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In post-Bolt Olympics, Trayvon Bromell takes humble road in 100 – TSN

Published

3 years ago

July 30, 2021

TOKYO (AP) — There will be no preening, no posturing, no “To Di World” poses or post-race celebrations that are better than the sprints themselves. No sneering or flexing at the starting line, either.

The man positioned to take over the sprint game in the post-Usain Bolt world is Trayvon Bromell, a 26-year-old American who is as unassuming as he is fast. He’s ratcheting things down in track and field after a decade-long fiesta during which the sport stayed relevant on the strength of Bolt’s larger-than-life personality.

“I work as if I’m not being talked about,” Bromell said. “And I think that’s why I’m able to do the things I’m capable of doing. Because I have a humble, humble spirit.”

He insists he remains that way even though, by almost every measure, he is the favorite in what has long been considered the marquee race of the Olympics — the men’s 100 meters, which culminates with the gold-medal race Sunday.

The numbers this year say so: Bromell won U.S. Olympic trials and also has the top time of 2021, at 9.77 seconds. Sports books say so: They list him as the even-money favorite, with American teammate Ronnie Baker next at 4-1. Even Bolt says so: “Bromell is showing great promise,” the three-time Olympic champion said recently when asked for his pick to supplant him as the gold medalist.

Bromell insists he listens to none of it.

“I’ve always been the person who has put myself as the underdog,” he said.

His humble spirit could very well be a product of all he’s had to overcome. Growing up poor in St. Petersburg, Florida, Bromell was fast ever since he can remember. Injuries plagued him through his teens, but his bursts of speed still broke through.

In 2014, he tied, then later broke, the under-20 world record in the 100 meters (9.97) while running for Baylor University.

By the time the 2016 Olympic cycle hit, he was expected to test Bolt. But the chance to run pain-free never materialized. He squeaked into the 100-meter final in Rio de Janeiro, but finished last — a mere footnote to the party that surrounded Bolt’s third straight gold. He was part of a U.S. relay team that got disqualified and, so, is still seeking an Olympic medal.

Shortly after returning home from the disappointments in Brazil, Bromell had a bone spur removed from his foot.

“When we’re kids, we think we’re unstoppable and unbreakable, like we can do anything,” Bromell said. “In that moment, I realized how human I was.”

Overcoming the injuries took the better part of four years. Bromell raced only lightly in 2017 and 2019, and when the coronavirus pandemic hit, he was still far from 100%. He ran a 9.90 in the midst of the pandemic in July 2020 — a time that made it look like things were back on track.

“It was bad-bad. It took literally like seven days a week of practice” to reach that point, Bromell said. “This is why I talk to kids, and adults, and tell them about the word ‘sacrifice.’ What are you willing to sacrifice to be where you want to be?”

Bromell spends time helping out young kids in disadvantaged neighborhoods. He’s a product of a poor family, and memories of his mother working hard to keep the lights on at home fuel much of his passion. He donated $10,000 for kids to use toward college. He awarded the prizes based on essays.

“Some people still in the streets who I know, they look at me and say, ‘Hey Trayvon, you made it out, you’re entwined with a blueprint that still gives us hope and makes us see that we can still be in a different light,’” Bromell said. “That’s why I take what I do as an athlete so passionately, because there’s someone out there that needs to hear this.”

All this might help explain why there isn’t much of a show when Bromell is introduced at most track meets — no shadow boxing, or snarling, or playing to the cameras, the way Bolt, and some of the sprinters before his time, might have done.

Bromell has kept the celebrations to a minimum when he wins, too. Bolt announced his presence in Beijing in 2008, when he broke his own world record even though he was celebrating with his arms out to his side before he’d even crossed the line.

It was that sort of showmanship — like the “To Di World” pose he celebrates with by pretending to draw back a bow and arrow — that set the template for the subsequent decade in track and field. Since Bolt retired in 2017, questions remain about who, exactly, can step in and make this sport exciting again.

