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March 20, 2004
World Championships, Day 2 - 500m Rusty Smith skates in his 500m heat 3/20/04 Sorry for the delay in posting. I know many of you are wondering what happened to Rusty Smith today, but I waited to post until I could learn more about his condition and also be assured that his family knows he was injured. Rusty received a skate blade to the face today at the very start of his 500m quarter final. He sustained a fairly deep laceration to his nose and was taken to the hospital, where he's having surgery and will spend the night. He is even talking about racing tomorrow - not sure that's realistic, but it's a good sign! It was the scariest few moments in short track that I've experienced to date, and I'm relieved to report that Rusty is doing well and will be fine. So what happened? From what I can gather, the ice is soft and that's causing a lot of problems. It makes conditions especially dangerous in a race like the 500m. In the case of Rusty's quarterfinal, the skaters had just made it to the first turn when Jean-Charles Mattei (FRA) slipped, causing his leg to kick out behind him - and his blade to hit Rusty in the face. Rusty threw his arms in the air and stopped racing. At the same time, I heard the starter fire his pistol to stop the race, and Rusty skated over to his coaches, flung off his helmet and gloves, and paramedics were at his side within seconds to attend to him. Apolo Ohno chases Seung-Jae Lee in their 500m quarterfinal in Sweden Fabio Carta later said that after the first 2 laps of his 500m quarterfinal, he stopped trying to move up in his race because he felt that the ice conditions were too dangerous to risk a bad crash. I overheard one ref say later to another that he thought Apolo may have made a similar calculation in his quarterfinal. Witnessing Rusty's mishap from the heatbox moments before his own quarterfinal can't have helped Apolo. Apolo leads Fabio Carta and the pack in their 500m prelim Working backwards... Prelims: Allison Baver got a bad break twice in a row in her 500m prelim. Liesbeth Mau Asam (NED) fell in the first turn, taking Allison down with her, and the starter recalled the race. After the re-start, Allison again found herself in 3rd, to the outside of Mau Asam heading into the turn. Just past the apex, the Dutch skater slipped again, and took Allison out in the process. Because the second crash happened beyond the apex of the 1st turn, the race wasn't recalled, and because Allison was not in qualifying position when she fell, she wasn't advanced to the next round. I guess that's short track. In the very next heat, Amelie Goulet-Nadon (CAN) fell in the same corner, all on her own, and very dramatically sat on the ice for a good 15 seconds, imploring the refs to recall the race. That fall also took place past the apex of the turn and didn't involve another skater, and the race was not restarted. Amelie has had a bit of a tough time of it this season. Amelie Goulet-Nadon pleads for her race to be restarted Heats: Apolo's 500m heat was brilliant. After false-starting a second time today, Apolo, starting from lane 4, settled quickly into 2nd place. Within the first lap or so, he was slightly impeded by Jean-Charles Mattei -- who had quite the eventful day today himself -- and Apolo fell to fifth and last. Apolo didn't have a lot of time to recover, but by the 3rd lap he was back in the lead again, and won his heat. I can scarcely remember anything else after the 500m quarterfinals. The U.S. ladies skated their relay in a tough heat against Korea, Canada and Russia and unfortunately won't qualify for the final tomorrow. The men, needless to say, were unable to skate their relay semifinal today. A USS official asked me rhetorically on Wednesday night what purpose it would have served to have Mike Kooreman travel all the way to Sweden this weekend. Unfortunately, we got that answer today. Here's wishing Rusty all the best for a speedy and complete recovery -- Rusty, we need you back lighting up the ice! More information: March 19, 2004 Apolo Ohno skates in his 1500m quarterfinal race 1500m semifinal at the World Short Track Championships: Seung-Jae Lee (KOR), Nicola Rodigari (ITA), Jean-Francois Monette (CAN), Apolo Anton Ohno (USA), Jiajun Li (CHN)
Apolo looks for running room in his 1500m semifinal
Apolo Ohno prepares to exchange to J.P. Kepka as China's Jiajun Li also sets up an exchange during the men's 5000m relay heat in Gothenburg.
