There was plenty to talk about in the heats leading up to the finals of the men’s 500 meter short track speed skating race at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver.
But no one cares.
Bumping, mistakes, and falls that nearly tripped up the world’s best skaters pale when compared to what happened in the A Finals.
At the sound of the gun, American Apolo Ohno was in fourth behind leader Canadian Charles Hamelin. Korean Si-Bak Sung skated in the number two spot, while Canadian Francois-Louis Tremblay was in third place.
The world expected Apolo to shoot to the lead in what many call, “His Race.”
Dose of Reality
Si-Bak Sung won this race on the World Cup circuit so many times that he was ranked No. 1 in the 500 meter for the 2007-2008 season.
Francois-Louis Tremblay was the World Champion and Olympic Silver Medalist in this race in 2006. He was ranked No. 1 in the 500 meter in 2008-2009.
Charles Hamelin was the 500 meter 2009 World Champion, and is ranked No. 1 this season.
Apolo Ohno won the gold in this race in the 2006 Olympics. He was the World Champion in 2008 and ranked No. 1 for the 500m on the World Cup Circuit… way back in 2000-2001.
Any one of these men could have taken home the gold in Vancouver – and deserved it.
Back on the Short Track
During the 500 meter race at the 2010 Olympics, the men jockeyed as usual for a spot in front of the frenzied pack.
Si-Bak Sung swung to the front and led the men there with Hamelin in position to get the silver if he could hold off Apolo. Tremblay was doing a good job shutting out Ohno, keeping him from advancing on the inside.
Apolo was right on his heels, though, mentally prepared to take any even slight opportunity to sweep wide around the whole group or squeeze in and overtake the other speed skaters one at a time.
The American held his right hand up "as a cushion," he says, to block himself from bumping into Tremblay, thereby knocking him off his track and becoming disqualified.
Especially with Apolo nipping at his backside, many enthusiasts conclude that falling was Tremblay's only hope of medaling against this field of men.
And that’s exactly what happened.
Even during numerous replays of the incident, it does not appear that Ohno’s slight contact with Tremblay’s right hip included any sort of push. In fact, Apolo stated afterward, “I’m not out there to push anyone down.”
But down Tremblay went. At the same time up in front, Si-Bak Sung went down.
Replay showed Hamelin with his left hand placed across his body, apparently pushing against Sung’s left hip. Sung, a skater known for his sure footing, was announced to have gone down “on his own.” And the skating officials agreed.
On the way down, Sung’s left hand made contact with Hamelin’s skate.
Hamelin tripped, nearly skating backwards across the finish line.
Apolo finished just after him and looked anxiously at the scoreboard to see if he had, in fact, claimed the silver medal.
Was Si-Bak Sung Robbed?
Replay: Hamelin apparently made similar contact on the Korean skater immediately prior to Sung going down. It’s the same conclusion most spectators make of Apolo’s role in Tremblay’s fall.
In the end, according to the Canadian referee and conferring judges, Si-Bak Sung just happened to fall at the exact time Hamelin put his right hand on Si-Bak’s hip.
Apolo crossed the line second, which probably would have been a bronze (or better, knowing this skater’s potential) finish if all the men had finished the race.
In the end, Canadian Charles Hamelin walked home with the gold medal. South Korean Si-Bak Sung celebrated the silver, and Francois-Louis was handed the bronze. After finishing second, Apolo Ohno got nothing but the opportunity to shake off a tough call before the upcoming men’s team relay.
(To give Hamelin his due, he did set an Olympic Record in his quarter final skate here. The man knows how to race.)
In what appeared to be a frank but light-hearted answer to an NBC interviewer, Apolo said the call that disqualified him was unfair and resulted from the Canadian ref because of nepotism. But Ohno was quick to say such is the nature of the “subjective” aspect of the sport of short track speed skating.
He quickly turned attention to the upcoming relay after stating, “The race was fast enough to where there was no space enough to make a move. I don’t know why they called me for the disqualification. My hand was up to protect myself, but I’m not out there to push anyone." He added, "I leave here with no regrets.”
Regardless of the controversy, Ohno concedes: “The boys skated very well out there.”
And, in the end, maybe that’s all that matters.
Final 500m Standings
1st Charles Hamelin, Canada
2nd Si-Bak Sung, Korea
3rd Francois-Louis Tremblay, Canada
4th Yoon-Gy Kwak, Korea
5th Tyson Heung, Germany
6th Jon Eley, Great Britain
7th Ho-Suk Lee, Korea
8th Apolo Anton Ohno, USA (DSQ)
9th Olivier Jean, Canada (DSQ)
10th Jialiang Han, China
11th Simon Cho, USA
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