The drama unfolding at the Richmond Oval Wednesday night was palpable. American speed skater Chad Hedrick had just completed the race of his life. He finished the 1,000 meter race in 1:09:32 and was sitting in second place. His teammate, Shani Davis seemed not to notice. He was deep in concentration as he warmed up just inside the track. Davis and Hedrick are not friends, they are rivals.
It started 4 years ago in Turin when Hedrick criticized Davis for not skating in the team relay saying the U.S. was leaving a medal out on the ice. Davis was furious. He had told the team early on that he would not skate in the relay so he could focus on the individual races. From there a feud was born.
Davis shunned the team choosing to go it alone. He is a separate entity. He trains by himself in his hometown of Chicago as the other U.S. skaters all work out at the U.S.O.C. facility in Salt Lake City. The relationship between Davis and the U.S. skaters and coaches has been described as frigid at best.
So the questions swirled as Davis stepped up to the starting line last night. Would he defend his gold medal performance turned in at the Turin Games? And if he did, would his fellow U.S. skaters even acknowledge the feat. He would become the first back to back gold medal winner in the 1,000 meters in Olympic history.
At the race’s half way point it seemed like Davis would fall short. He was well off the pace set by Hedrick and South Korea’s Mo Tae-Drum. But then Shani Davis, as the exceptional athletes always do, found another gear. He blew past the finish line in 1:08:94 to capture the gold. As he skated around the rink in his victory lap, there was a mixture of relief and joy etched on his face. And then, one by one, the U.S. coaches came up to congratulate him. Someone handed him the American flag which he held up high over his head in his fist choosing not to drape it over his shoulders as so many other athletes do.
Chad Hedrick was waiting. He had just been bumped down from silver to bronze by a man he considers a nemesis who happens to skate for the same country. Then as they got their flowers on the podium these two bitter rivals each held one side of the American flag and smiled. Gold and bronze were secured and perhaps a feud was put in the past.