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| Ryan Hall, pictured here crossing the finish line at the 2010 Boston Marathon, will compete again in the 2011 Boston Marathon this weekend. |
At Spyns we have been busy selling luxury 5, 7, and 10 day tours to the London 2012 Olympics. The majority of our clients are North American and a few are coming with us to see the Tour de France finish in Paris the Sunday before the Opening Ceremony starts on Friday, July 27th, 2012. We have put together a full itinerary of events and attractions in and around London over the duration of the Olympics. If you would like more information on our tours please feel free to contact me at info@london-olympiad.com. Now on to your Team USA weekly update
The U.S. women’s hockey team will be looking to defend its back-to-back titles from 2008 and 2009 at the 2011 IIHF World Women’s Championships. The tournament is set for April 16-25 in Zurich and Winterhur, Switzerland.
Team USA begins play Sunday against Slovakia. Team USA’s preliminary round games continue on Monday against Russia and Wednesday against Sweden.
The U.S. roster includes 15 Olympians — including forward Jenny Potter and defenseman Angela Ruggiero — from the U.S. team that earned a silver medal at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver. Potter and Ruggiero are four-time Olympians and part of a total of 14 players who earned gold with Team USA at the 2009 World Championships.
Team USA also has 15 players back from the team that competed in November at the 2010 Women’s Four Nations Cup. Forwards Jen Schoullis and Kelley Steadman will be making their debuts with Team USA, and five other players will be competing in the World Championships for the first time: goaltender Brianne McLaughlin; defensemen Josephine Pucci and Anne Schleper and forwards Kendall Coyne and Brianna Decker.
“We're excited about this group,” said Katey Stone, coach for Team USA and also the women’s ice hockey coach at Harvard. “It has a little bit of everything — experience, youth and players with a lot of fire. I’m anxious to see what we’re capable of at the world championship.”
The U.S. has captured three gold medals (2005, 2008, 2009) and nine silvers in the 12 previous World Championships.
Also in ice hockey:
International Ice Hockey Federation World Men’s U18 Championship, April 14-24, Crimmitschau, Germany
After opening the World Men’s U18 championship with a 2-1 victory against Switzerland on Thursday, the U.S. will face Slovakia on Friday and Russia on Sunday in the pool-play portion of the tournament. Reid Boucher scored the winning goal in the opening-round victory over Switzerland. “Tonight we found a way to win a very difficult game,’’ coach Ron Rolston said.
“Every game we play will be a battle, so getting three points tonight was a good start.’’
“Every game we play will be a battle, so getting three points tonight was a good start.’’
MARATHON RACING
London Marathon, April 17, England
Boston Marathon, April 18, Hopkinton to Boston.
Three 2008 U.S. Olympians — Ryan Hall (who finished second in the Houston USA Half Marathon Championships in January) and Blake Russell as well as Kara Goucher, who ran the 5K and 10K in Beijing — will be among the U.S. runners in the world’s best-known marathon, the Boston Marathon. Also entered is former Arizona State star Desiree Davila The course takes runners through difficult hills in the western suburbs of Boston and then finishes up downtown.
Hall set the Boston Marathon record for a U.S. runner last year with a time of 2 hours, 8 minutes, 41 seconds, but placed fourth overall. Goucher, now 32 and hopeful of making it to the London 2012 Olympic Games, placed third among women in the 2009 Boston Marathon.
“I have run that race again about 1,000 times in my head. If I could go back in time, sure, I would have done some things differently, like when I took the lead I should have gone much harder,” Goucher told the Boston Herald.
Also in the Boston field will be Joan Benoit Samuelson — the winner of the inaugural Olympic women’s marathon at the Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games. This year will mark the first time since 1993 that Benoit Samuelson has entered Boston. Her 23-year-old daughter, Abby, also is running.
One day before Boston is held, the London Marathon will take place on the other side of the Atlantic. Approximately 36,000 entries were received for that race, including U.S. marathoners Mo Trafeh, the 2011 USA Half Marathon champion; Jason Lemkuhle, who finished fifth in the Half Marathon Championships, and 2008 Olympian Magdelena Lewy-Boulet. Also entered is Stephan Shay, the brother of the late Ryan Shay, who collapsed and died at age 28 during the U.S. men’s marathon Olympic Trials in 2007.
TV: Boston Marathon, 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. ET Monday, Universal Sports
GYMNASTICS
NCAA Men’s Gymnastics Championships, April 14-16, Columbus, Ohio
NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships, April 15-17, Cleveland.
Stanford University scored a season-high 366.100 points Thursday, grabbing the top preliminary score in the NCAA Men’s Gymnastics Championships. Joining Stanford in Friday’s finals are defending national champion Michigan as well as California, Illinois, Oklahoma and Penn State.
Defending parallel bars national champion Ryan Lieberman scored a career-best 15.650 on the bars — the best score of the day on the parallel bars. His teammate, Alex Buscaglia, won the vault and horizontal bar. “I’m very happy with how the team did. The first few events, we had no misses whatsoever and were on a roll,” Stanford coach Tim McNeill told the Associated Press.
