Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - February 16, 2014, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE B2 SPORTS B2 SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2014 OTTAWA - Prime Minister Stephen Harper says the family of late freestyle skier Sarah Burke will be presented with a flag from the Peace Tower in honour of Flag Day. To celebrate Flag Day, each year the Peace Tower flag is presented to a Canadian who has exemplified Canadian values. Calling Burke a gifted athlete, and a trailblazer in freestyle skiing, Harper says she is one of the principal reasons why the halfpipe was introduced as an Olympic sport this year in Sochi, Russia. Harper says the Peace Tower flag will go Burke's parents Gordon Burke and Jan Phelan, and her widower Rory Bushfield. Burke died after a training accident in January 2012 at the age of 29. - The Canadian Press OLYMPICS Morrison was ninth in men's 1,500 at Vancouver Olympics KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia - Olympic skicross racer Maria Komissarova of Russia underwent a 6 � - hour operation on her fractured spine following a training accident Saturday. Russian spokesman Mikhail Verzeba said Komissarova fractured the 12th dorsal vertebrae in her lower- middle back and was taken to a hospital near the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park for emergency surgery. " The operation is over. it's been successful," Verzeba said. IOC President Thomas Bach said, " Our thoughts are with the athlete and we wish her a full and speedy recovery." A spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin said he planned to visit Komissarova, R- Sport reported. - The Associated Press OLYMPICS RESULTS and TV LISTINGS ON TV Sunday, Feb. 16 6: 15 a. m. SPNET ( 47) ( 171) [ 408] 418 Ice Hockey ( M) ( 2h45) 7 a. m. CBC [ 6] ( 2) ( 5) ( 2) [ 226] 332 Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics ( 1h) 8 a. m. CBC [ 6] ( 2) ( 5) ( 2) [ 226] 332 Speed Skating ( W) 1500m ( 1h45) 9 a. m. SPNET ( 47) ( 171) [ 408] 418 Biathlon ( M) 15km Mass Start ( 1h15) 9: 45 a. m. CBC [ 6] ( 2) ( 5) ( 2) [ 226] 332 Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics ( 15m) 10 a. m. CBC [ 6] ( 2) ( 5) ( 2) [ 226] 332 Biathlon ( M) 15km Mass ( 45m) 10: 15 a. m. SPNET ( 47) ( 171) [ 408] 418 Bobsleigh Two- Man ( 2h45) 10: 30 a. m. CBWFT ( 10) ( 7) ( 10) [ 118] 703 Patinage artistique ( Couple) programme court, Curling ( H), Bobsleigh ( H) bob � deux, Hockey ( H) Finlande c. Canada, Hockey ( F) match de classement 2, Remise des m�dailles Couverture des Jeux olympiques d'hiver de 2014 de Sotchi. ( 5h30) 10: 45 a. m. CBC [ 6] ( 2) ( 5) ( 2) [ 226] 332 Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics ( 15m) 11 a. m. CBC [ 6] ( 2) ( 5) ( 2) [ 226] 332 Ice Hockey ( M) Canada vs. Finland ( 2h30) 1: 30 p. m. CBC [ 6] ( 2) ( 5) ( 2) [ 226] 332 Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics ( 30m) 2 p. m. CBC [ 6] ( 2) ( 5) ( 2) [ 226] 332 Bobsleigh Two- Man ( 1h) NBC ( 6) ( 11) ( 6) 385 Cross- Country Skiing ( M) 4x10km Relay Gold Medal, Snowboarding ( W) Snowboard Cross ( 3h) 3 p. m. CBC [ 6] ( 2) ( 5) ( 2) [ 226] 332 Cross Country Skiing ( M) Relay 4x10km ( 1h) 6 p. m. NBC ( 6) ( 11) ( 6) 385 Figure Skating Ice Dancing Short Dance, Alpine Skiing ( M) Super- G Gold Medal, Snowboarding ( W) Snowboard Cross Gold Medal, Speed Skating ( W) 1500m Gold Medal, Bobsleigh Two Man ( 4h) 7 p. m. CBC [ 6] ( 2) ( 5) ( 2) [ 226] 332 Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics ( 4h) 8 p. m. SPNET ( 47) ( 171) [ 408] 418 Curling ( 3h) 10: 30 p. m. NBC ( 6) ( 11) ( 6) 385 Biathlon ( M) 15km Mass Start Gold Medal, Figure Skating Ice Dance Short Dance Post- game ( R) ( 1h) 10: 45 