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Post by Laura (Lori) on Oct 4, 2008 22:55:12 GMT -8
This thread is totally devoted to Maria Garcia, and is intended to be an archive of her skating career - as well as a place to chat about her accomplishments and encourage her as she pursues her goals both on and off the ice.
If you have any articles, photos, links and news about Maria (past or present), we'd love to see them!
Some of the info gathered here will be used for Maria's bio page on Rocker-U. (see www.rocker-u.net/index_of_skaters.htm ).If you are a non-member who would like to contribute news, photos, archives or comments, please feel free to contact us at:lori@rocker-u.net or michelle@therockerfund.org
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Post by Deleted on Feb 7, 2009 17:19:08 GMT -8
Maria Cruz Garcia Signs With Shade Global Inc. 2.7.09 Maria Garcia represents the true American dream. Born and raised in Southern California, Maria grew up in a Mexican-American household. Her father emigrated from Mexico as a teenager, determined to give his family everything the world had to offer. Maria is a five-time World Cup team member, 2006 Winter Olympian and most recently, she set a new American record in the 500m distance sprint. Maria Garcia first started figure skating at the age of five. Though she took naturally to the sport, figure skating wasn’t financially feasible for her family. At 11 years old, her mother saw poster at the ice rink advertising to try speedskating for $3. With passion for skating and a natural talent for speed, Maria made the switch. Within three months, she competed at the Nationals speedskating competition and placed third in her age group. Maria has achieved much success within the sport. Missing the 2002 Olympic trials due to a severe knee injury, she was honored by the LA84 Foundation by running the Olympic Torch Relay for the 2002 Olympics in Los Angeles. When she broke her back in October 2004 at a World Cup in China, Maria was determined not to miss another chance at the Olympics. She came back and won the U.S. Jr. Championships a few months later, and then pulled off another win at the Olympic trials. She credits her local speedskating club as being a huge part of her success which lead her to the 2006 Olympics, where she continues to train in hopes of reaching her second Olympic berth. Maria relies on the financial support of actor and comedian George Lopez, who funds her training and competition expenses. Maria resides and trains at home in Carson, CA to have the support of her family and friends. Maria plans to pursue a degree in nursing and to volunteer with the Doctors Without Borders program, as well as a career in Clinical Psychologist, specializing in sports psychology. Years of hard work, dedication and perseverance have shown her that dreams really do come true. Maria’s most treasured accomplishment is that she is the daughter of a Mexican immigrant truly living the American dream. She now proudly represents her family and country on the world’s stage at the Olympics.
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Post by mtnme on Feb 22, 2009 12:57:08 GMT -8
Dresden, Germany - World Cup 6 2009 The only photo of Maria for this competition, and unfortunately, it's a fall Sorry Maria...the photographer wasn't kind this time out...
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Post by mtnme on Apr 10, 2009 7:50:10 GMT -8
Nice photo of Maria and Shawn Johnson. ...I just realized we are severely lacking for photos of Maria here on her thread. Sorry Maria, we haven't forgotten about you and we'll get to you soon.
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Post by Laura (Lori) on May 31, 2009 15:28:08 GMT -8
This is some stuff brought over from Maria's profile on www.Rocker-U.net. I wanted to make sure that everything there is also here... Maria with Coach Wilma Boomstra:
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Post by mtnme on Jul 31, 2009 10:18:08 GMT -8
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Post by bubblebuttsbabe on Sept 14, 2009 1:26:40 GMT -8
Source: latimesblogs.latimes.com/olympics_blog/2009/09/short-track-speedskating-winter-olympics-vancouver-maria-garcia.htmlSpeedskater Garcia OK after nasty fall at Olympic trialsSeptember 13, 2009 | 8:51 pm Short track speedskater Maria Garcia of Carson was released from a hospital in Marquette, Mich., and flew home Sunday after suffering a bruised sternum and other bruises when she fell during the semifinals of the women's 500-meter race at the Olympic trials Saturday.Garcia, a member of the 2006 Turin Olympics team, had crashed into the boards and was carried off on a stretcher. Robert Ahlke of the Southern California Speed Skating Assn. said by phone Sunday that Garcia was going to let her sore back heal before she flew home but decided she didn't want to be left behind alone. "She's OK, just really, really sore," Ahlke said. Unfortunately, the crash wiped out Garcia's chances of making the U.S. team for the Vancouver Games.Earlier in the evening, skater J.R. Celski crashed in his 500-meter semifinal heat and cut his left leg with his right skate blade. He needed surgery, but U.S. Speedskating officials said Celski is expected to make a full recovery in time to compete in Vancouver.
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Post by Laura (Lori) on Sept 17, 2009 11:09:10 GMT -8
Well, the 'tomorrow' mentioned below is now 'today' - so be looking for news about this Podcast. And best of luck to you, Maria!
Maria Cruz Garcia's Inspirational News By Melissa Greenhawt / GameOn / Sept 16, 2009
Today, Melissa and Erica spoke to Maria Cruz Garcia — the Olympic Short Track speedskater who suffered an injury on Saturday, leaving many to speculate that she may not compete in the Vancouver games. She told us a different story ...
Maria Cruz Garcia, the American record holder in the Short Track speedskating 500 M — and also this week’s guest on the GameOn Podcast — will make an important and inspirational announcement on the GameOn Podcast tomorrow.
As you may know Maria was injured during the Short Track Olympic trials last week. The injury prevented her from finishing the competition and as a result, Garcia was unable to qualify for the Short Track Olympic Team. Being the champion that she is, Garcia has decided that she is going to learn the ins and outs of Long Track speedskating. She hopes that her training will allow her to qualify to compete for a spot on the Long Track Olympic Team at the Olympic trials next month. (Please note that she just suffered this injury on Saturday and she already has her eye on the next prize!) If that doesn’t speak to her heart and dedication, we don’t know what does.
