Olympian Fleming to skate in area fundraiser

Peggy Fleming is coming to Colorado Springs.

The 1968 Olympic gold medalist figure skater will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Sertich Ice Center in Blades for the Cure, a charitable event to raise money for a Colorado Springs man who is battling cancer.

Joining Fleming are 19 Broadmoor Skating Club members, including world championships team member Jeremy Abbott, world junior champion Rachael Flatt and national pair champions Keauna McLaughlin and Rockne Brubaker.

A breast cancer survivor, Fleming, 59, trained in Colorado Springs and attended Colorado College. She won three world championships and five national titles.

Proceeds from the performance will benefit the family of Steve Kanallakan, who has multiple myeloma, a disease caused by cancerous plasma cells in a person's blood. Steve's son, Austin, is a Broadmoor skater.

Tickets are available at bladesforthecure.org or at the World Arena Ice Hall from 4:30-7 p.m. Tuesday. Admission is $20 for adults, $15 for seniors and active military and $10 for children 3-12. Children 2 and under are free.

Volleyball camp ends
The U.S. women's volleyball national team, based at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, will conclude a three-week training camp today in China. Fourteen players made the trip.

Softball shake-up
No Lisa Fernandez, no worries for the U.S. Olympic softball team.

The U.S., winners of all three gold medals in Olympic softball history, remains the team to beat at the Beijing Games in August without Fernandez, who was left off the 15-person roster last month. Fernandez pitched for the U.S. in the previous three Olympics.

"The pitching staff we have can lead us to a fourth gold medal," three-time Olympian Laura Berg said Tuesday on a conference call with reporters. "We're doing everything we possibly can to put ourselves in a position to be on the gold-medal podium. We believe in ourselves and our teammates and the coaching staff."

Pentathletes in action
Six Colorado Springs modern pentathletes competed last weekend at a World Cup in Somerset, England.

In the men's competition, Sam Sacksen finished ninth, Eli Bremer was 10th, Niul Manske was 33rd and Dennis Bowsher didn't qualify. On the women's side, Michelle "Mickey" Kelly took 21st and Margaux Isaksen was 29th.

Six wrestlers qualify
Thirteen Colorado Springs wrestlers competed last weekend at the Northwest Regional Olympic trials in Battleground, Wash.

Six wrestlers - Stephen Abas, Brad Ahearn, Mike Ellsworth, Brandon McNab, Willie Parks and Philip Simpson - earned berths in the U.S. Olympic trials, which are June 13-15 in Las Vegas.

Kyle Cerminara, Jared Frayer, Bryce Hasseman and Robby Smith finished second. Tony Gansen placed third. Ron Groves and B.J. Padden took fourth.

Mixed results in judo
Seven Colorado Springs residents competed last weekend at the USA Judo Youth and Scholastic National Championships in Menomonie, Wis.

Riley Abeyta won the girls bantam 59.5-pound division. Paola Genao-Butler (138.9) placed first in women's junior and second in women's collegiate. Other runners-up were Joel Holley (160.9 men's collegiate novice), George Truong (116.8 men's juvenile) and Erin Amos (57.3 girls intermediate). Alexa Liddie (105.8) and Marlena Grovenstein (125.7) took third in women's junior.