Sports

Susan Auch out as CEO of Speed Skating Canada

Published

2 years ago

October 14, 2022

Susan Auch was “shocked and deeply saddened” to learn that she was out as chief executive officer of Speed Skating Canada, ending a long tenure with the organization for the Olympic medallist and member of Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame.

The decision was made Thursday by Speed Skating Canada’s board of directors, the organization said in an email. The brief statement did not include a reason for her departure.

Reached Friday in Oakbank, Man., Auch said the news took her “completely by surprise.”

“It’s going to be incredibly difficult to recover from this,” she told The Canadian Press. “This is a very unfair decision and I intend to pursue all the legal remedies available to me.”

Auch, 56, joined Speed Skating Canada’s board of directors in 2008 and later served as vice-president and president of the organization. She moved into the CEO position in February 2017.

‘Best interest’ of organization

In its statement, the organization said the board decided “that it was in the best interest of Speed Skating Canada that Susan Auch no longer serve the organization as CEO.”

“We want to thank Susan for her many contributions to SSC and wish her the best in her future endeavours. The board is currently working on a leadership transition plan and will communicate updates on the matter at a later date.

“Given that this is a private, human resources-related matter, we won’t be commenting any further at this time.”

Her departure comes three weeks after a La Presse story that said Auch was ordered by a Manitoba judge last May to pay $600,000 to a former business partner in a civil litigation. An appeal date in the case has been set for Jan. 27.

Speed Skating Canada board chair Blair Carbert gave Auch a vote of confidence in the Sept. 23 article, telling La Presse that the board was “aware of the decision and what it says,” adding that “she still has our trust.”

The organization said members of its speed skating community had been advised of the change.

As CEO, Auch guided the program to a strong performance at the Beijing Olympics earlier this year. Canada won long-track gold in the women’s pursuit and short-track gold in the men’s 5K relay, part of a nine-medal speed skating haul for the country at the Games.

“Together with an excellent staff team, I just completed a reorganization of SSC and the next strategic plan for between now and 2027, which would see us increasing our membership by 1,000 per cent by 2027,” she said. “And we will continue to win more medals internationally in a safe and healthy environment. We just completed a culture review last year.”

Hall of Fame inductee

Auch, a Winnipeg native, won relay bronze at the 1988 Calgary Games when short-track speed skating was a demonstration event.

She later transitioned to long-track competition and won Olympic silver in 1994 at Lillehammer, finishing three-100ths of a second behind American rival Bonnie Blair in the 500 metres.

Auch was second in the same distance four years later at the Nagano Games, this time finishing behind Canadian teammate and training partner Catriona Le May Doan.

Auch briefly retired from the sport in 1999 but came back the next year and competed at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games.

She won the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as The Canadian Press female athlete of the year in 1995 after winning three World Cup gold medals that season.

Auch was inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in 2010 and Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.

The national speed skating championships are currently underway in Quebec City, with live coverage available across CBC Sports platforms.

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Sports

Fernandez and Dabrowski headline Canadian lineup for Billie Jean King Cup Finals

Published

7 hours ago

September 16, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Singles star Leylah Fernandez and doubles specialist Gabriela Dabrowski will anchor Canada’s five-player lineup when the team tries to defend its Billie Jean King Cup title in mid-November.

The 26th-ranked Fernandez, the 2021 U.S. Open finalist from Laval, Que., is the lone Canadian in the top 100 of the WTA Tour’s singles rankings.

Dabrowski, from Ottawa, is ranked fourth on the doubles list. The 2023 U.S. Open women’s doubles champion won mixed doubles bronze with Felix Auger-Aliassime at the recent Paris Olympics.

Marina Stakusic of Mississauga, Ont., returns after a breakout performance last year, capped by her singles win in Canada’s 2-0 victory over Italy in the final. Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino is also back and Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion from Mississauga, Ont., returns to the squad for the first time since 2022.

“Winning the Billie Jean King Cup in 2023 was a dream come true for us, and not only that, but I feel like we made a statement to the world about the strength of this nation when it comes to tennis,” Canada captain Heidi El Tabakh said Monday in a release. “Once again, we have a very strong team this year with Bianca joining Leylah, Gaby, Rebecca and Marina, making it an extremely powerful team that is more than capable of going all the way.

“At the end of the day, our goal is to make Canada proud, and we’ll do our best to bring the same level of effort and excitement that we had in last year’s finals.”

Fernandez, who beat Jasmine Paolini to clinch Canada’s first-ever title at the competition, is ranked No. 42 in doubles.

Canada, which received an automatic berth as defending champion, will play the winner of the first-round tie between Great Britain and Germany on Nov. 17 at Malaga’s Martin Carpena Arena.

Australia, Italy and wild-card entry Czechia also received first-round byes. The tournament, which continues through Nov. 20, also includes host Spain, Slovakia, the United States, Poland, Japan and Romania.

Stakusic is up 27 spots to No. 128 in the latest world singles rankings. Marino is at No. 134 and Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion, is ranked 167th.

Canada will look to become the first team since Czechia in 2016 to successfully defend its Billie Jean King Cup title.