The women’s team field includes defending national champion UCLA. The winners from the preliminary sessions Friday will advance to the team finals Saturday followed by the individual finals Sunday.
SOCCER
U.S. Women’s National Team training camp, April 18-May 6, West Palm Beach, Fla.
Pia Sundhage, head coach of the U.S. Women’s National Team, named 29 players to compete in an 18-day training camp that will determine many of the 21 roster spots for this summer’s FIFA Women’s World Cup. Among those 29 are some familiar Olympic names: Goalkeeper Hope Solo; defender Christie Rampone; midfielders Shannon Boxx, Lindsay Tarpley and Heather O’Reilly; and forward Abby Wambach. Twenty-five of the 29 players are from Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) teams.
Three college players are on the training camp roster: Sydney Leroux of UCLA, 2008 U.S. Soccer Young Female Athlete of the Year Kristie Mewis of Boston College and Christine Nairn of Penn State.
The U.S. will follow up its training camp with a pair of friendly matches against Japan: May 14 in Columbus and May 18 in Cary, N.C.
TENNIS
Fed Cup, Team USA vs. Germany, April 16-17, Stuttgart, Germany
Seventeen-time Fed Cup champions Team USA will meet Germany in a World Group playoff tie. The U.S. hasn’t been forced into the playoff tie since 2002; a 4-1 loss to Belgium in February forced the playoff appearance. The U.S. nominated players by captain Mary Jo Fernandez are Melanie Oudin, Christina McHale, Vania King (a replacement for Bethanie Mattek-Sands) and Liezel Huber.
The U.S. lost the last two Fed Cup finals to Italy. It must win this weekend if the U.S. is to play for the Fed Cup in 2012.
TV: 1 p.m. ET Saturday, Tennis Channel; noon Sunday, Tennis Channel.
BOXING
Team USA vs. Mexico, April 15 and 17, Harvey, Ill.
Eight U.S. national champions, including super heavyweight champ Lenroy Thompson and female lightweight champ Queen Underwood, will lead Team USA into a two-day international dual in suburban Chicago on Friday and Sunday. Competition will be held in all 13 Olympic weight divisions at Thornton Township High School and the Restoration Ministries’ Harvey Boxing Club.
Other U.S. boxers include light flyweight Louie Byrd, light welterweight Pedro Sosa, middleweight national champ Luis Arias, Police Athletic League national bantamweight champ Oshanique Foster, 2010 Youth Olympic Games participant Joshua Temple, female middleweight national champion Tiffanie Hearn and female flyweight Marlen Esparza. The Mexico squad includes six female boxers.
Charles Leverette of the U.S. Army, Clara Savannah and Mark Chears are the U.S. coaches.
DIVING
FINA Diving World Series, April 15-16, Sheffield, England
Purdue diver David Boudia, a 2008 Olympian who recently won two national titles at the NCAA Championships, will dive in his first FINA World Series event of the year this weekend in England. Boudia was the 2010 USA Diving Athlete of the Year. Also leading Team USA into the competition is Duke University’s Nick McCrory, who won the platform diving title at the NCAAs, and Abby Johnston of Duke, who won the 3-meter national title at the NCAA Women’s Championships. The seven-member U.S. team also includes three-time Olympian Troy Dumais.
MODERN PENTATHLON
World Cup Series, April 14-17, Sassari, Italy
Margaux Isaksen, a 2008 Olympian, won the combined shooting-and-running event, fenced a personal best and had a strong swimming event, totaling 4,092 points Thursday to finish first in her qualifying group a World Cup series event in Sassari, Italy. She easily qualified for Saturday’s final, topping 2008 Olympic champion Lena Schoneborn of Germany by four points. Fellow 2008 U.S. Olympians Sam Sacksen and Eli Bremer are among four U.S. men competing in the qualifying Friday; the men’s finals will be held Sunday. The event has a definite Olympic look on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, considering that nine of the world’s top 10 women and 18 of the top 20 men committed to the competition. Valuable points are at stake for the World Cup Final, which will be used to determine berths in the London 2012 Olympic Games.
CANOE/KAYAK
USA Canoe/Kayak National Team Trials, April 15-17, Charlotte, N.C.
In a first step toward qualifying for the 2012 Olympic Games, 50 of the nation’s top paddlers will compete in the USA Canoe/Kayak National Team Trials, Friday through Sunday, at the U.S. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C. Athletes will compete for spots on the national team and subsequent competitions in World Cup events, 2011 World Championships, 2012 Pan American Championships and the London 2012 Olympic Test Event. Among the paddlers: Olympians Scott Parsons and Brett Heyl in the men’s single kayak, Olympians Benn Fraker and Casey Eichfeld in men’s single canoe, and Pan American championships silver medalist Ashlee Nee in women’s single kayak.
