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Jeremy Wotherspoon skates in the first round of the men’s 500-metre final at the Richmond Olympic Oval on Monday. (Jasper Juinen/Getty Images)

Canadian speedskater Jeremy Wotherspoon fell small of the podium in his final attempt to win Olympic gold in the 500 metres.

Tae-Bum Mo won South Korea’s first-ever gold in this event with a combined time of 69.82 seconds from the first and second races at the Richmond Olympic Oval in B.C. on Monday night.

Japan’s Keiichiro Nagashima and Joji Kato finished second and third in 69.98 and 70.01 seconds, respectively.

Wotherspoon is the most decorated 500-metre speedskater in World Cup history, but had never won Olympic gold.

The 33-year-ancient from Red Deer, Alta., won a silver medal in the 500 at the 1998 Nagano Games, but stumbled off the start while defending his title at the Salt Lake Olympics in 2002. Wotherspoon finished ninth at the 2006 Winter Games in Turin.

Wotherspoon missed the last World Cup season with a broken arm, but worked his way back into top form in time to prepare for the Vancouver Games.

Ice problems delay race

After his first skate of 35.09 seconds, he sat in fifth position heading into his second skate on Monday night. He finally took to the ice after competition was delayed 1½ hours because of problems with the ice surface.

In his second run, Wotherspoon finished in 35.18, putting him ninth overall with a combined time of 70.28.

Edmonton’s Jamie Gregg finished eighth, at 70.26.

Racing in his final Olympic race, 36-year-ancient Mike Ireland finished 16th in a combined time of 70.63 seconds.

Kyle Parrott, a 24-year-ancient rising speedskating star from Minnedosa, Man., rounded out the Canadian men in 21st position, with a final time of 71.34.

Wotherspoon will race his final Olympic race in the men’s 1,000-metre on Wednesday.

Other Canadians in top 21

Edmonton’s Jamie Gregg finished ninth, in 35.14 seconds. Thirty-six-year-ancient Mike Ireland of Winnipeg finished 17th in 35.38 seconds.

Kyle Parrott of Minnedosa, Man., rounded out the Canadian men in 21st position, with a 35.57-second skate.

Wotherspoon, the most decorated World Cup speedskater in history, has never won an Olympic gold medal. He is the current world-recorder holder in the 500, with a time of 34.03 seconds.

The 33-year-ancient from Red Deer, Alta., won a silver medal in the 500 at the 1998 Nagano Games, but stumbled off the start while defending his title at the Salt Lake Olympics in 2002. Wotherspoon finished ninth at the 2006 Winter Games in Turin.

Financial adviser Earl Jones shown last summer after being granted bail. (Graham Hughes/Canadian Press)Former Montreal financial adviser Earl Jones was sentenced to 11 years in prison on Monday, after pleading guilty to two fraud charges related to his $50-million Ponzi scheme.

At least 100 people, many of them victims, crowded into the Montreal courthouse for his sentencing and spared no words after the half-hour hearing.

“He can rot in hell,” said Bevan Jones of his brother, who bilked him and nearly 150 other investors of their personal savings with a massive Ponzi scheme that spanned more than 20 years.

‘None of us will ever be the same.’—Bevan Jones, Earl Jones’s brother

Crown prosecutors and Jones’s lawyer jointly recommended a sentence of 11 years, which Judge Hélène Morin handed down.

“The accused not only robbed the victims of their money, he robbed them of their freedom and self-esteem and of a decent life they expected in their retirement,” Morin said in her comments before delivering the sentence.

“All of them trusted him. For many, this word has no meaning anymore. He is responsible for irrevocable changes in all the victims’ lives and this has left them all humiliated.”

Jones never invested a cent of the money he collected from his former clients, the Quebec court heard during the criminal proceedings against him.

The $50-million swindle cost many people their life savings and none of the money has been recovered.

Many victims are pleased at how quickly the case worked its way through the Quebec legal system, CBC reporter Justin Hayward said.

The victims wanted to see Jones severely punished, said Christiane Jackson, who lost more than $1,000,000 of her family money to the Montreal adviser.

“I don’t want him to be out on the street starting again his Ponzi scheme, which he is very capable of because he realized how simple it was.”

Victims want to sue bank for hurts

So many of Jones’ victims and their loved ones were in attendance Monday that courthouse officials needed a second room for the overflow crowd.

Bevan Jones says he will never forgive his brother. (Graham Hughes/Canadian Press)Some of the victims included Jones’s own relatives, who are no longer speaking to him.

“None of us will ever be the same,” said Bevan Jones who, along with his wife Frances Gordon, was fleeced out of $1 million by his brother. Jones said he would never forgive him for what he’d done.

Both Jones and his financial-services company have been declared bankrupt. He’s been shunned not only by his friends and relatives, but his wife Maxine has also filed for divorce.

The provincial police and a bankruptcy trustee spent months going over the books and were able to agree on a conservative estimate of about $51.3 million taken between 1982 and 2009. But it’s unclear exactly how many people lost money to the scam over the decades.

The victims announced earlier this month that they will seek the right to sue a branch of the Royal Bank of Canada for allegedly allowing Jones to carry out his crimes, by turning a blind eye to his dubious accounting and business practices.

None of the claims against the Royal Bank have been proven in court and a judge must still authorize the request for the suit.

With files from The Canadian Press

Jeremy Wotherspoon skates in the first round of the men’s 500-metre final at the Richmond Olympic Oval on Monday. (Jasper Juinen/Getty Images)

Canadian speedskater Jeremy Wotherspoon’s last shot at Olympic gold is underway, after an ice-resurfacing glitch delayed the men’s 500-metre race Monday afternoon.

The 33-year-ancient finished his first skate in 35.09 seconds, excellent for fifth heading into the second skate on Monday night.

Finland’s Mike Poutala had the top skate, finishing in 34.86 seconds.

The race was postponed halfway through the first run, when the Olympia ice-resurfacing machine left a pile of snow and a puddle of water on the surface at the Richmond Olympic Oval in B.C. in the afternoon.

A similar problem delayed the women’s 3,000-metre race Sunday, but only for about 10 minutes. Canada’s Kristina Groves went on to win a bronze medal.

Monday’s delay came as 10 of 20 pairs had skated in the first of two men’s 500 races. The race initially started at 3:30 p.m. PT, and half the racers had competed before the ice hurt occurred, and was delayed for over an hour.

For the final round, the skaters will be reseeded based on their first-round results.

Poutala was followed by South Korea’s Mo Tae-Bum and Japan’s Joji Kato in second and third, respectively.

Edmonton’s Jamie Gregg finished ninth, in 35.14 seconds. Thirty-six-year-ancient Mike Ireland finished in 35.38 seconds, excellent for 17th.

Kyle Parrott of Minnedosa, Man., rounded out the Canadian men in 21st position, with a 35.57-second skate.

Wotherspoon, the most decorated World Cup speedskater in history, has never won an Olympic gold medal. He is the current world-recorder holder in the 500, with a time of 34.03 seconds.

The 33-year-ancient from Red Deer, Alta., won a silver medal in the 500 at the 1998 Nagano Games, but stumbled off the start while defending his title at the Salt Lake Olympics in 2002. Wotherspoon finished ninth at the 2006 Winter Games in Turin.