“Nobody is immediately going to step into Bolt’s shoes,” Sebastian Coe, the president of World Athletics, said in an interview this week.

Somebody will, however, step onto the top of the podium — the spot Bolt has owned for the last three Olympics. True to form, Bromell refuses to dwell on the prospect that it might be him.

“I’m never going into a race thinking, ‘Oh, I’ve got it in the bag,’” Bromell said. “I give every athlete their respect because they put in the work as well. But I know the thing that separates me is that I really don’t care too much about the limelight.”

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More AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2020-tokyo-olympics and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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Red Wings sign Moritz Seider to 7-year deal worth nearly $60M

Published

7 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings made another investment this week in a young standout, signing Moritz Seider to a seven-year contract worth nearly $60 million.

The Red Wings announced the move with the 23-year-old German defenseman on Thursday, three days after keeping 22-year-old forward Lucas Raymond with a $64.6 million, eight-year deal.

Detroit drafted Seider with the No. 6 pick overall eight years ago and he has proven to be a great pick. He has 134 career points, the most by a defenseman drafted in 2019.

He was the NHL’s only player to have at least 200 hits and block 200-plus shots last season, when he scored a career-high nine goals and had 42 points for the second straight year.

Seider won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie in 2022 after he had a career-high 50 points.

Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman is banking on Seider, whose contract will count $8.55 million annually against the cap, and Raymond to turn a rebuilding team into a winner.

Detroit has failed to make the playoffs in eight straight seasons, the longest postseason drought in franchise history.

The Red Wings, who won four Stanley Cups from 1997 to 2008, have been reeling since their run of 25 straight postseasons ended in 2016.

Detroit was 41-32-9 last season and finished with a winning record for the first time since its last playoff appearance.

Yzerman re-signed Patrick Kane last summer and signed some free agents, including Vladimir Tarasenko to a two-year contract worth $9.5 million after he helped the Florida Panthers hoist the Cup.

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Veterans Tyson Beukeboom, Karen Paquin lead Canada’s team at WXV rugby tournament

Published

7 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

Veterans Tyson Beukeboom and Karen Paquin will lead Canada at the WXV 1 women’s rugby tournament starting later this month in the Vancouver area.

WXV 1 includes the top three teams from the Women’s Six Nations (England, France and Ireland) and the top three teams from the Pacific Four Series (Canada, New Zealand, and the United States).

Third-ranked Canada faces No. 4 France, No. 7 Ireland and No. 1 England in the elite division of the three-tiered WXV tournament that runs Sept. 29 to Oct. 12 in Vancouver and Langley, B.C. No. 2 New Zealand and the eighth-ranked U.S. make up the six-team WVX 1 field.

“Our preparation time was short but efficient. This will be a strong team,” Canada coach Kevin Rouet said in a statement. “All the players have worked very hard for the last couple of weeks to prepare for WXV and we are excited for these next three matches and for the chance to play on home soil here in Vancouver against the best rugby teams in the world.

“France, Ireland and England will each challenge us in different ways but it’s another opportunity to test ourselves and another step in our journey to the Rugby World Cup next year.”

Beukeboom serves as captain in the injury absence of Sophie de Goede. The 33-year-old from Uxbridge, Ont., earned her Canadian-record 68th international cap in Canada’s first-ever victory over New Zealand in May at the Pacific Four Series.

Twenty three of the 30 Canadian players selected for WXV 1 were part of that Pacific Four Series squad.

Rouet’s roster includes the uncapped Asia Hogan-Rochester, Caroline Crossley and Rori Wood.

Hogan-Rochester and Crossley were part of the Canadian team that won rugby sevens silver at the Paris Olympics, along with WXV teammates Fancy Bermudez, Olivia Apps, Alysha Corrigan and Taylor Perry. Wood is a veteran of five seasons at UBC.

The 37-year-old Paquin, who has 38 caps for Canada including the 2014 Rugby World Cup, returns to the team for the first time since the 2021 World Cup.

