The men’s 1000 meter long track finals showcased the best of speed skating’s familiar faces, where 3 seconds meant the difference between 1st and 31st.
Gold- Shani Davis, USA, Age 27, 1:08.94
The 2006 All-Around Champion repeated his 2006 gold in this event in almost exactly the same time as his previous win (1:08.89.) But he’s getting used to winning the 1000m – which he’s done several times on the World Cup circuit and Single Distances races. The new guy (Mo)almost took this win from him, though.
Silver- Mo Tae-Bum, Korea, Age 21, 1:09.12
Not complaining about this, his Olympic debut, Tae-Bum brings youth and determination to a sport where physical and mental maturity are part of the uniform. Mo was actually the leader of this race at both the 200m and 600m split, but he couldn’t hold Davis back on the sprint to the finish.
Bronze- Chad Hedrick, USA, Age 32, 1:09.32
His story is familiar by now – he’s only been speed skating on ice in 2002, but his year-round conditioning and mental toughness paid off again. He credits his “double push” with his success (although this technique has been used by ice dancers for years.) He didn’t repeat his Turin Olympic Gold in the 5000 this year, but a bronze in this event is a nice consolation prize, especially because it’s his first medal in this event ever. Chad’s split times would have put him in 7th place, but he turned it on at the end to reach the podium.
4th- Stefan Groothuis, Netherlands, Age 28, 1:09.45
He was racing ahead of Hedrick at both splits, but lost the bronze medal in the last leg of the race.
5th- Mark Tuitert, Netherlands, Age 29, 1:09.48
Mark was in the race for 3rd at the splits, but he too was overpowered by Hedrick with the finish line in sight.
6th- Simon Kuipers, Netherlands, Age 27, 1:09.65
Simon has placed all over the board in this event. If he can get consistent, he could claim a top spot in the near future.
7th- Nick Pearson, USA, Age 30, 1:09.79
Pearson improved on his placing of 10th in this even in Salt Lake City earlier this year.
8th- Mika Poutala, Finland, Age 26, 1:09.85
Poutala was actually in the gold medal race through both splits, but he finished nearly a full second behind the winner.
9th- Kyou-Hyuk Lee, Korea, Age 31, 1:09.92
Like Poutala, Lee could have had the gold if he had sustained his split time paces through the finish line. He, too, ended up nearly a second behind the leader.
10th- Trevor Marsicano, Age 20, USA, 1:10.11
The youngster of the pack proved he’s got the goods to hold his own internationally in this event.
Timbre Beck - "Life is a daring adventure or nothing at all." Helen Keller defied all legitimate excuses and lived a full, satisfying life. That's ...
