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AlO 8- The Canadian Champion, Friday, August 18, 2006 SPORTS SPORTS EDITOR: STEVE LeBLANO e-mail sleblanc@haltonsearch.com Durante tumbles way to international gold Tops at Indo-Pacfic championships By Steve LeBlanc CANADIAN CHAMPION STAFF eja Durantes first full season of power îum- bling can be summed up in just one word - golden. Building on the momentum of a îriumpbant national debut ibis spring at Quebecs LavaI University, the 16-year-old Miltonian recenîly took top bonours for Canada at the lndo-Pacific trampoline and tumbling cbampionships in Pretoria, South Afnica. Overcoming a preliminary round spill that had ber ranked tbird beading into the 15 and 16-year-old womens tumbling finals, Durante delivered two sensational performances wben it maîîered most to sîingsbot by a couple of bost competitors and prevail in ber i-st interna- tional meet. She finisbed a razor-thin one-tenth of a point abead of Malinda Carlini of Windsor in the seven-competilor class, thanks t0 a 29.9 second round thal eked ber past the fellow Ontarian. "With this being my first interna- i oni a I com peti- lion, I did- Tj uat n't expect Tj uat to even medal, much less take gold," said Durante, who swiîcbed over to, power lum- bling abter a series of injuries in artistic gymnaslics and quali- fied for tbe lndo-Pacific cham- pionsbips witb a first-place fin- ish at Februaiys Canada Cup in Vancouver. "It was reaîly rewarding to see ail my hard work pay off.' A modified routine since tbe nationals certainly aided in ber latest gold-medal acquisition as well. lncorporaling a full-in pike hoosted ber degree of dif- ficulty, and executing it flaw- lcssly no douhî impressed tbe five-member Indo Pacific judg- ing panel. 1I just ran the eight skills well and really stuck the land- ings, " recalled tbe up-and-com- ing tumbler, whose gymnastics event can best be described as a floor routine without the dance elernent. Part of a national-level train- ing camp last weekend in Calgary, Durante now has her sigbts set on thie 2007 World Tumbling Cbampionships in Quebec City Thatîs a preîty lofîy goal for someone whos been competimg in the sport less than a year. Then again, perhaps its not - given ber ever-growing gold- medal baul and a skill level that continues to climb. "A few monîhs ago 1 proba- bly wouldn't have given the worlds serious consideration," said Durante who trains up to 30 hours a week. "But the Indo-Pacific cham- pionsbips really opened my eyes as to wbaî's possible. If 1 keep training bard and have the desire, I'd say my chances (of making tbe Canadian youîb team) are as good as any- bodys." ,PAHAM PAINL LANALIAN LHAMCIUN HOOP DREAMS: Set to begin grade 12 at Bishop Reding Secondary School in just a couple of weeks, 16-year-old Caitlin O'Connor took another step dloser to landing a uni- versity scholarship with an impressîve performance a, the recent USA Junior International Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio. She was named MVP for Team Canada after averaging 10 points a game and adding some fundamentally-sound play overali at the week-Iong showcase. Golf mg This Summer And Now Yo. Are S.ffering From Golf er's Elhow?. Noticing Your Backswing is Bothsring Ysur Bock? SUNDAY AUOUST 2OTH, 2006 FROM 10:OAM TO 12:00 NOON FREE CGMMUNITY GOLF SEMINAR Hear more about golf technique as it relates to golf injuriea. Learn more about golf biomechanics. Talk about where energy cornes from in the golf swing. Get some great tips about golf specific ejoercise... and more! !M di1 I NFC titie gam -e time changed The Marauders will in fact bost îomorrows The Marauders fiiished 6-2 in the regular sea- Nortbern Football Conference (NFC) cbampi- son, wbicb included a forfeit Win over the onsbip game aI 4 p.m. Hawkeyes, wbo couldn'f secure field lime early The league final bad oniginally bren pusbed 10 in the season. 5 p.m., but was switched back Tuesday morning. Led by quarîerback Josh Spanick and defen- Milton will play bost to the Oshawa sive anchor Wayne Sliwinski - one of the NFCs Hawkeyes for the NFC tille aI Milton District premier players. wbos set to retire this year - Higb Scbool - marking the third lime in ils five- Milton bas outscored ils opposition a wbopping year existence that tbe local îeam bas vied for the 141-16 over tbe last îbree games en route to the crown. final. -LIO T- eAu. FOR SPECIAL PRICES