I met retired Canadian speed skater Ingrid Liepa at our news conference a couple of weeks ago. We're both big fans of Kristina Groves and Ingrid gave me a little insider's insight on the speedy gonzales. After the media had tapered off, Ingrid leaned in close and let me know that Kristina is well poised to medal in all of her events. 

Armed with this knowledge I was confident that another Play It Cool Olympian would be standing on the podium today. This confidence stayed with me throughout the women's 3,000 m race. There's something about Kristina. Maybe it's her consistently strong results in a range of distances. Perhaps it's that she has such integrity when it comes to protecting the environment. Whatever it was I could feel her sense of calm in that rink and I just had a strong feeling that this woman has good karma. There's 'my girl', I thought as she warmed up on the track.  

Her teammates Cindy Klassen and Clara Hughes got the crowds revved up to boiling point. When Kristina stepped up to the line we were erupting. My voice was already hoarse from cheering but I had no difficulty cheering until I was red in the face when Kristina struck off. She's elegant to watch as she glides across the glassy surface. She's also incredibly fast. After her race Kristina clocked in with the third fastest time. With one heat to follow, which included the world champion, I was on tender hooks but Kristina was able to hang onto her position and clinch the bronze!

Congratulations, Kristina - what a race! I can't wait to see what you can do in the rest of your races.