Malaga will also host the Nov. 19-24 Davis Cup Final 8. The Canadian men qualified over the weekend with a 2-1 victory over Great Britain in Manchester.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.

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Sports

Penguins re-sign Crosby to two-year extension that runs through 2026-27 season

Published

7 hours ago

September 16, 2024

Anne Joseph

PITTSBURGH – Sidney Crosby plans to remain a Pittsburgh Penguin for at least three more years.

The Penguins announced on Monday that they re-signed the 37-year-old from Cole Harbour, N.S., to a two-year contract extension that has an average annual value of US$8.7 million. The deal runs through the 2026-27 season.

Crosby was eligible to sign an extension on July 1 with him entering the final season of a 12-year, $104.4-million deal that carries an $8.7-million salary cap hit.

At the NHL/NHLPA player media tour in Las Vegas last Monday, he said things were positive and he was optimistic about a deal getting done.

The three-time Stanley Cup champion is coming off a 42-goal, 94-point campaign that saw him finish tied for 12th in the league scoring race.

Crosby has spent all 19 of his NHL seasons in Pittsburgh, amassing 592 goals and 1,004 assists in 1,272 career games.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.

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Sports

Slovenia’s Tadej Pogacar wins Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal

Published

18 hours ago

September 16, 2024

Anne Joseph

MONTREAL – Tadej Pogacar was so dominant on Sunday, Canada’s Michael Woods called it a race for second.

Pogacar, a three-time Tour de France champion from Slovenia, pedalled to a resounding victory at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal.

The UAE Team Emirates leader crossed the finish line 24 seconds ahead of Spain’s Pello Bilbao of Bahrain — Victorious to win the demanding 209.1-kilometre race on a sunny, 28 C day in Montreal. France’s Julian Alaphilippe of Soudal Quick-Step was third.

“He’s the greatest rider of all time, he’s a formidable opponent,” said Woods, who finished 45 seconds behind the leader in eighth. “If you’re not at your very, very best, then you can forget racing with him, and today was kind of representative of that.

“He’s at such a different level that if you follow him, it can be lights out.”

Pogacar slowed down before the last turn to celebrate with the crowd, high-five fans on Avenue du Parc and cruise past the finish line with his arms in the air after more than five hours on the bike.

The 25-year-old joined Belgium’s Greg Van Avermaet as the only multi-time winners in Montreal after claiming the race in 2022. He also redeemed a seventh-place finish at the Quebec City Grand Prix on Friday.

“I was disappointed, because I had such good legs that I didn’t do better than seventh,” Pogacar said. “To bounce back after seventh to victory here, it’s just an incredible feeling.”

It’s Pogacar’s latest win in a dominant year that includes victories at the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia.

Ottawa’s Woods (Israel Premier-Tech) tied a career-best in front of the home crowd in Montreal, but hoped for more after claiming a stage at the Spanish Vuelta two weeks ago.

“I wanted a better result,” the 37-year-old rider said. “My goal was a podium, but at the same time I’m happy with the performance. In bike racing, you can’t always get the result you want and I felt like I raced really well, I animated the race, I felt like I was up there.”

Pogacar completed the 17 climbs up and down Mount Royal near downtown in five hours 28 minutes 15 seconds.

He made his move with 23.3 kilometres to go, leaving the peloton in his dust as he pedalled into the lead — one he never relinquished.

Bilbao, Alaphilippe, Alex Aranburu (Movistar Team) and Bart Lemmen (Visma–Lease) chased in a group behind him, with Bilbao ultimately separating himself from the pack. But he never came close to catching Pogacar, who built a 35-second lead with one lap left to go.

“It was still a really hard race today, but the team was on point,” Pogacar said. “We did really how we planned, and the race situation was good for us. We make it hard in the last final laps, and they set me up for a (takeover) two laps to go, and it was all perfect.”

Ottawa’s Derek Gee, who placed ninth in this year’s Tour de France, finished 48th in Montreal, and called it a “hard day” in the heat.

“I think everyone knows when you see Tadej on the start line that it’s just going to be full gas,” Gee said.

Israel Premier-Tech teammate Hugo Houle of Sainte-Perpétue, Que., was 51st.

Houle said he heard Pogacar inform his teammates on the radio that he was ready to attack with two laps left in the race.

“I said then, well, clearly it’s over for me,” Houle said. “You see, cycling isn’t that complicated.”

Australia’s Michael Matthews won the Quebec City GP for a record third time on Friday, but did not finish in Montreal. The two races are the only North American events on the UCI World Tour.

Michael Leonard of Oakville, Ont., and Gil Gelders and Dries De Bondt of Belgium broke away from the peloton during the second lap. Leonard led the majority of the race before losing pace with 45 kilometres to go.

Only 89 of 169 riders from 24 teams — including the Canadian national team — completed the gruelling race that features 4,573 metres in total altitude.

Next up, the riders will head to the world championships in Zurich, Switzerland from Sept. 21 to 29.

Pogacar will try to join Eddy Merckx (1974) and Stephen Roche (1987) as the only men to win three major titles in a season — known as the Triple Crown.

“Today gave me a lot of confidence, motivation,” Pogacar said. “I think we are ready for world championships.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 15, 2024.

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