choices. WATCH | Michael Johnson discusses Grand Slam Track with CBC Sports' Morgan Campbell: 'Track's never had a Formula 1': Michael Johnson on his new pro track league 2 days ago Duration 8:40 A smart performance decision to put 21 hours between the hurdles and the flat 400, to give fine-tuned athletes maximum time to rest. A savvy marketing play to set up McLaughlin-Levrone — who has the fastest personal best in the field by two seconds — to conduct a quarter-mile clinic in the meet's final race, and leave a stunning final impression on viewers in the 189 countries where the event is scheduled to air. The verdict on the decision to keep McLaughlin-Leverone separate from Nasser, Paulino and Thomas this weekend depends on what happens next. If organizers make sure that the four superstars are on a collision course, it's brilliant. Building tension early in the year makes the late-season payoff that much more satisfying. If you're a Grand Slam Track stakeholder, you'd love to end the year with Sydney versus Gabby versus Marileidy versus Nasser, all of them attacking the 48-second barrier. But if you're a boxing fan, you know that just because a matchup should happen, doesn't mean it will. That's why we never got Lennox Lewis against Riddick Bowe for a pro world title. And if Grand Slam Track, whose current format has McLaughlin-Levrone in a separate event category from Nasser, Thomas and Paulino, can't find a way to get those four together this season, then it all looks cynical. Best on best with an asterisk. Am I nit-picking? Possibly. No matter what I wind up thinking about the format, the races it facilitates and the ones it prevents, I'm impressed at the depth and breadth of talent lining up on the newly resurfaced track at Kingston's National Stadium this weekend. All three medallists from the women's 100m in Paris are scheduled to compete — Masai Russell, Jasmine Camacho-Quinn and Cyréna Samba-Mayela. The men's 100m features Kenny Bednarek, Fred Kerley, Zharnel Hughes and Oblique Seville. It could almost be a world final, in the first week in April. Early season causes scheduling nightmare This time of year, which marks the unofficial opening of the outdoor season, is thrilling for avid track fans, but a nightmare for anyone trying to gather a critical mass of talented performers for a top-level event. Nearly everyone is at a different stage in their buildup to the world championships in September. Hardly anyone's schedule lines up with everybody else's. You want to see Andre De Grasse and the rest of Team Canada this weekend? They're at the Florida Relays in Gainesville. De Grasse trains in Gainesville now, and is scheduled to run the 200m, with Canadian 400m phenom Christopher Morales Williams competing in the next heat. Trying to get a look at Olympic 100m champ Julien Alfred and silver-medallist Sha'Carri Richardson? They're slated to run at the Miramar Invitational outside Miami. Other big-name sprinters and hurdlers? Noah Lyles? Kishane Thompson? Femke Bol? They're all someplace, but not the same place. Track's new pro league, Grand Slam Track, explained 2 days ago Duration 0:51 Four-time Olympic champion Michael Johnson is the man behind the new professional track league. For track nerds, the scattered action is part of the fun. You watch one meet on TV and stream another on your laptop. If there's no live feed, you find the meet's website and keep refreshing for current results. But you keep in mind that you're collecting info in early spring to help you make sense of the global competitions coming in late summer. Grand Slam Track promises a change of pace. It has us paying closer attention, earlier in the season than we're used to, and it's refreshing. This weekend represents a rare April track meet that means something big-picture. Serious track fans aren't used to it, but it's a habit worth learning. Same with the Grand Slam Track format, which groups athletes according to event category, and has them compete in two separate races each weekend. So, 100m specialists also run the 200 because they're in the "short sprinter" cohort. As a "long hurdler" McLaughlin-Levrone also runs a flat 400, while 400m specialists like Paulino add the 200 as part of the "long sprints" category. At its best, the structure sets up Olympic level action, like Bednarek racing Kerley and Hughes in the 100 and 200. And it answers hypothetical questions that track nerds love to debate. Does Marco Arop, the world champion 800m runner from Edmonton have a big enough gas tank to hang with Olympic champ Cole Hocker in the 1500? Does Hocker have the footspeed to finish in the same postal code as Arop in the 800? We're about to see. But in the women's sprints and hurdles, the groups as currently constituted prevent the best 400m race possible. McLaughlin Leverone isn't a 400m specialist, but she has 400-metre credentials. Her 400 hurdles world record is 50.37 seconds. Only two Canadian women have run faster than that in the flat 400 – and none since 1988. Her 48.74 personal best makes her the second-fastest American ever at 400m, and in the 4x400m relay in Paris last summer she ripped off a blistering 47.71-second split, widely credited as the fourth-fastest ever. She's not an interloper stealing a lane from a more deserving runner, and she's not posting second-tier times in her second-best event. She's a medal favourite in two races, and a candidate to make Grand Slam history in the circuit's first year. If the format lets her. And if it doesn't somebody needs to make the decision that leads to the best race possible. Four all-time performers, three spots on the podium. Somebody will have to lose, but the Grand Slam track would win. And so would the fans.
CBC
27-03-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Ilia Malinin overcomes nerves to win men's world championship short program
American Ilia Malinin spoke with CBC Sports' Devin Heroux, after setting a new personal best score of 110.41 points to win the men's short program, at the world figure skating championships in Boston.
CBC
27-03-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Éliot Grondin sits down in Switzerland to talk snowboarding success
The two-time Olympic snowboarder tells CBC Sports' Anastasia Bucsis about what the support of his community means to him and how he lost the gold medal at Beijing 2022 by a 'photo finish.'
