■ Speedskating
Shinya wins 500m race
Jeremy Wotherspoon broke his Canadian record in the men's 500m while winning the opening race of the World Cup long track speedskating season Saturday in Calgary, Canada. American Jennifer Rodriguez won the women's 1,000m, and Shihomi Shinya of Japan took the 500m. Wotherspoon, who lost only one 500m race last year, won in 34.37 seconds, lowering his previous Canadian mark of 34.41 set last season in Salt Lake City. He came within 0.05 of the world record. Gerard Van Velde of the Netherlands was second Saturday in 34.59, followed by Dmitry Lobkov of Russia in 34.63. "It was a solid race from start to finish," Wotherspoon said. ``There are some areas I would have liked to have done better, but you can't ask for much more at the start of the season. We're not in peak condition yet." Wotherspoon now has 46 career World Cup wins, two fewer than all-time men's leader Uwe Jens May of Germany.
■ Bobsled
German women sweep
Sandra Prokoff fought through an ankle injury to record the two fastest runs Saturday and lead a German sweep in a women's World Cup bobsled race in Lake Placid, New York. Prokoff has won the first three World Cup events this season, with two victories last weekend in Calgary, Alberta. Prokoff, who hurt her ankle while warming up, piloted Germany 1 with brakeman Anja Schneiderheinze to a time of 58.38 seconds in the first run. Even though steady snow slowed the track, they managed to tie the course record. A second run of 58.58 gave them a total time of 1 minute, 56.96 seconds. Still, they won by a mere .02 seconds over teammates Susi Erdmann and Nicole Herschmann. "I had to really fight hard to win today's race," Prokoff said. "Between the injury and the snowfall, it was difficult." Erdmann, driving Germany 2, was right behind in 1:57.03. Cathleen Martini, with Yvonne Cernota on the brakes, took the bronze medal in 1:57.38. The competition ends today with a second women's bobsled race.
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