CALGARY - Elisabeth Vathjes strong start in World Cup skeleton turned torrid as she won her first gold medal in just her second race. Pavol Demitra Jersey .The 20-year-old Calgarian was the fastest woman down her home track Friday at Canada Olympic Park. She earned a silver medal last week in her World Cup debut in Lake Placid, N.Y.Vathje stood up in the tracks outrun, danced a little jig and hugged her boyfriend Donovan Klassen after completing her second run Friday.She posted a two-run time of one minute 55.31 seconds to beat runner-up Laura Deas of Britain by just over three-tenths of a second.Vathjes parents Jeff and Rita, her brother Brandon and friends from her church were also trackside to celebrate.Its incredible, Vathje said. To be home, to be around these people who have seen me grow up . . . its truly amazing.There was a huge group of people and they were excited to see this in real life, to see what I do and see such great results.Tina Hermann of Germany was third in 1:55.64. Vathje led after the first heat and a quick start time in her second run helped seal the victory.Vathje (pronounced VAT-chee) leads the overall World Cup standings with two medals in as many races. The next stop on the circuit is Jan. 5-11 in Altenberg, Germany,Reigning Olympic womens champion Elizabeth Yarnold of Britain beat Vathje for gold in Lake Placid, but Yarnold didnt race in Calgary because of dizziness she experienced in those first races.Concussions are an issue in skeleton because athletes heads can make hard contact with the track and also because of the constant shaking of their heads on the way down.The Dukurs brothers from Latvia duked it out for gold and silver in the mens race Friday. Olympic silver medallist Martins Dukurs prevailed in one minute 51.06 seconds for his second straight win. Tomass Dukurs was second in 1:51.96Sungbin Yun of South Korea earned bronze for his countrys first World Cup medal in a sliding sport.This is good for the sport, getting more and more countries on the podium, Tomass Dukurs said.Vathje took up skeleton at the relatively young age of 14. Shes a seasoned rookie after seven years of sliding on the developmental circuits.She says a combination of factors contributed to her hot start, but the key components are a new sled designed by Richard Bromley of Britain and finding corporate sponsors to help her pursue her dreams.Her $10,000 sled is almost a full second faster than her former model.Its really cool to have that technology and be able to race on it, Vathje said. Its a fast sled and Im excited to see what it can do the rest of the year.Its pretty too. Thats what I tell everybody. Theyre like really, out of everything you say, its pretty? Im like yeah, its pretty.Look good, feel good, race good.Vathje recalled finishing dead last at her first world junior championships at age 16 in Park City, Utah.It was pretty devastating, she said. Its like are you kidding me? Why am I in this sport? Why am I doing it?My ultimate goal is to stand atop the podium in Pyeongchang, to represent Canada.I want to be able to show these girls who are watching me that they have worth, to show them theres something more than getting their worth from boys, or worth from things that arent valuable. Show them theres more to them than what they see.Lanette Prediger of Calgary was seventh and Madison Charney of Brooks, Alta., placed 10th in the womens race.Dave Greszczyszyn of Brampton, Ont., tied for eighth among the men. Calgarians Barrett Martineau and Greg Rafter didnt qualify for the second mens heat.The skeleton teams Own The Podium funding dropped from an annual average of $876,250 from 2010 to 2014 to $20,000 for 2014-15. Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton pays for athletes travel, accommodation and meals at competitions and also the salary of one coach Ivo Pakalns.Vathje bears the cost of her other coaches Bromley and Charles Wlodarczak, her strength and conditioning coach Rob Gray and her equipment. So corporate sponsorship has been another major piece in her early success this winter.Its kind of difficult but because of these people who were able to step up into my life and say we are going to support you, we are Team Vathje, we want to see you succeed it allows me to not have to work in the summer, she said.When you work in the summer, its not conducive to good training, its not conducive to good working. It allows that freedom be compete at my best.Vathjes runs werent entirely smooth. Her experience on the Calgary track may have helped her compensate for bumping the side walls, according to Mellisa Hollingsworth, the 2006 Olympic bronze medallist who provided television commentary Friday.Shes fast at the top, Hollingsworth said. Shes new to the World Cup, but shes been here for six years. Lake Placid, Calgary, the tracks shes travelled to, shes got a good amount of experience. This is just a little bit different experience.Mens two-man bobsled was scheduled for later Friday at COP. Olympic womens bobsled champion Kaillie Humphries will race Saturday and will also make her World Cup debut piloting a four-man sled. Luke Opilka Jersey . LOUIS -- Alexander Steen scored a power-play goal with 59. Nate