Ouch Olympics

Philly

I was in Philadelphia for a conference from the 14th to the 18th - Philly seems like a nice city, although I didn't venture much further from the downtown core. I did run up the "Rocky" stairs at the Museum of Art though!

A new travel blog

My friends Larissa and Gord from Calgary are keeping a blog of their year long trip which is taking them to Hong Kong, India, New Zealand, Australia and Malaysia. You can see some pictures here

Music and the mind

I guess those guitar and french horn lessons really were good for me!

by Jane Christmas, September 20, 2006, McMaster Daily News

Young children who take music lessons show advanced brain development and improved memory over those children who do not take music lessons. It is the first study to show changes in brain responses over the course of a year of musical training.

The findings by researchers at McMaster University's Institute for Music and the Mind and the Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest appear in the October issue of Brain, and are being released today in the journal's advance online edition.

"While the greater improvement that we found in musical tasks is not surprising after one year of music lessons, greater improvement on a non-musical memory task in children taking music lessons is very interesting as memory performance is correlated with abilities such as literacy, verbal memory, visiospatial processing, mathematics and IQ.," says Laurel Trainor, professor of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour at McMaster University and director of the McMaster Institute for Music and the Mind. "Furthermore, our research shows that this occurs in children as young as four years of age."

While previous studies have shown that school-aged children given music lessons show greater improvement in IQ scores than children given drama lessons, Trainor's study is the first to identify such effects in brain-based measures in pre-school children.

Trainor, who led the study with Takako Fujioka, a scientist at Baycrest's Rotman Research Institute, compared the developmental changes in 12 children aged four to six years over the course of a year: six of the children (five boys, one girl) had just started to attend a Suzuki music school; the other six (four boys, two girls) had no music lessons outside school.

The researchers chose children being trained by the Suzuki method for several reasons: it ensured the children were all trained in the same way, were not selected for training according to their initial musical talent, and had similar support from their families. Also, because there was no early training in reading music, the Suzuki method provided the researchers with a good model of how training in auditory, sensory and motor activities induces changes in the cortex of the brain.

Trainor says the study's results will be of particular interest to educators and parents who feel that music should be part of the preschool and primary school curriculum.

The study received funding from the International Foundation for Music Research, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and The Sound Technology Promotion Foundation.

McMaster University, a world-renowned, research-intensive university, fosters a culture of innovation, and a commitment to discovery and learning in teaching, research and scholarship. Based in Hamilton, the University, one of only four Canadian universities to be listed on the Top 100 universities in the world, has a student population of more than 23,000, and an alumni population of more than 120,000 in 128 countries.

another article on Emilie

Canadian Olympian killed in car crash

JAMES CHRISTIE

Globe and Mail Update

Olympic runner Emilie Mondor was killed in a car accident late Saturday afternoon, near Hawkesbury, Ont., one hour east of Ottawa.

Mondor, the first Canadian woman to run the 5,000-metres under 15 minutes, competed at the 2004 Olympic Games and was once the Canadian record holder over the 5,000-metre distance.

The 25-year-old runner's vehicle overturned on a highway, the Ontario Provincial Police said, adding they don't know what caused the accident Emilie was living and training in Ottawa looking to make her marathon debut on November 5 at the New York City Marathon.

“Emilie's loss is even more difficult because we didn't just lose a great athlete; first and foremost we lost an outstanding individual,” said Jean-Guy Ouellette, Chairman of the Board of Athletics Canada.

Born April 29, 1981, Mondor of Mascouche, Que., competed in a host of international events including the 2003 International Association of Athletics Federations world championships where she finished 12th in the 5,000. Her first taste of national success came in a win at the 1997 Canadian Cross Country Championships where she established herself as the nation's fastest junior.

Mondor missed most of the 2005 and 2006 seasons due to a bone condition where her body didn't absorb calcium, making her bones brittle, similar to someone with osteoporosis, causing her to suffer multiple stress-factures. Earlier this year she made her comeback in a 10-km race in Toronto, finishing 2nd.

On her website, Mondor would say about the race “I do not care being second here, it is a victory overall for me. My comeback is unbelievable.”

The step up to the classic distance of the marathon was “a dream” she always had in her head, she had written. A wiry 5-foot-6 runner, who loved racking up training miles on the roads, it seemed a perfect fit “and now it will come true.”

Mondor was described by fellow athletes as a talented and ferocious competitor who thrived on the solitary life of a long distance runner.