p. m. CBWFT ( 10) ( 7) ( 10) [ 118] 703 Curling ( F), Surf des neiges ( H) snowboard cross finale Couverture des Jeux olympiques d'hiver de 2014 de Sotchi. ( 6h) 11 p. m. CBC [ 6] ( 2) ( 5) ( 2) [ 226] 332 Curling ( W) ( 3h) 11: 30 p. m. NBC ( 6) ( 11) ( 6) 385 Figure Skating Ice Dancing Short Dance, Alpine Skiing ( M) Super- G Gold Medal, Snowboarding ( W) Snowboard Cross Gold Medal, Speed Skating ( W) 1500m Gold Medal, Bobsleigh Two Man ( R) ( 4h) 1 a. m. SPNET ( 47) ( 171) [ 408] 418 Snowboarding ( M) Snowboard Cross Qualifying Round ( 1h30) 2 a. m. CBC [ 6] ( 2) ( 5) ( 2) [ 226] 332 Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics ( 1h30) 3: 30 a. m. CBC [ 6] ( 2) ( 5) ( 2) [ 226] 332 Snowboarding ( M) Cross ( 1h) SPNET ( 47) ( 171) [ 408] 418 Snowboarding ( M) Snowboard Cross ( 1h) 4: 30 a. m. CBC [ 6] ( 2) ( 5) ( 2) [ 226] 332 Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics ( 30m) 5 a. m. CBC [ 6] ( 2) ( 5) ( 2) [ 226] 332 Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics ( 1h30) CBWFT ( 10) ( 7) ( 10) [ 118] 703 Curling ( H), Hockey ( F) demi- finale, Ski acrobatique ( H) sauts, Bobsleigh ( H) bob � deux finale, Patinage artistique ( Couple) programme long finale, Biathlon ( F) 12,5km d�part groupe Couverture des Jeux olympiques d'hiver de 2014 de Sotchi. ( 5h30) 4 5 3 CANADA'S MEDAL COUNT GOLD SILVER BRONZE Medal standings Nation G S B Tot. Germany 7 3 2 12 Switzerland 5 1 1 7 Russia 4 6 5 15 Canada 4 5 3 12 Netherlands 4 4 6 14 United States 4 3 7 14 Norway 4 3 6 13 Poland 4 0 0 4 China 3 2 0 5 Belarus 3 0 1 4 Austria 2 4 1 7 France 2 0 2 4 Sweden 1 5 2 8 Japan 1 3 1 5 Slovenia 1 1 3 5 South Korea 1 1 1 3 Great Britain 1 0 1 2 Slovakia 1 0 0 1 Italy 0 2 3 5 Czech Republic 0 2 1 3 Finland 0 2 0 2 Latvia 0 1 2 3 Australia 0 1 1 2 Croatia 0 1 0 1 Kazakhstan 0 0 1 1 Ukraine 0 0 1 1 What Canada did SATURDAY ALPINE SKIING Women's Super- G - Marie- Pier Prefontaine, St- Sauveur, Que., 20th overall ( one minute 28.67 seconds); Marie- Michele Gagnon, Lac- Etchemin, Que., and Larisa Yurkiw, Owen Sound, Ont. - both missed a gate and did not finish. CROSS- C0UNTRY SKIING Women's 4x5- kilometre Relay - Canada ( Perianne Jones, Calgary; Daria Gaiazova, Banff, Alta.; Emily Nishikawa, Whitehorse; and Brittany Webster, Caledon, Ont.), placed 14th in the event ( 59: 13.6). CURLING Men - Canada ( 5- 2 record in round robin) won 7- 5 over Britain to move into a third- place tie. Women - Canada ( 7- 0 in first place with two games remaining) clinched a playoff berth after defeating Japan 8- 6 and Russia, 5- 3. SKELETON Men's singles - John Fairbairn, Calgary, finished seventh overall after four runs ( 3: 48.13) - 0.87 seconds behind the bronze medallist; Eric Neilson, Kelowna, B. C., 13th ( 3: 48.77). SKI JUMPING Men's K120 individual - Mackenzie Boyd- Clowes, Calgary, 25th overall ( 237.9 points after two jumps); Trevor Morrice, Calgary, 43rd after first jump ( 103.4) and Matthew Rowley, Red Deer, Alta. ( disqualified) - neither advanced to the second jump. SPEEDSKATING Long Track Men's 1,500 - Denny Morrison, Fort St. John, B. C., won the silver medal ( 1: 45.22); Mathieu Giroux, Pointe- aux- Trembles, Que., 19th ( 1: 47.65); Lucas Makowsky, Regina, 28 ( 1: 48.51); Vincent de Haitre, Cumberland, Ont., 33 ( 1: 49.42). Short Track Men's 1,000 - Olivier Jean, Lachenaie, Que., was third in his quarter- final heat ( 1: 24.935); Charles Hamelin, Ste- Julie, Que., fourth ( 1: 40.408); Charle Cournoyer, Boucherville, Que., fifth ( 1: 25.204) - all failed to qualify for the semifinal round. Women's 1,500 - Valerie Maltais, La Baie, Que., won the B- final ( seventh overall) in 2: 24.711; Marie- Eve Drolet, Chicoutimi, Que., placed third in the B- final ( 2: 24.859); Marianne