Long Track Speed Skating

RICHMOND, B.C. - Jeremy Wotherspoon's return to competition didn't go as planned.

Wotherspoon struggled through two races to finish seventh in the 500-metres Saturday at the Canadian Fall World Cup Selection competition at the Richmond Olympic Oval.

"It's disappointing,'' said Wotherspoon after his second race. "I haven't been skating my best this summer. I've been feeling a little better but still not quite fast enough.

"It didn't feel as good as I've done in the past. There's still stuff I've got to work on to bring up my game a little more for the next big races.''

Kyle Parrott won the two-race event with a cumulative time of one minute 10.40 seconds. Quebec speed skater Vincent Labrie and Albertan Jamie Gregg finished second and third in the final rankings after two events thanks to their total combined times of 70.63 and 70.82, respectively.

Wotherspoon, who is recovering from a broken left arm he suffered last season, is in danger of failing to qualify for Team Canada for the fall World Cup season. Canada is allotted five spots for both the 500 and the 1,000.

If Wotherspoon fails to qualify in the 1,000 Sunday he would be forced to wait until the National Championships in December in Calgary for a spot on the National team for future World Cup events and the Olympics.

"I've still got a good chance to qualify in the 1,000. But plans are based on the best case scenario. There are always fall back plans that we need to think about more if that happens,'' said Wotherspoon of planning his season.

Parrott, who made his first appearances on the World Cup circuit last season, said he knew he was going to have a good day.

"I was confident in my skills that I could go out there and put together a good race,'' said Parrott. "As much as you know that you're going to have a good race, you don't know how other people are doing. As soon as the gun went in my first race, I knew that I would be a contender for sure.''

Christine Nesbitt of London, Ont., skated two strong races to emerge victorious on the women's side with a time of 1:17.61.

"It went really well, especially my first race. I was really, really happy with it,'' said Nesbitt. "It was the fastest first 100-metres I've ever done by a lot and my finishing time was only two tenths slower than my personal best, which is in Calgary, and that's some of the fastest ice in the world.

"So to skate that fast on this ice at this time of the year is pretty incredible.''

The pleasant surprise of the day came in the form of Calgary's Anastasia Buscis. The 20-year-old Buscis finished in third at 1:20.14 behind Nesbitt and Tamara Oudenarden. With the result, Buscis will make her debut on the World Cup circuit for Canada.

"I am so happy. I'm pretty young compared to the other people on the team,'' said a grinning Buscis. "I've got to learn and I'm really excited. I knew I could skate well but I was a little bit nervous because there are two races you've got to skate.

"I think the team's the strongest it's ever been, so I'm just really excited to see what we can do. It's going to be really exciting going into 2010.''

Competition resumes Sunday, with Cindy Klassen making her return to competitive skating after taking all of last season off to recover from surgery to both knees.

World Cup trials is the last time Canadian speed skaters will race at the Richmond Oval before the Olympic Games.