“That kind of passion is tough to describe, I haven't seen that very much in my whole career,” Athletics Canada's chief high performance officer Martin Goulet told the Canadian Press. “She had that very passionate way about her, it was so deep in her we could feel that fire just being around her. Running was very special to her, to the point where it was almost a spiritual approach.”

Mondor became the first Canadian woman to dip under 15 minutes for 5,000 metres at the 2003 world championships in Paris where she finished 12th. She led the Canadian women's team to a bronze medal at the world cross-country championships in 2004, and ran for Canada at the Athens Olympics later that year, finishing 17th in the 5,000.

“She really, really loved to run, purely for running. There's not a lot of athletes out there that absolutely love just the motion of running,” said three-time Olympic middle-distance runner Leah Pells. “She was an intense athlete, but her love of running always came through,” added Pells, who lived and trained with Mondor when she ran for Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, B.C. “You could just feel that in workouts, she was just glad to be there, glad to be running, glad to be part of the sport. There's no doubt she would have been an unbelievable marathon runner,” said Pells.

Provincial police said Mondor was travelling alone on Highway 417 on Saturday when her vehicle overturned around 4:30 p.m. ET near Hawkesbury. Constable Pierre Dubois said Mondor was not wearing a seatbelt, and was ejected from the car. She was taken by air ambulance to Ottawa Civic Hospital where she died Saturday evening of massive chest trauma.

“Emilie had an extreme passion for running and the sport of athletics and it was contagious to all around her.,” said her agent, former Irish international runner Ray Flynn. “Emilie had a bright future ahead of her and was very much looking forward to making her debut in the 2006 ING New York City Marathon,” said Flynn.

Mondor took up track when she was 14, and quickly made a name for herself on the national scene, winning gold at the Canadian junior cross-country championships in 1997.

She attended SFU where she dominated the distance events, winning the NAIA cross-country championships twice — one of the victories in course record time — and won the NAIA track title in the 1,500 metres.

“I don't know if the racing was the pleasure of her life, I think most it was just the running part of it she enjoyed,” said Mike Lonergan, who coached Mondor for four years when she lives in B.C. “She was really easy to coach, she was so self-motivated, you didn't have to work at that. In fact you had to work more at tempering it.”

She wore her love of her sport in the numerous tattoos that decorated her wiry body.

She had Canadian flag with wing on the inside of her left ankle to commemorate the first time she was named to a Canadian team. She celebrated her sub-15 minute performance at the world championships by having the No. 15 tattooed on the inside of her right ankle. Her time of 14 minutes 59.68 seconds was a Canadian record at the time. It held up only briefly, as teammate Courtney Babcock ran 14:54.98 a couple of heats later.

Mondor had the Olympic rings tattooed on the inside of her left forearm after she was named to the Athens Olympic team. She also had a tattoo of a wolf emblazoned on her shoulder blade, which signified her love of nature.

Mondor is survived by her two younger sisters Veronique and Marie-Christine, mother Nicole and father Francois.

Emilie Mondor dies in car accident

I did not know Emilie very well, but I did race against her a few times - she was a very talented woman who was dedicated to her sport. The Canadian running community has lost one of its stars.

Distance runner Émilie Mondor — who competed for Canada in the 5,000-metre event at the 2004 Olympics in Athens — was killed on the weekend in a car accident.

Mondor, whose hometown was Mascouche, Que., died just around noon on Saturday near Hawkesbury, Ont., Ontario Provincial Police said.

Police said the 25-year-old was driving on Highway 417 when she lost control of her car.

"I want to express my deepest condolences to the family of Emilie Mondor," the runner's agent Ray Flynn said in a statement.

"Emilie had an extreme passion for running and the sport of athletics and it was contagious to all around her."

Mondor came in 17th place in the 5,000 metres at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, in 15:20.15.

According to Athletics Canada, her personal best in the event was a time of 14:59.68 at the World Championships in Paris in 2003.

Injuries sidelined Mondor for the 2005 season, but she returned to competition as a marathon runner in 2006.

"Emilie had a bright future ahead of her and was very much looking forward to making her debut in the 2006 ING New York City Marathon," said Flynn.

"We will all miss her dearly."

Track community remembers Graham for his intimidating size and immense talent

TORONTO (CP) - At six foot four and packing a rock-hard physique, Mark Graham cast an imposing shadow when he stepped onto the track.

But Olympic teammates who knew Graham best say the sprinter had a smile that matched his massive frame, and his intimidating physical stature belied an easygoing demeanour.