Canada opens the tournament Sept. 29 against France at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver before facing Ireland on Oct. 5 at Willoughby Stadium at Langley Events Centre, and England on Oct. 12 at B.C. Place.

The second-tier WXV 2 and third-tier WXV 3 are slated to run Sept. 27 to Oct. 12, in South Africa and Dubai, respectively.

WXV 2 features Australia, Italy, Japan, Scotland, South Africa and Wales while WXV 3 is made up of Fiji, Hong Kong, Madagascar, the Netherlands, Samoa and Spain.

The tournament has 2025 World Cup qualification implications, although Canada, New Zealand and France, like host England, had already qualified by reaching the semifinals of the last tournament.

Ireland, South Africa, the U.S., Japan, Fiji and Brazil have also booked their ticket, with the final six berths going to the highest-finishing WXV teams who have not yet qualified through regional tournaments.

Canada’s Women’s Rugby Team WXV 1 Squad

Forwards

Alexandria Ellis, Ottawa, Stade Français Paris (France); Brittany Kassil, Guelph, Ont., Guelph Goats; Caroline Crossley, Victoria, Castaway Wanderers; Courtney Holtkamp, Rimbey, Alta., Red Deer Titans Rugby; DaLeaka Menin, Vulcan, Alta., Exeter Chiefs (England); Emily Tuttosi, Souris, Man., Exeter Chiefs (England); Fabiola Forteza, Quebec City, Stade Bordelais (France); Gabrielle Senft, Regina, Saracens (England); Gillian Boag, Calgary, Gloucester-Hartpury (England); Julia Omokhuale, Calgary, Leicester Tigers (England); Karen Paquin, Quebec City, Club de rugby de Quebec; Laetitia Royer, Loretteville, Que., ASM Romagnat (France); McKinley Hunt, King City, Ont., Saracens (England); Pamphinette Buisa, Gatineau, Que., Ottawa Irish; Rori Wood, Sooke, B.C., College Rifles RFC; Sara Cline, Edmonton, Leprechaun Tigers; Tyson Beukeboom, Uxbridge, Ont., Ealing Trailfinders (England);

Backs

Alexandra Tessier, Sainte-Clotilde-de-Horton, Que., Exeter Chiefs (England); Alysha Corrigan, Charlottetown, P.E.I., CRFC; Asia Hogan-Rochester, Toronto, Toronto Nomads; Claire Gallagher, Caledon, Ont., Leicester Tigers (England); Fancy Bermudez, Edmonton, Saracens (England); Julia Schell, Uxbridge, Ont., Ealing Trailfinders (England); Justine Pelletier, Rivière-du-Loup, Que, Stade Bordelais (France); Mahalia Robinson, Fulford, Que., Town of Mount Royal RFC; Olivia Apps, Lindsay, Ont., Lindsay RFC; Paige Farries, Red Deer, Alta., Saracens (England); Sara Kaljuvee, Ajax, Ont., Westshore RFC; Shoshanah Seumanutafa, White Rock, B.C., Counties Manukau (New Zealand); Taylor Perry, Oakville, Ont., Exeter Chiefs (England).

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.

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Vancouver Canucks star goalie Thatcher Demko working through rare muscle injury

Published

7 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

PENTICTON, B.C. – Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko says he’s been working his way back from a rare lower-body muscle injury since being sidelined in last season’s playoffs.

The 28-year-old all star says the rehabilitation process has been frustrating, but he has made good progress in recent weeks and is confident he’ll be able to return to playing.

He says he and his medical team have spent the last few months talking to specialists around the world, and have not found a single other hockey player who has dealt with the same injury.

Demko missed several weeks of the last season with a knee ailment and played just one game in Vancouver’s playoff run last spring before going down with the current injury.

He was not on the ice with his teammates as the Canucks started training camp in Penticton, B.C., on Thursday, but skated on his own before the sessions began.

Demko posted a 35-14-2 record with a .918 percentage, a 2.45 goals-against average and five shutouts for Vancouver last season.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.

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