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CALGARY -- John Kuceras career was shorter than he wanted but he leaves alpine ski racing knowing he achieved two firsts for Canada. The first Canadian man to win a world downhill championship and the Canadian skier to stand atop the World Cup podium in Lake Louise, Alta., announced his retirement from ski racing Thursday. Kucera won the mens downhill title in Val-dIsere, France, in 2009. He earned three career World Cup medals in super-G, including gold in Lake Louise in 2006. "Im just really proud I managed to take a very short career and do big things with it," the 29-year-old Calgarian said at Alpine Canadas headquarters in his hometown. "It was a great ride. It really was. "I did some things in this country that I was the first to do and Im really proud of that." Kuceras first four years on the national team were successful and promising. But a broken leg followed by a frustrating inner ear condition sidelined him for four of the last five seasons and also kept him from competing in two Winter Olympics. Vestibular neuritis -- an inner ear condition causing dizziness and nausea -- struck during a training camp in Chile last September and made it impossible to race through gates at 130 kilometres per hour. Kucera wasnt able to get back on skis to race at the Winter Games in Sochi in February. The symptoms still linger and the uncertainty over how long theyll remain, combined with an opportunity to join the coaching staff of the national development team, steered Kucera towards retirement. "Truth be told, Im not 100 per cent yet," he said. "I think my body just told me it was time to start doing something else. "This vestibular neuritis is tough because there is no time line. I could be good by July, but I could be good by next July and really, nobody can give me that answer. Who wouldve thought the thing that would have finally took me out was waking up dizzy one morning?" Super giant slalom, or super-G, is shorter than downhill but there are more gates on the course. The discipline requires a combination of speed and technical ability. At five foot nine and 185 pounds, Kucera wasnt as beefy as the top downhill racers early in his career, so he excelled in super-G. But on Feb. 7, 2009, he bested such heavyweights as Hermann Maier of Austria, Didier Cuche of Switzerland, Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway and American Bode Miller to win on Val-dIseres difficult slope. "Val-dIsere was a course that obviously played into a lot of my strengths, very technical, very steep," Kucera recalled. "That being said, I felt like every year I was becoming a better and better downhiller. "I just hit the right track, the right conditions and the right time of my career to become a champion there." Kucera was the first Canadian to win in 26 years of World Cup racing at Lake Louise when he captured super-G gold in 2006. He drew the No. 1 start bib, so after crossing the finish line, the 22-year-old stood nervously in front of television cameras watching as skier after skier came down the mountain. "I remember being really cold. I think it was -35 C that day," Kucera said. "Coming down, having that great run, freezing, watching a lot of the people I looked up to growing up and me beating them, it was pretty exciting." Kucera dedicated that victory to his former coach and friend, Jason Lapierre, who was hit by a car while biking and died earlier that year. Kuceras successes coincided with those of teammates Erik Guay, Manny Osborne-Paradis and Jan Hudec. The "Canadian Cowboys" have given the national mens downhill team depth it hasnt had since Steve Podborski and Ken Read headlined the "Crazy Canucks" of the 1980s. Guay won the mens downhill title again for Canada in 2011, while Hudec took silver in 2007. Guay passed Podborski as Canadas most decorated World Cup racer with 22 career medals. Guay also won the overall super-G title in 2010. Osborne-Paradis collected nine World Cup medals, including three gold, between 2006 and 2010. Hudec tied for third and won Olympic bronze in super-G in Sochi. "As a group, now with Jans medal at the Olympics, weve really done it all," Kucera said. "The only thing I guess you could say we havent done is we dont have an Olympic champion yet. "As a group, we pulled off some special things. Weve kind of superceded the Crazy Canuck era and did something great. Weve set the bar pretty high for the next group coming up, but I think thats where it needs to be." Kucera won two World Cup medals at Lake Louise -- he took silver there in 2008 -- but the mountain was disastrous for him in the first race of 2009-10. He badly broke his left leg in the super-G and erased his chance to race in Whistler, B.C., at the 2010 Winter Games. Rehabilitation and subsequent setbacks kept him off his race skis for the next three seasons. "Obviously the last four years hadnt gone exactly gone the way I would have liked them to, but that being said, I felt the time was right to step away now," Kucera said. "Ive had a good run as an athlete. "Im walking away relatively healthy. Thats a good thing. Im excited and passionate about the next group, the guys Im going to be working with because Im going to be working with a pretty exciting group of 17- to 19-year-olds." Kuceras parents, Jan and Zdena, emigrated to Canada from the former Czechoslovakia in the early 1980s before John was born. Jan worked with the ski patrol at nearby Nakiska. John and his brother James began skiing at an early age. cheap jerseys . Ouellette, from Montreal, already has three Olympic gold medals since joining the team in 1999. wholesale nfl jerseys .C. In total, Canadas Sports Leader delivers 70-plus hours of exclusive live coverage, all the way from Draw 1 (Saturday, March 1) at 4:30 p.m. ET to the Final on Sunday, March 9 at 7:30 p. http://www.overalljersey.com/ . 