The man who makes Apolo's boots: RBC's Clint Jensen and Australian skater Mark McNee
The Korean strategy Ahn Hyun-soo and Song Suk-woo came in for a press conference and a Korean journalist translated. I was totally unprepared, but I asked what was their strategy for the 1500m final today. When the question was translated, Ahn just kind of smiled and looked helplessly at his coach for an answer. The journalist just said something to them, supplying an answer, and they nodded in agreement. The journalist then said that their strategy was to finish the 1500m 1-2-3. However, the ice being soft led them to make some mistakes, he said, allowing Guilmette to pass Lee and Song and take silver. After they left, the Korean journalist turned to me and said, 'You know what their real strategy was, right? It was to make sure Ahn won the race.' They want him to successfully defend his World Championship title this weekend. They are cute kids, though. Ahn's hair is orange again and he and Song both have multiple ear piercings in his ear. Ahn is kind of shy and Song is still a clown. AP article: Koreans sweep opening 1,500 at short track worlds Posted by noelle | 03:08 PM | Comments [10]World Championships, Day 1 - 1500m The 1500m heats and quarters passed pretty smoothly, with Apolo, Rusty and Allison all advancing to the semis. The most remarkable thing that happened all day so far was the 1500m heat with Jean-Francois Monette that had to be stopped midway through and restarted when the coaches and refs realized the track was laid out incorrectly on one end. The coaches became apoplectic yelling for the race to be stopped, and the starter fired his gun a few times to signal to the confused skaters to stop racing. After they fixed the track, the skaters lined up again to more confusion. Monette looked thoroughly disgusted as he went through the process all over again. Allison had a great race in her semi, skating strong from start to finish. She was a factor throughout the race and finished a solid fourth in a tough field. I think she was satisfied with her performance today. Obviously, Apolo's race was a disappointment. So much passing was going on constantly throughout the race. Apolo held the lead briefly but got passed too many times and in the end ran out of time to get around the big guns ahead of him. Scott Koons described the ice here as 'worker' ice, saying it doesn't have much glide, making passing more difficult - especially passing guys like Jiajun Li, Seung-Jae Lee and Monette. To add insult to injury, Apolo was DQ'ed -- I think for impeding against Monette, although apparently the ref didn't specify who it was against. Rusty raced a solid race, leading or in second for about 11 out of 13 1/2 laps. It looked like he just ran out of gas enough at the end to allow others to pass him and he finished 4th. The men's final was an amazing race - 3 Koreans, 2 Canadians, 1 Chinese. When the 3 Koreans got to the front early on, I heard a collective groan rise up from the rest of the Canadian team standing behind me. It was nice to see Jonathan Guilmette punch through for silver. For more information, see Baver Earns Top-10 Finish in 1500 Meters at World Short Track Championships Next up: relays! Since 8 of 9 teams competing in tonight's heats will advance to tomorrow's semifinals, the men's heat against China and France should be a good warmup for tomorrow. Posted by noelle | 01:42 PM | Comments [26]March 18, 2004 Report from Gothenburg - Thursday, March 18 Apolo Ohno skates in Gothenburg, Sweden, 3/18/04 The U.S. team had the last training slot of the day today, sharing the ice from 6-7pm with the British team. Today was a lower-key day - the team did a lot of skating, but it seemed less intense than yesterday. Shani Davis was absent from practice today, with a fever of 103 degrees. Best wishes to Shani for a speedy recovery! Today we caught the last half of the Canadian team's practice - they look as sharp as ever, and we told Amanda Overland that we were the North American cheering section for this weekend (of course, the U.S. comes first!). She seems to know many of the OZ fans by now. Some of us met the ABC producers who are here coordinating the network's coverage of this event. They will cover the relay this year due to Shani's involvement. It sounds as though his story may be the focus of their coverage this year, and deservedly so. To my shock, the producers knew of OZ as well. They were really friendly and seem enthusiastic about this event and hope to get footage of the small band of American fans who are here to cheer on the team this weekend! So look for some familiar faces in the stands as well as on the ice on April 3. This is ABC's last year to cover the World ST Championships. Apparently their contract with the ISU ends with this season, but they thought ESPN would pick it up next year and may even provide 2 hours of coverage instead of ABC's single hour. Haven't laid eyes on a single Korean skater yet. They are staying at another hotel and have had completely different practice times. The ABC crew mentioned that they had interviewed the Korean coaches about the animosity towards Apolo, and the coaches stated that they and the team have complete respect for him and didn't share the feelings expressed over the Internet. To answer a couple questions, the U.S. coaches here are Scott Koons and Tony Goskowicz. Visa problems or red tape of some sort have prevented Li Yan from traveling with the team to overseas competitions this year. Also, Mike Kooreman is not here. Don't know how he wound up listed with the final entries for this event. However, USS says next season, with Torino drawing nearer, they will resume the practice of sending 5 ladies and men to ISU competitions. That's pretty much all the news from Gothenburg. I don't really have any updates on Apolo but he seems to be in great spirits and is ready to go tomorrow. Yuki arrived last night but I haven't yet had a chance to speak with him. Posted by noelle | 06:00 PM | Comments [17]Tony Goskowicz and Apolo at practice in Gothenburg, 3/18/04 The British coach was really bending Apolo's ear today at practice.