Graham, who grew up in Hamilton, joined the military after his track career and was based at CFB Petawawa. A private, Graham was killed and more than 30 others wounded Monday in Afghanistan as two U.S. aircraft accidentally opened fire on Canadians during a strafing run. He was 33.

"He was a really intimidating figure, but he was also so giving with his smile," Olympic teammate Byron Goodwin said from Winnipeg. "You would see this giant, and you would think, oh my God, he's going to tear me apart. But then he flashed his smile and it would totally put you at ease."

Graham was a member of Canada's 4x400-metre relay team at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, where he, Goodwin, Mark Jackson, Freddie Williams and Anthony Wilson finished 13th.

Graham also won a silver medal at the 1993 and 1994 Canadian championships.

"He was a great competitor and you knew if you were going to beat him you had to be on that day," said Goodwin, who beat Graham at the '94 national championships. "I certainly got handed my share of losses by him."

Canada's track community was shocked and saddened as news spread of his death Tuesday.

Many recalled an athlete who was loaded with talent - his personal best time of 46.16 seconds he ran while still a junior ranks him 19th on Canada's all-time senior list in the 400. But he was plagued by injuries, which eventually cut short his promising career in 1994.

"Many of us are going back and looking at our scrapbooks right now and thinking of all the good times we had with him," said Peter Ogilvie, who ran on Canada's 4x100 team in Barcelona, and is now the executive director of Athletics Alberta. "It's truly a sad story, he's a hero not only for the Canadian forces, but the athletics community will be in mourning for quite a while as well."

Canadian distance veteran Kevin Sullivan grew up 20 minutes down the road from Graham in Brantford, Ont., and got to know the sprinter when the two were budding Ontario high school stars. They went on to represent Canada on several national teams together including the 1993 world indoor championships and 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria.

"He was this massive human being, if you wanted a perfect physical specimen as an athlete, he's the guy you would point at," Sullivan said from Amsterdam, where he's training for the upcoming IAAF World Cup. "But despite what some people would think of as an intimidating presence, he was a really down-to-earth, kind person, got along well with everybody. Everybody genuinely liked him and got along well with him."

Graham Hood ran the 1,500 for Canada at the Barcelona Olympics, but growing up in Burlington, Ont., had the misfortune of racing against Graham in high school relays.

"He kicked my butt pretty soundly, I remember him flying by me in the relay," Hood said, laughing. "He was a very talented athlete, I remember being extremely intimidated by him as a small kid in high school. He was quite a physical specimen, just a massive towering guy with a ton of ability."

John Cannon was Canada's relays coach at the Barcelona Olympics and went on to coach Graham in Calgary for a year after Barcelona. In an event where you seldom see a runner over six feet tall, let alone packing the football physique that Graham did, his size alone, remembers Cannon, drew widespread attention.

In an interview from Calgary, Cannon remembers the first day of training in Barcelona. Graham was jogging shirtless under the scorching 35 C sun, and Cannon was standing looking on with John Smith, who at that time was the coach at USC and is still well known in international track.

"John said to me, 'I'll give that guy a full scholarship.' I said, 'You don't even know what he runs.' And he said, 'I don't care. With a body and physique like that, he can run whatever he wants,"' Cannon recalled laughing.

Glenroy Gilbert ran on the 4x100 team in Barcelona, and went on to win Olympic gold as part of the famous 4x100 at the Atlanta Games four years later. Gilbert said Graham's talents weren't just on the track. He remembered Graham blowing away his teammates with his performance at "rookie night" in Barcelona.

"He could also sing, he had an amazing singing voice," said Gilbert, who's now the relays coach for Athletics Canada.

Following the 1992 Olympics, Graham attended the University of Nebraska on a track and field scholarship before continuing his collegiate career at Kent State University in Ohio.

The Canadian Olympic Committee praised Graham as "a courageous patriot and an outstanding athlete."

"We are extremely saddened to learn of the passing of Mark Graham," COC president Michael Chambers said in a statement. "As an Olympian and as a private in the military, Mark dedicated his life to representing Canada.

"He will forever be remembered as a courageous patriot and an outstanding athlete. He will be dearly missed."

"Mark Graham was a man of great character who was an excellent role model during his athletic career," Jackson said in a statement. "While this is an extremely difficult time for his family and friends, we can take comfort in knowing that Mark took great pride in serving his country and that he died doing what he felt was right. We are all deeply proud of him and all that he accomplished."

Graham was the oldest of three brothers, one of whom has also joined the military.

He leaves a young daughter. He was not married.