11 Ana Ivanovic and American Sloane Stephens, and former world No. cheap jerseys From China .C. -- Al Jefferson is happy he didnt make the All-Star game. cheap nfl jerseys . - John Elway is looking for a new coach after agreeing to part ways with John Fox following Denvers latest playoff meltdown.In this most unpredictable of BPL seasons, the top four clubs battled it out in a pair of enthralling FA Cup ties last weekend. Meanwhile, the current champions were sunning themselves by the pool in Dubai. Not sure that was in the global expansion blueprint drawn up by the Glazer family. Nor, as their annus horribilis of a season wore on, would changing course and sitting down with Sir Alex Fergusons least popular person in football. Paul Stretford, Wayne Rooneys agent. Late last summer CEO Ed Woodward, without naming any player in particular, specified a willingness from the club to run player contracts through its term. These comments occurring as Chelsea were readying a second bid to sign Rooney who was going into the penultimate season of his current contract. Earlier Friday afternoon, and not long after a victorious Canadian mens team left the Sochi ice, Manchester United announced Rooney has committed himself to the cause through 2019. Stretford has played another blinder. It was only three years ago Rooney threatened to walk out of a club he saw did not meet his own ambitions. A few tears shed by Fergie in a pre-match conference and before you knew it, a brand new extended contract for Rooney making him the highest paid player in the globes most popular league. This latest deal is reported to be paying Rooney £300,000 ($525,000) a week, every week through June 2019. Factor in the image rights, something in the region of $150 million in total has been invested in the 27-year old. Its hard to tell though if this is a statement of intention or an insurance policy to ensure they convince some of the worlds very best that this season at Old Trafford is merely an aberration. This for a club thats currently battling it out with the likes of Newcastle and Everton for the BPLs sole spot in next seasons Europa League. Whilst the season on the pitch has lurched from one inept performance to the next embarrassing home defeat, the business of Manchester United Football Club has thrown up mixed blessings. Just last week the club released its latest financial report. As much as worldwide revenue continues to grow this has to be offset with the fact Bayern Munich recently replaced Manchester United from a podium spot on the annual Deloitte Football Rich List. Additionally, it is no coincidence that as the season has worn on, the price of the clubs shares on the New York Stock Exchange has reflected the dramatic fall of where Manchester United currently sit in the table. On the eve of the champions opening up their campaign August 17 (where they spanked Swansea 4-1) the share price stood at $17.41. Earlier today, the price was trading as low as $14.32. Over the course of the season this represents a fall in price closing in on 20 percent. One London-based bookmaker is currently offering odds of 12-1 the price will dip below $10 before seasons end. With that outlook, even the most ardent Manchester United supporters in the country wont be asking their financial advisor to include ticket symbol MANU in their portfolio this RRSP season. Not all of Manchester Uniteds misfortune can be laid squarely at the door marked manager. The failure of the club to reinvest their record breaking revenues in an aging squad has come to fruition this season. Manchester United has fallen way short in the transfer market throughoutt the Glazer tenure, which dates back to spring 2005.dddddddddddd Added to this, and much more of a key indicator when it comes to where clubs finish in the BPL standings, is an unwillingness to match the player salary marks of a Manchester City or Chelsea. Over the House of Glazer era, well in excess of a $1 billion has leaked out of the club in the form of interest payments and debt repayments. Yet only $500 million has been invested in the playing squad. Buying a Juan Mata per season does not cut it. Even in this UEFA Financial Fair Play era. Then factor in the 45 million mistakes that are Marouane Fellaini. The re-signing of Rooney will provide the same psychological boost as if the club has captured a world class signing. Like overpaying for Mata, it heralds just the start of addressing Glazers under-investment. Manchester Uniteds next big signing may well come off the pitch in the form of the clubs apparel supplier. If we are to believe recent reports, this could net the club $1 billion over a 10-year term. Only last month, Arsenal announced a massive deal with PUMA. Although no official figures were made available, one UK newspaper tagged it the biggest deal in PUMA and Arsenals history. Bayern Munichs latest victim receives close to $50 million a season from Emirates. It is well regarded Manchester United will not, like last summer, be chasing shadows in the transfer market come seasons end. They will though have to pay over the market odds for players. The international market for the very best is not a place for the faint of heart or light of wallet. At the table this summer will be a very forceful Sheik Mansour and Roman Abramovich and then throw in PSG owners the Qatari Investment Fund. And we havent mentioned Mr. Gallactico himself, Florentino Pérez. Just to make matters even more interesting for the Glazers bankers, history tells us a World Cup cycle is merely code word for luxury tax. What was $50 million in 2013 will be $60 million in 2014. The Pini Zahavis of the world rejoice even more every four years. With only 12 matches remaining in the season, Manchester United would have to go almost picture perfect the rest of the way to stand chance of clawing back the 11 points and a vastly inferior goal difference to Liverpools fourth place perch. Participation in Julys Europa League qualifiers is more probable. Going into Saturdays match away to a Tony Pullis rejuvenated Crystal Palace, the club sit seventh place in the table. If they remain in that spot come season end, to participate on the European stage next season Manchester Uniteds 650 million worldwide followers will have to cheer on Manchester City and Arsenal to domestic cup glory. Oh my how the very mighty will have fallen. In his last home match before hanging up the hair dryer, Ferguson addressed the 75,000 strong Old Trafford congregation post match and asked them to show patience for the new manager. Come May 3 - when United play their final home match of the season - lets hope for David Moyes sake he doesnt have to stand up at the final whistle and ask for their forgiveness. You can reach and follow Noel Butler at:Noel.Butler@BellMedia.ca@TheSoccerNoel TSN and TEAM Radio is your exclusive BPL radio home this season. Saturday we feature - Crystal Palace vs. Manchester United. Kick Off at 12:30pm et /9:30am pt. Cheap China Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys From China China NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' ' |
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