U.S. OLYMPIC FESTIVAL LOS ANGELES 1991 : SPEEDSKATING : This Show Gets Two Stars and Sets a Record Rating

The short-track speedskating competition in this year’s U.S. Olympic Festival turned out to be the Amy Peterson and Jeff Benjamin show.

Peterson and Benjamin completed their dominating weekend Sunday by winning the women’s and men’s 1,000 and 3,000 meters before an announced crowd of 375 at the Iceland Skating Center in Paramount. In the two-day competition, they combined to win all eight individual finals and skate on the winning North relay teams.

Peterson, 19, of Maplewood, Minn., established a Festival record for career gold medals with 13. She broke Bonnie Blair’s mark of 10 and tied the former Olympic gold medalist’s record for medals overall with 16.

“It’s kind of sad that this is my last Festival,” Peterson said, who has competed in six Festivals. “It’s exciting for me to break (Blair’s) record. But, actually, I feel that I’ve outgrown the Festival now.”

Peterson won the 1,000 in 1:50.37, and set a Festival record in the 3,000 with a time of 6:05.34. With her five victories, Peterson also tied Blair for the most gold medals won in a Festival.

While Peterson’s wins were expected, Benjamin’s sweep was not.

In his two previous Festivals, Benjamin, 19, of Highland Park, Ill., had won only a gold as a member of the West 5,000-meter relay team last year. In individual competition, his only medal came in the 3,000 meters when he finished second a year ago.

However, Benjamin was a skater on the rise after finishing third in the intermediate division of the U.S. nationals earlier this year.

“I didn’t know what to expect coming in,” said Benjamin, who became the first male to win five gold medals in a Festival.

After skating to wins in the 1,000 and 3,000 in 1:48.38 and 6:02.23, respectively, Benjamin capped his record-breaking Festival with an exciting anchor in the 5,000-meter relay to break Steve Merrifield’s record of four gold medals won in a Festival.

“I’ve improved a lot since last year’s Festival,” said Benjamin, who trains with the U.S. national team in Michigan. “Being on the ice more this past year has helped.”

Short-track speedskating will become a medal sport in the Olympics for the first time in the 1992 Winter Games in Albertville, France. It was a demonstration sport in the 1988 Calgary Games and the U.S. did not fare well against international competition.