Gold for Cyndi Klassen

[Phil]

Canada may have lost in hockey, but on this day, we have a new heroine to carry the torch on the international stage.

Cindy Klassen won gold in the 1500 M speedskating event with fellow Canadian Kristina Groves coming in second place (the Netherlands' Ireen Wust placed third), and, with the medal, Klassen upped her Torino total to 4 (a Canadian record) and overall Olympic total to 5.

While I'm proud enough as a Canadian, I'm even happier on this day because I have a few roundabout connections to the Klassen family - my mom went to school with Cindy's mom, my brother went to school with both her brother and sister, and I now attend school with that same brother. In fact, he sat down next to me and talked to me just before Reading Week, a few days before he left for Italy, and we had a nice conversation. What they've been saying on TV is true... the entire family is very good-natured, friendly, humble.

Hockey (and women's curling) aside, today was a triumphant day for Canada. Klassen, Groves, Chandra Crawford (wasn't she terrific?), the women's short-track relay team, and Brad Gushue rink all performed exceedingly well and did our nation proud.

Anyone else catch the race? Anyone else got similar connections to Olympians?

[Moser316]

I have a connection to Cameroon's lone representative in the Winter Olympics: cross-country skiier Issac Meynoli. I had a couple classes with him in summer/fall 2001 at UW-Milwaukee's architecture school, he seemed nice but a bit stand-offish. I guess he's working as an architect in the Milwaukee area now, not sure where though (the architectural community in the city is relatively small and tight-knit since most of the architects in the city went to UWM).

[BCBoy]

Great news for Cindy, after getting bronze in the 3000M I didn't think she would get a gold, and boy did she prove me wrong! 5 medals for her this Olympics!

GO CANADA!

[NJTank]

Sweet

It fun being 1 degree of speration from famous people.

Im one degree from Supreme Court Justice Samuel Allito the day he was nominated I was sound recording at work for a judge who once worked with Allito and was still friends and called him from his office at 2;)0 taht day and was late coming out the bench after lunch.