TEAM USA LADIES SHINE

IN SHANGHAI

SHANGHAI, China  - Team USA’s ladies won four medals at the Korean Air ISU Short Track World Cup 4 in Shanghai this weekend. The team has now tallied 13 World Cup medals during the first half of the 2011-12 World Cup Season.

Katherine Reutter (Champaign, IL) lead Team USA with a gold medal performance in Sunday’s 1000m. Finishing with a time of 1:32.721, the win marked Reutter’s ninth career World Cup gold medal, her fifth medal of the 2011-12 season, and her 41st career World Cup medal

 
“I performed even better than I had anticipated today, which is a nice surprise going into a competition where I felt I would be happy just as long as I could improve from last week,” said Reutter yesterday. “Not only did I improve, but I exceeded my expectations and brought home a gold, which feels really good given my last several months of injury. Hopefully I can continue this trend for the rest of the season.”
 
China’s Jianrou Li won silver in Sunday’s 1000m with a time of 1:32.864, and current 1000m World Cup leader Yui Sakai (JPN) captured bronze with a time of 1:32.882. Lana Gehring (Glenview, IL) was fourth in Sunday’s A Final, posting 1:33.014. Reutter currently ranks fourth overall in the 1000m, followed by Gehring at fifth.
 
Team USA Ladies relay squad (Gehring, Alyson Dudek (Hales Corners, WI), Reutter, and Jessica Smith (Melvindale, MI), won silver on Sunday with a time of 4:13.000. Current World Cup relay leader, Team China, won today’s event at 4:12.394 in front of a hometown crowd, while Japan took bronze posting 4:13.763.

 
“All of the ladies today were very happy to make our first A Final of the season, and not only that, but to get a silver medal,” added Reutter. “It was a very close and strong race. Unfortunately, China had a little bit more left in the tank with the last three laps than we did, but we performed to the best of our ability and we are extremely proud of our performance and our results.”

Reigning 1500m World Champion Reutter won silver in Saturday’s 1500m with a time of 2:22.764, in a close finish with Korea’s Ha-Ri Cho, the current 1500m overall leader, who crossed the line at 2:22.473. Han Xiao (CHN) took third with a time of 2:23.061. Lana Gehring (Glenview, IL) finished 5th in the A Final, posting 2:23.266. Emily Scott (Springfield, MO) skated to third in Saturday’s B Final with a time of 2:35.200
 
“I was really proud of the way that I skated today,” said Reutter. “The coaching staff and I all knew that I was going to the line without all the weapons that I’m capable of having, but we also knew how to play to my strengths. I felt like I had the most tactical and strongest race that I was capable of, and I’m really proud of the way I was able to finish. I’m also really proud of my competitors, Ha-Ri Cho especially, had a phenomenal finish, and there is no one I’d rather share the podium with, except of course Lana, my teammate.”
 
Jessica Smith (Melvindale, MI) skated a strong 500m(1), winning bronze with a time of 45.338. This marks Smith’s second World Cup medal of the season and her third career World Cup podium. “I earned a bronze medal today in the 500m and I was excited to make the podium in China,” said Smith after Saturday’s race.

Korea’s Jinkyu Noh set a World Record on Saturday, winning the 1500m with a time of 2:09.041, breaking the previous World Record time of 2:10.639 set in October 2003 by Hyun-Soo Ahn (KOR) in Marquette, MI. Charles Hamelin (CAN) took second today with a time of 2:09.098, and Yoon-Gy Kwak was third (2:09.548). Kyle Carr (Peachtree City, GA) finished 11th in Saturday’s 1500m with a time of  2:17.973 in the B Final.

Korea also skated an incredible 6:35.884 to set a new relay World Record on Friday, eclipsing the previous World Record time of 6:37.877 set by Great Britain in February 2011.

Team USA now travels back to the U.S. to train and prepare for the 2012 Short Track National Championships and winter World Cup team trials, Jan. 6-8, at the Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns, UT.

Extended race results from World Cup 4 competition are available here Replays of this weekend’s World Cup races are available online here.

Team USA World Cup 4 Medal Summary
 

Katherine Reutter

Gold   1000m   1:32.721
 
Team USA

Silver   3000m Relay   4:13.000
(Gehring, Dudek, Reutter, Smith & Scott)
 
Katherine Reutter                

Silver   1500m   2:22.764
 
Jessica Smith                         

Bronze   500m(1)   45.338
 

14 WORLD CUP MEDALS FOR TEAM USA AND COUNTING

                            Gold        Silver        Bronze
Long Track            1              4                 1

Short Track           3               4                6

Team USA Total: 19 Medals and Counting!

