They were the underdogs, the no-name skaters from a small town out West. Matched against metropolitan teams like the New York Gotham, a roller derby team from Olympia with a shoestring budget and a big-dream coach wasn't expected to win a national tournament in Philadelphia.

"Go Jessica go," Ponoka Elementary students chanted. "Go Jessica go!" PES students, dressed in red, were given a special visit Nov.

Chinese speed skater Yang Yang ran as an international torchbearer for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay in Eastern Canada on Sunday.

Five-time Olympic speedskating champion Claudia Pechstein lost her appeal against a two-year ban for blood doping Wednesday and will miss the Vancouver Games.

Former Canadian speed skater Catriona Le May Doan has some sage advice for Canadian athletes heading to the 2010 Winter Olympics: Stop second-guessing yourself and get on with the business of racing.

LAKE PLACID, N.Y.a 'Comedian Stephen Colbert took the "Night Train" and it nearly left him speechless.

Lucas Makowsky of Regina won a silver medal in the men's 1,500-metre competition at a World Cup long-track speedskating event yesterday.

Ottawa's Kristina Groves won gold Sunday in the women's 1,500-metre race at a World Cup long-track speedskating competition.

The world hasn't stopped to wait for 2006 gold medalist Clara Hughes to recapture her athletic youth.

Lucas Makowsky of Regina won a silver medal in the men's 1,500-metre competition at a World Cup long-track speedskating event Saturday.

Canterbury speed skater Blake Skjellerup has secured two starts for New Zealand at next year's Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Canadians Kristina Groves and Clara Hughes narrowly missed the podium Friday at a speed skating World Cup meet overshadowed by an injury to two-time Olympic champion Marianne Timmer.

Germany's speedskater Claudia Pechstein attends a news conference in Berlin, August 6, 2009.

The Alaska Speedskating Club held its second short-course races of the season Saturday at the Harry J. McDonald Memorial Ice Arena, and the turnout was large, according to club president Amy Fitzpatrick.

Japan's Keiichiro Nagashima on Friday won the men's 500 meters at a World Cup speed skating meet at Heerenveen in the Netherlands, earning his first victory of the season and eighth overall.

A better shot Management consultant helps skater improve chances of going to Games By BRUCE ERSKINE Business Reporter Thu.

Short-track speed skater Travis Jayner was training when he spotted the group from across the ice.

Here are four tips to take with you on your next shoe-shopping trip. Eric Heiden, M.D. Tribune Media Services November 18, 2009 During my speed skating career, my Achilles heel was my feet.

When five-time Olympic medalist and "Dancing with the Stars" winner Apolo Ohno sat down with his dad and his advisers early this year to sort out potential sponsors, they considered dozens of companies.

The syrup-suckers at Richmond have laid down the gauntlet to the Colbert Nation.