St- Gelais, St- Felicien, Que., was fourth in her qualifying heat ( 2: 27.071), and failed to advance. S OCHI, Russia - One of Canada's best stories of these Olympics was lying alone on a cross- country ski trail barely a year ago, his leg broken and his Sochi dreams in doubt. But on the heels of a stunning silver- medal performance earlier in the week, Denny Morrison wrote another page in his remarkable comeback story Saturday, winning bronze in the 1,500- metres long track speedskating event. " It's the best week of my life, man," said Morrison. " I liken it to a little bit of a fairy tale." There could be more to come as well - Canada is the defending Olympic champion in the team pursuit, which begins next Friday. The 28- year- old from Fort St. John, B. C., who skated in the 12th of 20 pairings, posted the fastest time to that point - one minute 45.22 seconds - pumping a fist in the air when he looked up at the clock. " That's what you dream of when you think of your Olympic race and you visualize it, you want to have the best time no matter what when you finish your race and hopefully it holds up," Morrison said. " Then the waiting game goes on and on and on." In the fourth- last pairing, Zbigniew Brodka of Poland crossed in 1: 45.00 to bump Morrison down to second, setting up for a dramatic final few minutes. Koen Verweij of the Netherlands also skated 1: 45.00 in the final pairing, forcing timers to go to thousandths of a second to determine the winner - Brodka edging Verweij by 0.003 to capture Poland's first Olympic medal in speedskating. It was the closest 1,500 in Olympic history. Morrison was the reigning world champion in the 1,500 and the World Cup leader when he broke his left fibula while skiing alone in Fernie, B. C., just before Christmas in 2012. He went off course and hit a tree lying on the ground, his ski tip going under the tree, his leg going over. He was alone at the time, so had to " scootch" himself back to the main runs to find help. " I honestly can say I don't think, not even for 30 seconds, that I thought it was over. I remember laying there with my broken leg in the snow and thinking ' All right, this will heal in about six weeks and I'll be back on the ice,' " said Morrison. " The broken leg almost acted as remotivation to come back as the underdog." Morrison's comeback story got off to a phenomenal start earlier in the week when he claimed silver after teammate Gilmore Junio gave up his berth he'd earned in qualifying. Coach Bart Schouten said Junio offered up his spot back in December after the trials. Morrison's comeback turned into a lot longer than six weeks. The broken leg, he said, turned into a sprained ankle, then fascia, back and hip problems. He just barely earned a spot on Canada's Olympic team, failing to qualify in the 500 metres and then falling in the 1,000 metres at the trials. Saturday's second medal at the Adler Arena oval was double Olympic redemption for Morrison, who has two Olympic team pursuit medals - silver in 2006 and gold in Vancouver. Morrison plans to march to the podium once more in the team pursuit. " Bart, when he saw on the last pair one of the guys was 1.5 seconds behind and he knew he wasn't going to beat me, said ' Two medals man, that's awesome,' " Morrison said. " I said ' Let's make it three.' " - The Canadian Press The ' best week' of Morrison's life Long road back from injury ends on podium for speedskater By Lori Ewing Russian breaks back in training Burke to be honoured on Flag Day ADRIAN WYLD / THE CANADIAN PRESS Speedskater Denny Morrison already has two medals at the Sochi Winter Olympics and will go for a third in the team pursuit. B_ 02_ Feb- 16- 14_ FP_ 01. indd B2 2/ 15/ 14 6: 55: 40 PM ;