Sven the kid, An American in China and Some of his best outfits are animals
By macleans.ca - Thursday, February 18, 2010 - 0 Comments
Newsmakers
Sven the kid
When Dutch skating sensation Sven Kramer, 23, looks in the mirror he sees a very relaxed athlete. When Canadians look at Kramer—who won gold in the 5,000-m race in front of 4,500 fans from back home, including Crown Prince Willem Alexander and Princess Maxima—they see another Olympian, Sidney Crosby. The hockey great and Kramer share a huge celebrity in their home countries—and a striking resemblance. Canadian speed skater Christine Nesbitt recalls a time Kramer competed in Calgary and visited a local mall. “All the girls were asking for his autograph, and he thought it was because he was Sven Kramer,” she says. Nesbitt herself is more often recognized in skating-mad Holland than Canada, she says. Expect that to change after Vancouver.
An American in China
She’s no Yao Ming, says Team USA assistant captain Julie Chu, but she sure gets attention in China. After the U.S. women’s hockey opener against China on Feb. 14, Chu, the all-time leading scorer in NCAA women’s history, was mobbed by Chinese media. The final score was 12-1 for the U.S., but it didn’t much matter to the China-supporting crowd, who gave their team an ovation for its lone goal. Chu—whose parents and three siblings all have matching tattoos of the Olympic rings, and of Julie’s number, 13—happily quoted the two Mandarin phrases she knows for Chinese national TV. As luck would have it, they include, “Happy New Year!”
But some of his best outfits are animals
Fears for his safety have forced drama-magnet Johnny Weir into the security-laden Olympic Village. The figure skater had chosen to live in a hotel during the Games after an unhappy experience at the athletes’ lodgings in Turin. But the white fox fur he added to his costume at the U.S. championships last month unleashed a torrent of what he calls “very serious threats” from anti-fur activists. Arranging security at the hotel was too hard. So he’s sharing a suite with ice dancer Tanith Belbin, having made himself at home by putting up b posters and lighting scented candles to mask an odour he says “smelled like wet dog.” That comment won’t win him fans in the PETA crowd.
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Victoria’s Secret
CONTINUE...
No longer will underwear aficionados have to gaze longingly south of the border: Victoria’s Secret, the lingerie chain synonymous with romance, glamour and Heidi Klum, is set to launch its first Canadian stores in the new year. For those who can’t wait, little sister store Victoria’s Secret Pink, aimed at university-age girls, opened a [...] -
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