Prosser Jersey . - A late-game interception by defensive back Malcolm Butler saved the Super Bowl for the New England Patriots. http://www.nhlbluesauthority.com/authentic-ivan-barbashev-blues-jersey/ . Tristan Jackson returned a missed field goal 129 yards early in the fourth quarter as the Roughriders beat the B.C.PRETORIA, South Africa - Oscar Pistorius murder trial enters a critical phase Monday as his defence team attempts to recover from a faltering start and reinforce the disabled athletes claim that he fatally shot girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp by mistake because he was overwhelmed by a long-held fear of violent crime. Pistorius mindset when he stood on his stumps in a bathroom and pulled the trigger on his 9 mm pistol in the early hours of Feb. 14, 2013 remains the crux of the South African trial that has captured worldwide attention and is about to start its seventh week of globally televised proceedings. It was initially scheduled to run for three weeks. Judge Thokozile Masipa will analyze thousands of pages of testimony before she reaches a verdict, but ultimately must ponder the pivotal question: Did Pistorius fire his gun with the intention to kill or out of a misplaced belief that his life was in danger from a perceived intruder? South Africa does not have trial by jury, meaning Masipa will decide, with the help of two assessors, if Pistorius overall account is believable and whether the apparent inconsistencies in his testimony count against him or are unimportant in the bigger picture. If Pistorius defence, which will resume calling witnesses Monday after a two-week trial recess, can show that his story of a tragic error is a reasonable explanation, even the double-amputee runners shaky testimony would be rendered irrelevant and the judge should acquit him of murder, legal experts say. While testifying, Pistorius sometimes contradicted earlier testimony and other times said he did not remember details. "The test doesnt end there," former state prosecutor Marius du Toit said of Pistorius testimony. "Its not over. They (the defence) can still show there is another plausible scenario." Du Toit has over 20 years experience in South Africas criminal justice system and is following the trial closely. He said it must be shown that Pistorius had the "sole intention" to kill Steenkamp to be convicted of murder. Pistorius, 27, doesnt dispute that he shot 29-year-old Steenkamp through a toilet door. Hee claims the killing was accidental and he fired four times in quick succession without thinking and while terrified, believing that an intruder had climbed up a ladder and through a bathroom window of his Pretoria villa in the pre-dawn hours and was about to come out of the cubicle and attack him. Pierre Turgeon Jersey. . Prosecutors charge that the story is an intricate lie designed to cover up a murder. They say the couple fought, Steenkamp fled to the toilet screaming and Pistorius followed her and shot her through the wood door while they were arguing. She was hit in the hip, arm and head. Charged with premeditated murder, the first amputee to run at the Olympics faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted. He was once widely admired for overcoming the amputation of his lower legs as a baby to earn the right to run against the worlds top able-bodied athletes. The prosecutions case appeared to be bolstered as holes in Pistorius story were exposed when the athlete was on the stand for a fierce five-day cross-examination by prosecutor Gerrie Nel. Nel also succeeded in undermining the evidence given by the defences first two expert witnesses, a pathologist and a former police forensic scientist. But defence lawyers have only presented three of up to 17 witnesses they say they may ask to testify. At the outset of the defences case, lawyer Barry Roux said Pistorius actions on Valentines Day last year centred on his "disability" and "vulnerability" and Pistorius team will likely seek to rebuild the overall argument that his actions were guided by fear and not anger in a country with a high rate of violent home invasions. Roux said he will also show that a crucial thread of the prosecutions case is not true; that neighbours heard a woman screaming before and during the shots fired by Pistorius at around 3.17 a.m. on the fatal night. The lawyer said neighbours who live closer to Pistorius house in an upscale gated community in the suburbs of South Africas capital never heard a woman scream. Instead, it was Pistorius high-pitched shrieks for help after realizing his terrible mistake, the defence argues. Cheap Football Norway Jerseys Cheap Nigeria Soccer Jerseys Cheap Morocco Soccer Jerseys Cheap Mexico Soccer Jerseys Cheap Japan Soccer Jerseys Cheap Italy Soccer Jerseys Cheap Germany Jerseys Authentic Cheap Mexico Jerseys Authentic Cheap Colombia Jerseys Authentic Cheap Belgium Jerseys Authentic Cheap Brazil Jerseys Authentic Cheap Argentina Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Germany Jerseys Wholesale Brazil Jerseys Wholesale Portugal Jerseys Wholesale Argentina Jerseys Wholesale Belgium Jerseys Wholesale France Jerseys Wholesale Spain Jerseys Wholesale England Jerseys ' ' '