CURLING
2011 World Senior Championships and World Mixed Doubles Championships, April 16-23, St. Paul, Minn.
U.S. mixed doubles champions Brady Clark and Cristin Clark of Seattle will go after gold in the World Mixed Doubles Championships, and two U.S. senior teams skipped by Geoff Goodland of Eau Claire, Wis., and Margie Smith of Shoreview, Minn., will do the same in the World Seniors. Both tournaments begin this weekend at the St. Paul (Minn.) Curling Club. Goodland’s squad begins round-robin play Sunday morning against Japan and Smith’s team will play Switzerland, also Sunday. The Clarks begin play in the World Mixed Doubles against Spain Sunday night.
CYCLING
ZLM Tour, April 16, Netherlands
Lawson Craddock (Trek-Livestrong), who was the top U.S. finisher in the U23 Tour of Flanders last week, will lead a team of seven U.S. cyclists into Saturday’s ZLM Tour in The Netherlands. Craddock finished 11th in the Tour of Flanders in Belgium, a race that covered 172.1 kilometers.
Also in cycling:
USA Cycling BMX National Championships, April 16, Chula Vista, Calif.
Liege Bastogne Liege, April 16, Belgium
FIGURE SKATING
U.S. Adult Figure Skating Championships, April 12-16, Salt Lake City
National championship events in eight disciplines will be held Friday and Saturday in adult age groups at the Salt Lake City Sports Complex. In all, 400 skaters are competing in 90 open events plus the championship competitions. The field includes 2010 masters ladies champion Beth Delano of Philadelphia and masters men’s champion Burton Powley of Iowa, and 2010 U.S. Adult pairs silver medalists Kimberley Sailer and David Garber. The championship events begin Friday with the ice dancing competition. Skaters in the championship events qualified through three sectional competitions held in February.
FENCING
USA Fencing Division I and Wheelchair National Championships, April 15-18, Portland, Ore.
Beijing 2008 Olympic silver medalists Tim Morehouse (sabre), James Williams (sabre) and Emily Cross (foil) will be among a large field of fencers competing Friday through Sunday in the USA Fencing Division I Championships. The competition will play a part in determining berths for the U.S. team at the 2011 Senior World Championships and Pan American Games. Twenty-nine former Olympic or World team members will compete. Catherine Bouwkamp, Ryan Estep and Joseph Brinson, all members of the 2010 Wheelchair World Championship Team, will compete in the national wheelchair championships.
In a twist to the competition, two-time Olympic champion Mariel Zagunis will participate in a wheelchair fencing exhibition, facing Estep on Sunday at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland. Zagunis said she wanted to do the exhibition to bring more awareness to her effort for donations for the U.S. Paralympic Fencing Team. “I have never tried wheelchair fencing, but I have heard that it is very difficult,” Zagunis said. “I hope that people who watch the exhibition will be able to come away with a better understanding about wheelchair fencing, how these athletes compete and also that it can be very exciting to watch.”
SWIMMING
U.S. National Synchronized Swimming Championships, April 14-16, Columbus
Nearly 100 elite athletes will compete for national titles in solo, duet, team and combined synchronized swimming events at Ohio State University’s McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion. On Saturday, the U.S. National Team will perform an exhibition performance.
Also in swimming:
FINA World Cup 10km Marathon Swimming, April 17, Santos, Brazil
VOLLEYBALL
SWATCH FIVB World Tour, April 17-20, Braslia, Brazil
Two-time Olympic gold medalists Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh are seeded No. 5 in the SWATCH FIVB World Tour, which will begin play April 17 with country quota matches. May-Treanor and Walsh have combined for 77 World Tour gold medals. Top-seeded Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers led the U.S. men. They won nine World Tour titles last year and were named the FIVB Team of the Year. The main draw for women’s teams begins April 19 and the men’s main draw a day later. The U.S. has 10 teams total in the Brazil tournament.
TEAM HANDBALL
USA Team Handball College Nationals, April 15-17, Colorado Springs, Colo.
West Point is seeking its fifth consecutive national championship in the event, which is being hosted by the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. Last year it was an all-West Point final: West Point Black defeated West Point Gold 30-25 in the championship game.
TABLE TENNIS
2011 College Table Tennis Championships, April 15-17, Rochester, Minn.
The national championships, organized by the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association, will be held Friday through Sunday at the Regional Sports Center in Rochester, Minn. Twenty-four men’s/coed teams are registered to play.
BADMINTON
Mid Atlantic Classic, April 15-17, Parsippany, N.J.
The tournament is sanctioned by USA Badminton and is a national-ranking event. Competition will be held in men’s and women’s singles, men’s and women’s doubles, and mixed doubles.
JUDO
Northglenn Judo Championship, April 15-16, Broomfield, Colo.
The 43rd annual tournament, sanctioned by USA Judo, includes an elite division for senior E-Level athletes. Competitors include 2010 World Team members Michael Eldred, Katie Sell and Kenny Hashimoto. The action will take place at Legacy High School in Broomfield, Colo.
Also in judo:
Illinois State Open Championships, April 16, Sugar Grove, Ill.
Iowa State University Spring Judo Championships, April 17, Ames, Iowa
WRESTLING
NWCA/USA Wrestling National Scholastic Duals, April 14-16, Crawfordsville, Ind.
The national championship event is being held at Knowlings Fieldhouse on the campus of Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Ind. The tournament includes high school wrestlers through grade 11.
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