POSTED: Sunday February 22nd 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Whistler Sliding Centre wraps up World Cup events

Sliding sport events charm sold-out crowds, yield track records and produce top speeds

     
     WHISTLER, BC, Feb. 21 /CNW/ - After four fantastic weeks of sliding action (including two World Cups and an International Training Week), The Whistler Sliding Centre wrapped up its World Cup hosting duties tonight with the men\‘s luge finals in the FIL Luge World Cup.
     Using the World Cups to test its operational readiness before the Games, the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) will now take key learning provided by the sliding sport events to produce a world-class experience for spectators and athletes in 2010.
     Sold-out crowds, high-performance athletes and the three fastest sports on ice resulted in the venue being a hit for everyone involved. With over 2,818 runs taking place over the past four weeks, The Whistler Sliding Centre
retained its reputation as a technically demanding fast track in the eyes of the International Sport Federations.
     \“My technical delegate told me this week that the Games could start tomorrow and the track would be ready,\” said Josef Fendt, president, Fédération Internationale de Luge de Course (FIL). \“I appreciate the whole Whistler Sliding Centre.\”
     \“This is a very unique track in the world because of the speed, and we are so happy to have it,\” said Walter Plaikner, chairman of the Sport Technical Commission for the FIL, and head coach for the Italian national luge team. \“It is the first time that we\‘ve had athletes reaching speeds up to 144 kilometres per hour in training. With proper race preparation we should be up to 150 kilometres per hour, which is about as fast as we can go in our sport.\”
     \“This is a great track that will challenge all the skills of the modern sliding athletes. It is fast, technical, demanding and interesting,\” said Robert Storey, president, the Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing (FIBT). \“The Whistler Sliding Centre is an example of the new tracks of the future, as well as a great sporting legacy.\”
     \“I\‘d like to thank the over 460 individuals who gave so much of their time and effort to make the past four weeks of sliding, competition and overall event operations a success,\” said Craig Lehto, director, The Whistler Sliding Centre. \“One of our goals was to learn a lot, and we have. Our
confidence is extremely high in the team and we are ready to face the challenge of staging the Games.\”
     Sliding statistics from the bobsleigh, skeleton and luge sport events include:

     Fastest Times (Track Records)

     -  Four-man bobsleigh - 50.97 (LAT) 1 Janis Minins
     -  Two-man bobsleigh - 51.95 (SUI) 2 Beat Hefti
     -  Women\‘s bobsleigh - 53.57 (USA) 1 Shauna Rohbock
     -  Men\‘s skeleton - 53.67 (CAN) Jeff Pain
     -  Women\‘s skeleton - 54.81 (CAN) Mellisa Hollingsworth
     -  Men\‘s luge - 46.808 (GER) Felix Loch
     -  Doubles luge - 48.608 (GER) Patric Leitner/Alexander Resch
     -  Women\‘s luge - 48.992 (GER) Natalie Geisenberger

     Top Speeds

     -  Bobsleigh 153.03 km/h - (LAT) 1 (four-man)
     -  Skeleton 140.82 km/h - (CAN) Jon Montgomery
     -  Doubles luge - 144.05 km/h - (GER) Andre Florschutz/Torsten Wustlich
     -  Women\‘s luge - 144.40 km/h - (GER) Anke Wischnewski
     -  Men\‘s luge - 153.937 km/h - (GER) Felix Loch

     Number of Sleds, Athletes and Countries Per Event:

     -  Four-man bobsleigh - 23 sleds, 92 athletes, 13 countries
     -  Two-man bobsleigh - 27 sleds, 54 athletes, 15 countries
     -  Women\‘s bobsleigh - 20 sleds, 40 athletes, 10 countries
     -  Men\‘s skeleton - 28 sleds, 28 athletes, 14 countries
     -  Women\‘s skeleton - 21 sleds, 21 athletes, 10 countries
     -  Men\‘s luge - 67 sleds, 67 athletes, 23 countries
     -  Doubles luge - 13 sleds, 26 athletes, 12 countries
     -  Women\‘s luge - 42 sleds, 42 athletes, 20 countries

     Attendance for FIBT Bobsleigh and Skeleton World Cup

     -  3,000 spectators each day (Thursday, Friday, Saturday)

     Attendance for FIL Luge World Cup

     -  3,000 spectators each day (Friday, Saturday)

     The track will continue to operate through to March 22, 2009 with Canadian national team training camps. For more information visit www.whistlerslidingcentre.com or call 1.888.WSC.SLED
     For more information on the remaining sport events taking place from February to September 2009, including how to purchase tickets, please visit www.vancouver2010.com.
     Remaining sport events taking place from February to September 2009 include:

     WCF World Wheelchair Curling Championship
     Date: February 21-28, 2009
     Location: Vancouver Paralympic Centre, Vancouver

     Hockey Canada Cup - Sledge Hockey
     Date: February 24 to March 1, 2009
     Location: UBC Thunderbird Arena, Vancouver

     IPC Cross-Country Skiing and Biathlon World Cup Final
     Date: March 4-7, 2009
     Location: Whistler Paralympic Park, Whistler

     World Junior Curling Championships
     Date: March 5-15, 2009
     Location: Vancouver Olympic Centre, Vancouver

     IPC Alpine Skiing World Cup Finals
     Date: March 9-14, 2009
     Location: Whistler Creekside, Whistler

     IBU Biathlon World Cup
     Date: March 11-15, 2009
     Location: Whistler Olympic Park

     ISU World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships
     Date: March 12-15, 2009
     Location: Richmond Olympic Oval, Richmond

     Hockey Canada Cup - Women\‘s Hockey
     Date: August 31 to September 6, 2009
     Location: UBC Thunderbird Arena and Canada Hockey Place, Vancouver

     About VANOC

     VANOC is responsible for the planning, organizing, financing and staging of the XXI Olympic Winter Games and the X Paralympic Winter Games in 2010. The 2010 Olympic Winter Games will be staged in Vancouver and Whistler from February 12 to 28, 2010. Vancouver and Whistler will host the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games from March 12 to 21, 2010. Visit www.vancouver2010.com.

For further information: Media Contacts: John Gibson, VANOC Communications,
(604) 403-1585, john_gibson@vancouver2010.com

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Keywords · Vancouver 2010 · Whistler

Name: Chris Brumwell
Organization: Vancouver 2010
Email:
Phone: +1.(604) 403-1869
URL: http://www.vancouver2010.com/en/-/32678/q0c15c/index.html

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