March 17, 2004 Sharing a laugh in Gothenburg prior to the World Short Track Speed Skating Championships: Allison Baver, Apolo Anton Ohno and Shani Davis Report from Gothenburg - Wednesday, March 17, 2004 U.S. men led by Apolo Ohno and Rusty Smith train in Gothenburg I arrived here today more dead than alive and ran into Susan G, Ruthie, Jennifer G and Sooz a block from the hotel as I arrived by taxi, after failing to mooch a ride with the Dutch team (no room for this reporter!). Liz had already arrived yesterday, and Julia and her husband arrived later in the day. The U.S. team was scheduled to practice with the Hungarians today at 3:30, so we all hopped on the bus and went to the arena an hour ahead of time, taking in the tail end of the Chinese team practice after arriving. With all due respect, the Frolundaborg arena is probably the most unattractive venue I've seen to date. There is no natural lighting or decoration of any type. Swedish minimalism at its worst! The seating runs entirely around the ice sheet, but is quite removed from the ice itself. The organizing committee unfortunately isn't expecting too large a turnout, since short track isn't well known or popular in Sweden, but they are excited to have both EuroSport and ABC here. The U.S. team had one of the most serious practices in my memory, doggedly practicing the relay in particular for an hour or so. With the addition of Shani Davis to the World team this year, hopes and confidence are high. A USS official indicated that due to a nagging hamstring injury, J.P. Kepka may skate one less turn in the relay, with Shani taking up the slack, allowing Apolo Ohno and Rusty Smith to be fresh for their share of the last 1000 meters of the relay. There are 9 men's relay teams in this World Championships rather than the normal 8. This means that the men will skate relay heats on Friday prior to the semifinals on Saturday. Assuming all goes well in their relay heat, this gives the U.S. men the opportunity to make any necessary adjustments before heading into the semifinal on Saturday. The USS source also expressed confidence that the U.S. ladies can beat the Canadian ladies in the relay this weekend. I raised my eyebrows at that, but given the weekend the Canadian women had at World Teams, and the new American relay record the ladies recently set in Bormio, anything is possible. Will they beat the Canadian women? U.S. women at practice Wednesday: Allison Baver, Caroline Hallisey, Maria Garcia, Kristen Biondo I had a chance to speak to a lot of the U.S. skaters today and they seem to be in good health and good spirits. Apolo continues to experience some equipment issues. After battling problems with new blades in Cleveland 3 weeks ago (he said they were too thick), Apolo is skating on yet another pair of new blades here in Sweden. Overall he seems happy with the ice here, although he and Scott Koons noted it was in worse shape today than earlier in the week. Apolo mentioned that he was really happy to have people here for the World Championships, and he expects it to be a great competition. I also passed on the many greetings and well wishes you all have expressed and let Apolo know that many of you at home will also be following along in real time on Live CyberScoreboard. Whether you're here in person or in spirit, Apolo expressed that he appreciates your support so much. Fresh off another World Championship victory last weekend in long track, Shani looks very sharp. He, like the other skaters, looks forward to the end of the season, but Shani's not resting on his laurels at all and is eager to compete here in the relay. What Shani has achieved this season in both disciplines is simply awesome, but he shrugs it off, saying he's just having fun with his skating and trying to perform the best he can in both long track and short track. He's very satisfied with the training program in Calgary and his results certainly speak for themselves. Shani expects to return to Marquette to participate in the summer program and take classes there prior to returning to Calgary next season. One other thing I was extremely pleased to hear: It is now apparently USS policy that the short track team will not set foot inside South Korea for any competitions, including next year's World Team Championships, until and unless progress is made in identifying and dealing with those behind the death threats. This lifts the burden off Apolo and his teammates from having to grapple with this decision again on his/their own. Happy St. Patrick's Day from Sweden! Posted by noelle | 05:19 PM | Comments [16]Apolo Ohno shares a light moment with Coach Scott Koons in Gothenburg, 3/17/04 Apolo Ohno and Shani Davis review video of their ice practice, Gothenburg Sweden 3/17/04 Taking a break during the team practice, 3/17/04 Apolo Ohno and Shani Davis at the team practice, Gothenburg 3/17/04 Apolo reviews training tape, 3/17/04
March 16, 2004 World Championships Web Resources The World Short Track Speed Skating Championships begin Friday in Göteborg, Sweden. Here is the schedule for this weekend: Day 1: 1500m, Relay Prelims Day 2: 500m, Relay Semifinals Day 3: 1000m, Relay Finals, 3000m As always, Live CyberScoreboard will carry the races in real time. Detailed results can be found at Cyberscoreboard. If anyone happens to get EuroSport on satellite, they are supposed to have 7 hours of live coverage this weekend. (Scheduled coverage: Friday - 16:15-19:00; Saturday - 11:30-13:30 and 14:45-16:30; Sunday - 15:30-17:00. All times Central European Time (GMT+1), which is 6 hours ahead of EST) More info: 2004 World Short Track Championships Official Site Good luck, Apolo and Team USA!! Posted by noelle | 01:35 PM | Comments [14]March 15, 2004 Here are four more shots from Bormio - sorry for the lack of updates lately! That should all change this week. ;) Apolo loosens up prior to the relay semifinal in Bormio Preparing for the 500m quarterfinal Apolo waits in the heatbox to skate his 500m quarterfinal Lining up for the 500m prelim in Bormio |
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