Long Track Speed Skating

Speed skating superstars Cindy Klassen and Jeremy Wotherspoon returned to competition this week and proved that even after missing a full season, they are good enough to make the Canadian world cup team.

But just barely.

Klassen, the country's most decorated Olympian, qualified by the skin of her teeth in three disciplines while Wotherspoon, once the best male sprinter in the world, had to scratch and claw for a spot after falling short in his specialty distance.

Monday, at the Richmond Olympic Oval, the home of speed skating at the 2010 Olympics, Klassen was more than one second behind the times set by teammates Kristina Groves and Brittany Schussler at 1,000 metres. But it was enough to grab the fifth and final qualifying spot on the world cup team, which was also Klassen's fate on Sunday, when she earned the final Canadian berth for 1,500-metre world cup races.

"My start was a little slow, so that's something I have to work on and hopefully I'll get a second per lap faster too," said Klassen, who skipped last season after recovering from surgeries on both knees. "It was pretty solid for right now. It's my second 1,000 [metre race] of the year and I qualified, so I'm excited about that."

Klassen, who also qualified at 3,000 metres Monday, has been slowly rounding into shape, and admits that her speed is not up to 2006 levels, when she won five medals at the Turin Olympics. Her start time was clocked at 19.42 on Monday, nearly a half-second slower than it needs to be.

"I haven't done too many starts yet because of my knees. We've been cautious in that area," the 30-year-old from Winnipeg said. "I don't know if [her knees] will be back to when I was healthiest, but they'll be good enough."

Klassen will compete at 5,000 metres Tuesday, but only for training purposes. She is not sure whether she will race the sole 5,000-metre race on the world cup tour, and has yet to decide which events she will attend.

"I kind of died at the end," Klassen said after finishing the 3,000 metres. "I haven't done two races in one day for a long time. If there had been a few more laps, I would've been in trouble."

Results at the world cup trials, which began on Saturday, have no bearing on Olympic team selection. Rather, Canadian performances at five world cup events between now and the Olympics will determine how many berths the country receives for the Vancouver-Whistler Games. The Olympic team will be determined at the Canadian championships, which take place in late-December at the Olympic Oval in Calgary.

But not making the world cup team can have its disadvantages.

Take Wotherspoon, who returned to competition this week after suffering a broken arm last year. He is the world-record holder at 500 metres, and won nine of 10 world cup races at the distance two years ago.

But Wotherspoon finished seventh at the trials on Saturday, and is Canada's second alternate, meaning he almost assuredly will not skate a 500-metre race on the world cup circuit before the Olympics. The 34-year-old qualified at 1,000 metres - in the fifth and final position - but when asked how he would prepare for his preferred race in advance of the Olympic trials, the Red Deer, Alb. native was at loss.

He said he and his coach would have to confer and draft an autumn plan.

"We have to look at what competitions are available," he said. "It was the first time I haven't qualified in the 500 since I was pretty young. It was a tough pill to swallow, but I knew it wasn't a guarantee."

The athletes listed below (hometowns in brackets) have qualified for Canada's world cup team. The women's 5000-metre heats, and the men's 10,000-metre heats, will be held Tuesday at the Richmond Olympic Oval.

Men's 500m

Jamie Gregg (Edmonton)
Muncef Ouardi (Montreal)
Vincent Labrie (Saint-Romuald, Que.)
Kyle Parrott (St. Albert, Alb.)
Mike Ireland (Winnipeg)

Women's 500m

Shannon Rempel (Winnipeg)
Tamara Oudenaarden (St. Albert, Alb.)
Christine Nesbitt (London, Ont.)
Anastasia Bucsis (Calgary)
Brittany Schussler (Winnipeg)

Men's 1000m

Denny Morrison (Fort St. John, B.C.)
Kyle Parrot (St. Albert, Alb.)
Francois-Olivier Roberge (St-Nicolas, Que.)
Jamie Gregg (Edmonton)
Jeremy Wotherspoon (Red Deer, Alb.)

Women's 1000m

Christine Nesbitt (London, Ont.)
Kristina Groves (Ottawa)
Shannon Rempel (Winnipeg)
Brittany Schussler (Winnipeg)
Cindy Klassen (Winnipeg)

Men's 1500m

Denny Morrison (Fort St. John, B.C.)
Steven Elm (Red Deer, Alb.)
Lucas Makowsky (Regina)
Mathieu Giroux (Montreal)
Mykola Makowsky (Regina)

Women's 1500m

Christine Nesbitt (London, Ont.)
Shannon Rempel (Winnipeg)
Kristina Groves (Ottawa)
Brittany Schussler (Winnipeg)
Cindy Klassen (Winnipeg)

Women's 3000m

Kristina Groves (Ottawa)
Brittany Schussler (Winnipeg)
Clara Hughes (Winnipeg)
Christine Nesbitt (London, Ont.)
Cindy Klassen (Winnipeg)

Men's 5000m

Lucas Makowsky (Regina)
Jay Morrison (Fort St. John, B.C.)
Denny Morrison (Fort St. John, B.C.)
Mathieu Giroux (Montreal)
Jordan Belchos (Toronto)