Her 35th birthday was strangely a footnote to what was about to happen as she stood at the Milano start line with cheering home fans on either side of her. Not only did Francesca Lollobrigida win gold in the 3000m. She broke records, defied expectations, and made an enduring impression on Olympic memory with a single, smooth move around the rink. Under the pressure of both personal and national expectations, she competed in Italy and set an Olympic record with a stunning time of 3:54.28, which was a considerable improvement over Irene Schouten’s previous time. It wasn’t just a victory.…
Author: errica
When Isabelle Weidemann entered the Milan track, they had already had half of their coffee. Back in Ottawa, her former coach Mike Rivet sat quietly with a few Gloucester Concordes skaters as their former “mini-master” prepared herself for yet another endurance and strength test. The performance was not worthy of a medal. However, it was definitely Isabelle. With a time of 3:59.24, she placed fifth in the 3000 meters. With a rhythm that only the most skilled skaters could sustain, her skates sliced through the rink. She was incredibly durable throughout the six laps, remarkably efficient in her turns, and…
Skating over sixteen years left a path of victories, setbacks, and a spectacular last push for the top spot. The 35-year-old Valérie Maltais won bronze in the 3000m in Milano Cortina, her first Olympic medal as an individual. What’s even more amazing is that she did it on her fifth attempt. It was more than a race. The resolution was accomplished. Although her time of 3:56.93 didn’t break any records, it did signify something more enduring than numbers: personal achievement. Maltais didn’t falter despite finishing behind Francesca Lollobrigida of Italy and Ragne Wiklund of Norway. Rather, she let out a…
In addition to speed skating, Jutta Leerdam draws attention in a way that few other skaters can. In a world where attention spans are shortening quickly, her ability to strike a balance between high-performance sports and high-profile media situations is exceptionally creative. She carved out a silver streak at the 2022 Winter Olympics that continues to inspire Dutch fans and skating aficionados throughout the world. When expectations were very high, her performance—which she gave under extreme pressure—was remarkably successful in reviving national pride. Through military-style training and sharing glimpses of her personal life on social media, Jutta has created a…
Not all announcements from Antarctica are thunderclaps. Sometimes, in stillness, it just melts. The Thwaites Glacier, sometimes referred to as the “Doomsday Glacier,” is subtly coming to represent the urgency of the climate crisis. Its frozen expanse, which is as large as Florida, is majestic and vast. Today, however, what’s going on underneath it matters more than what’s on the outside. With an ambitious plan to put real-time monitoring equipment almost 1,000 meters below the glacier’s surface, scientists have returned to West Antarctica in recent weeks. The approach is extremely effective in principle: find out how quickly this glacier might…
Snowfall that falls straight down seems controllable, almost systematic. It changes completely when it travels sideways, lifted and thrown by gusts of up to 80 km/h. Routine trips in southern Ontario have recently become patience and accuracy tests due to Environment Canada’s snow warning. As an Alberta Clipper passed through, pulling Arctic air behind it, yellow-level advisories were issued for the Waterloo Region, Simcoe County, and portions of southwestern Ontario. The system moved quickly and effectively, spreading loose snow from one municipality to another with remarkably comparable force on rural roads and highways. What started out as light buildup soon…
The resurgence of Robert Schellenberg’s name is not due to a significant change in the facts of his case, but rather to a marked improvement in the political atmosphere surrounding it. As relations between Canada and China cooled like winter soil, his case gradually developed in Dalian courtrooms for years, bearing the weight of a diplomatic impasse. Allegedly involved in a plot to transport 222 kilograms of methamphetamine from China to Australia, Schellenberg was taken into custody in 2014. He was first given a 15-year prison term by the Chinese court in 2018. The punishment was harsh, but it was…
The influence that one person’s legal situation can have on the course of diplomatic relations between two nations cannot be overstated. In this instance, it’s Canadian citizen Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, whose name was conspicuously absent from popular discourse until lately. When China’s top court overturned his death sentence and mandated a new trial, that drastically altered. Schellenberg was arrested in Dalian back in 2014 on suspicion of participating in a global narcotics trafficking scheme. An attempt to smuggle more than 200 kilograms of methamphetamine was linked to the accusation. He was first sentenced to 15 years in prison. The punishment…
For good cause, meteorologists have been paying especially close attention to the Arctic stratospheric in recent days. Thirty kilometers above the pole, temperatures more than fifty degrees Celsius above normal have risen, destabilizing the polar vortex in a manner reminiscent of the rarest winter disruptions of the last ten years. The outcome is a split, not a gradual weakening, but a structural breach that may reroute cold air across continents, according to increasingly confident forecasts. The comparison of the polar vortex as a rotating wall of wind is still remarkably accurate. When intact, it serves as an exceptionally dependable barrier…
When a well-known actor’s name reappears—not for a movie or prize, but because of a courtroom—something changes. Timothy Busfield, who has long been respected for his subtle acting and careful direction, is currently balancing the risk of facing criminal charges. The 68-year-old actor has been charged by a New Mexico grand jury with four charges of illegal sexual contact with a child, all of which are allegedly connected to events that allegedly happened while he was directing the television drama The Cleaning Lady between 2022 and 2024. These charges, which were made public in early 2026, completely change his story.…