Congratulations!

THE NATION’S TOP SPEEDSKATERS DESCEND

UPON MILWAUKEE

The Pettit National Ice Center, a U.S. Olympic Training Site, will play host to the U.S. Speedskating Championships, December 13-18, 2011.

The top speedskaters in the United States will be on display on the Pettit Center’s Olympic Oval for four days of racing action in the country’s most important domestic competition. Once the dust has settled U.S. Speedskating will crown Sprint Champions, Allround Champions and overall National Champions for both men and women, as well as naming the 2011-12 Winter World Cup team.

“It doesn’t get any bigger than U.S Championships if you are an elite level skater,” said Olympic medalist Kip Carpenter, U.S. Speedskating and SWIFT speedskating team coach. Carpenter continued, “All of the training, hours of hard work, sweat and sacrifice crescendos over the next five days right here in Milwaukee. It will be a sight to see our country’s best and most intense athletes.”

Below is the schedule of events and start times for the upcoming Championships:

Day 1: Tues, Dec 13, 4:30pm start time        

Ladies - 3000m     Men - 5000m

Day 2: Weds, Dec 14, 4:30pm start time        

Ladies - 500m x 2     Men - 500m x 2

Day 3: Thurs, Dec 15, 3pm start time        

Ladies - 1000m     Men - 1000m

Day 4: Fri, Dec 16 - Rest Day

Day 5: Sat, Dec 17, 9:30am start time        

Ladies - 1500m     Men - 1500m

Day 6: Sun, Dec 18, 9:30am start time        

Ladies - 5000m     Men - 10,000m

U.S. SHORT TRACK NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS REGISTRATION

IS NOW OPEN

Online registration for the U.S. Short Track National Championships is now online and active.  Skaters may register here.

INAUGURAL MIDLAND YOUTH SPEEDSKATING FESTIVAL

A SUCCESS
 

The first annual Midland Youth Speedskating Festival, held this past weekend, was a uniquely designed competition that provided a venue for skaters to hone their racing skills in a competitive environment without the pressure skaters experience in a conventional meet format with consecutive rounds of advancement. Skaters from Canada, Washington D.C., Ohio, Illinois, and Michigan were grouped by ability, skating 12 races and a relay. Awards were given for the fastest cumulative times in each group, based on the best 3 out of 4 races in the shortest and intermediate distances skated by the group. Detailed results will be posted on www.MSSCevents.com.
 
Congratulations to the following Division Winners:

Gold Division:

Female -  Margaret Dever, Lakewood; 

Male - Brian Rhim,  Washington D.C.

Silver Division:

Female  -  Grace Dever, Lakewood; 

Male - Shawn Roncka, West Michigan

Bronze Division:

Female - Adrielle Howell, Milton, Ontario, Canada; Male - Tom Yura, Midland

Copper Division:

Female - Julie Kim, Washington D.C.;  

Male - Dakota Mica Riemersma, West Michigan
 

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

IN MEMORIAM

US Speedskating is saddened to share the news of the passing of two longtime friends and contributors to our sport.

Paul Meuller

Paul Meuller passed away peacefully yesterday at the age of 85. Father of Olympic champion Peter, Paul was a long time friend, official, Hall of Fame member and leader in our sport.

Although Paul had never been a competitive speed skater himself, the Mueller family was approached to join the Madison Speed Skating Club while they were on a family skating outing at Tenney Park.  All three Mueller children competed for the Madison club and Paul became actively involved as a volunteer coach for over 15 years, instrumental in developing many champion skaters.  In 1972, Paul moved his family to Mequon, Wisconsin, to be closer to the Olympic Ice Rink (now the Pettit National Ice Center) to enable his son, Peter, to pursue and obtain his dream of becoming an Olympic Champion.  Peter’s Olympic victory in 1976 was one of Paul’s proudest moments.  

Paul also volunteered his time to the development of many skaters of all skill levels by serving in various official capacities with the Whitefish Bay Speed Skating Club, the Amateur Skating Union, the United States Speed Skating Association, the International Skating Union and the United States Olympic Committee.  He participated in official capacities at many events including the U.S. Olympic Festival, U. S. Short Track, and other national and international speed skating events.  He served as the Short Track Olympic Team Leader in 1992, and was Vice President of the United States Speed Skating Association. Paul was inducted into the Speed Skating Hall of Fame in 1998.  The “Big Cheese,” as he was affectionately known, will be sorely missed by the speed skating community.  

