Mr. Speaker, Sunday, February 10 was the third day of Olympic competition in Salt Lake City and it was the day that Canada won its first medal.
Cindy Klassen of Winnipeg had a bronze medal finish in the ladies 3,000 metre speed skating event with a time of three minutes and 58.97 seconds, a personal best and a new Canadian record.
Klassen, although a long time hockey player in Winnipeg, had not tried speed skating until 1997. She quickly rose to the top of her new sport and is a consistent top 10 finisher in international competitions. This is only her second year on the national team.
Cindy also took part in yesterday's 1,000 metre race where she had a 13th place finish and again set a personal best time. On Wednesday she will compete in her strongest event, the 1,500 metre race, and once more in the 5,000 metre race on Saturday.
At only 22 years of age, Cindy Klassen captured a sense of pride among all Canadians, most especially Winnipeggers. We wish her luck in her remaining two races.