The great Yogi Berra once said, “If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else.” If you tune in tomorrow you’ll hear more from Maria Cruz Garcia. It’s clear that this is one woman who definitely knows where she is going.
Tune in tomorrow to hear the full podcast ...
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Post by Deleted on Sept 17, 2009 12:36:54 GMT -8
Way to go Maria. Good Luck!
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Post by aaosmts19 on Sept 17, 2009 21:04:57 GMT -8
from usspeedskating twitter:
four tongue lacerations. She's very grateful for all the concern and is back at home in California. about 7 hours ago from web
Maria Garcia is doing well following her crash at the ST Trials. She had a concussion, whiplash, a bruised sternum and . . . about 7 hours ago from web
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Post by Laura (Lori) on Sept 19, 2009 18:11:43 GMT -8
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SPEED SKATERS AT 2010 U.S. OLYMPIC TRAILS LOS ANGELES – September 4, 2009 – Images of palm trees and beaches do not spring to mind when speed skating is mentioned, but Southern California is home to what the Miami Herald recently called the best short track speed skating team in the country. The LA84 Foundation, since 1989, has supported the Southern California Speed Skating Association through a series of grants. At the 2010 U.S. Olympic Trials/Short Track Speedskating, September 8 -12 in Marquette, Mich., one in every four competitors will be a current or former SCSSA skater.Fourteen athletes who have trained in Southern California with SCSSA Director of Coaching Wilma Boomstra will compete for places on the Olympic team headed to Vancouver. They include Edie Alverez, JR Celski, Zach Fuller, Maria Garcia (2006 Olympian), Lezleigh Jaworski, Tina Koenig, Ryan Cox Leveille (2006 long track Olympian), Joey Lindsey, Jordan Malone, Walter Rusk, Jonny Sermeno, Jeff Simon, Kristen Todd and Kyle Uyehara. Throughout the Trials, 2006 Olympian Maria Garcia will send updates to the LA84 Foundation Facebook page about her Trials experience:www.facebook.com/pages/LA84-Foundation/135796917696 About LA84 Foundation: The LA84 Foundation was established to manage Southern California's share of the surplus from the highly successful 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The Foundation received $93 million at its inception and, since then, has invested $185 million in sports programs serving more than two million youth in the eight Southern California counties of Los Angeles, Imperial, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara and Ventura. Its headquarters is located in the historic Britt House near downtown Los Angeles where it houses the world's premier sports library and meeting facilities. The Foundation convenes numerous forums for the exploration of the most pressing issues in sport. For additional information, please visit www.LA84Foundation.org.
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Post by Laura (Lori) on Sept 24, 2009 23:59:56 GMT -8
The following Hero Card was provided by US Speedskating: And a couple by Jerry Search (09 Olympic Trials): That's Kristen Biondo (#63) next to Maria... Unfortunately, Maria's Olympic Trials ended with an ambulance trip to the hospital... her injuries are detailed in some of the posts upthread, but word is that she is back home in California and recuperating nicely!
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Post by Laura (Lori) on Sept 29, 2009 22:04:13 GMT -8
Following up on the Maria Cruz Garcia Podcast mentioned above (see Reply #7) - here's the link to a VERY insightful, nearly 20-minute interview with Maria. The interview starts at about 4:45 into the broadcast: gogameface.com/blog_detail.php?postid=372This is a very cool insight into ST in general, and Maria's life specifically - the most interesting news is that Maria may be giving Long-Track a shot for the Vancouver Olympics. (I suspect, based on the details given, that Caroline Hallisey-Kepka is the person Maria refers to who encouraged her to try to qualify for the Long-Track Trials...) I'd love to transcribe this interview if I can do it before it gets archived...
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Post by Laura (Lori) on Oct 24, 2009 10:41:07 GMT -8
Carson's Maria Garcia successfully switches tracks September 29, 2009 Maria Garcia of Carson, a member of the U.S. short-track speedskating team at the Turin Olympics and part of the successful program of the Southern California Speed Skating Assn., missed a chance to qualify for the Vancouver Games when she fell hard during the Olympic trials earlier this month in Marquette, Mich. But that didn't end Garcia's Olympic hopes. She switched to long-track skating even though she had no experience with that discipline and, remarkably, qualified to compete in the 500-meter event at an Olympic qualifying event in late October in Milwaukee. She might also try to get a qualifying time in the 1,000. "Why not!? My love of sport is through the journey," she said of making the switch. "Life will always continue on. Qualifying for the long-track Olympic trials is just as possible as it is impossible. I may come nowhere close, but it will be pure joy every step of the way. That's what sports and life should be about, always looking and rising to your next challenge." We'll follow Maria's rerouted journey in the coming weeks. -- Helene Elliott Lori's Note: Maria did compete in the 500M, and she finished in the top 10 (not sure if it was 7th or 8th?) in LT Trials - quite an accomplishment, considering that barely a month earlier, she had never skated long-track!
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Post by Laura (Lori) on Apr 6, 2010 20:34:46 GMT -8
'Wanna know what Maria's up to these days? garciamariacruz.blogspot.com/Tuesday, February 23, 2010 Speedskating Lessons Hi, My name is Maria Cruz Garcia. I am a 2006 Winter Olympian in Short Track Speedskating. I live in the Los Angeles Area and offer private lessons to anyone interested in learning the sport of Short Track. Posted by Maria Cruz Garcia at 2:22 PM -------------------- I'm sure she'll be a great ST Teacher! Tags: Maria Cruz Garcia ; Short Track Speedskating
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