Paul is survived by his “dear German wife,” Rita, his devoted and loving children, Dotty (Jeff) Mueller, Peter Mueller, and Howard (Betsy) Mueller, and two loving and cherished grandchildren, Samantha and Mathew Mueller.  Paul is also survived by many wonderful friends, including Pastor Ellsworth Freyer, Ernie Kretschmann, Jerry Steele, the Poulos family, and so many others.

Visitation will be on Thursday, December 15, 2011, from 5-7 P.M. at Christ Church, 13460 N. Port Washington Road, Mequon, Wisconsin, with a service immediately following.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Paul’s family

and friends.

Dr. Andy Gabel

It is with sadness that we share the news of the passing last week of Dr. Andy Gabel, a long-time US Speedskating official, supporter and father of Olympian and past US Speedskating President Andy Gabel.

Dr. Gabel served US Speedskating as a starter for many years in the Midwest region and contributed a great deal of his time to the sport, and had a great deal of passion and commitment to the sport of speedskating.

Services were held on Thursday, December 8th in Schaumburg, Ill. For additional memorial information, please visit http://www.ahlgrimfuneral.com/

Our thoughts and prayers are with Dr. Gabel’s family and friends.

NEWS FROM THE US SPEEDSKATING

MARKETING DEPARTMENT

Sponsor Tip of the Week

Cold Calls DO NOT work. Try and focus on your network of contacts and new leads that your network of contacts can provide.

Check out this killer deals that is happening this week on our online store.

• Tuesday the 13th and Wednesday the 14th - 15-40% Off Hats & Jerseys
   
• Friday the 16th – Sunday the 18th  – 15-40% Off Sweatshirts Only

US SPEEDSKATING

ADDRESS CHANGE

Please note, US Speedskating has had a recent change in address, we will no longer be using the P.O. Box account. All mail should be sent directly to:
 
US Speedskating
5662 S Cougar Lane
Kearns, UT 84118
 
Please be sure to record this change of address in your records. Thank you.

REMINDER: COACHING AWARD NOMINATIONS

 DUE 12/16
 
In an ongoing effort to recognize our coaches for the great work that they do at all levels of our sport, US Speedskating and the USOC will present 2011 Coach of the Year (COY) Awards for the following four categories. US Speedskating can submit one candidate per category to the USOC for recognition. Nominations will be due to US Speedskating no later than December 16, 2011. The USS Coaching Committee and USS Staff will collaboratively review this year’s nominations, with a final approval by the USS Board of Directors. Final nominees in each category will be submitted to the USOC on January 11, 2012. US Speedskating final nominees will also be recognized at the 2012 Spring Board Meeting.


 
To submit a nomination, please download the nomination form and e-mail the completed nomination to ljager@usspeedskating.org. Nominations are due to US Speedskating by 5pm (MST) December 16, 2011.
 
If you would like more information, please contact Linda Jager at ljager@uspeedskating.org or 801-417-5360 (extension 5367).
 
Volunteer Coach of the Year

A Volunteer Coach of the Year nominee is a coach who does not receive payment in any form for their involvement in coaching at any level.  This award is based on the accomplishments of the coach for the year 2011. The nominee must be actively coaching athletes or within their first year of retirement http://db.tt/ljROO0tE

Developmental Coach of the Year

A Developmental Coach of the Year nominee is coach of a youth club, high school or junior-level coach, or a coach directly responsible for coaching athletes to the junior and/or elite level. This award is based on the accomplishments of the coach for the year 2011. The nominee must currently be coaching or within their first year of retirement. http://db.tt/EZPRNgon

Doc Counsilman Science Award

The “Doc” Counsilman Award is for a coach that utilizes scientific techniques/equipment as an integral part of his/her coaching methods, or has created innovative ways to use sport science.  The “use of science in sport” includes, but is not limited to, biomechanics, nutrition, psychology, technology, strength and conditioning, exercise physiology, etc. http://db.tt/I1GsqhDh

National (NGB) Coach of the Year

A National Coach of the Year nominee is a coach of an Elite Level Club, Collegiate, Pan-Am, World Championship or Olympic Games coach or the coach of an elite athlete who competes at the highest level of your sport. This award is based on the accomplishments of the coach for the year 2011. The nominee must currently be coaching or within their first year of retirement.http://db.tt/UjdA9YP4
 

FOLLOW US SPEEDSKATING