Blair Gets a Boost From the Stands : Speedskating: She cites presence of adversary as incentive and posts impressive results in Olympic qualifying event.

Her recent times in the 500-meter sprint weren’t up to her standards, and in general, three-time Olympic gold medalist Bonnie Blair simply had the blahs.

All it took to cure her was knowing that Qiabo Ye of China, who had edged her out of the world sprint championship last February, was watching her from the stands Friday in the first day of the U.S. long-track speedskating trials at the Pettit National Ice Center.

“I think for the most part that anytime I get into an area where I have very strong competitors, it makes me compete harder,” Blair said after winning the first 500 heat in a track-record 39.92 seconds. “If anything, her being here is going to be a benefit to me instead of the opposite.”

Blair also skated the 1,500 meters in a track-record 2:06.50.

Dan Jansen, world record-holder in the 500, tied a record at the year-old track with a time of 36.42, but was sluggish in his 1,500 heat and was third at 1:57.47. Brian Wanek had the day’s fastest time, 1:57.28.

Each race is repeated at least once, with the slowest result discarded. Times are converted into points to determine who will qualify for the Olympic team.

Blair, the only woman to win consecutive Olympic gold medals in the 500, openly disapproves of Ye, who tested positive for steroids at the 1988 world sprint championships and was sent home from the ’88 Calgary Olympics. Although Ye maintains that she took the drugs unknowingly, on the advice of the team doctor, Blair has said she believes Ye still takes performance-enhancing substances.

They were never the best of friends, said Ye, who is in Milwaukee to train for a World Cup event this month, “but we would say, ‘Hello, good race,’ if she won or if I won.” They no longer speak.

“Bonnie said I still use doping. I was angry,” said Ye, who was second to Blair in the 500 and 1,000 at the 1992 Albertville Winter Olympics. “After that, I don’t like her anymore. She is a very good skater, even now. Such a long time she has had successful seasons, and I was proud of her, too. . . . I don’t like people to recall such bad things. It makes you sad again.”

Said Blair: “I’ve never been in favor of what she has done. As (for) being friends with her, I look at it as a situation that if somebody does something I don’t approve of, I don’t go overboard to associate myself with them because that makes me look bad.”

Blair’s coach, Nick Thometz, credited Ye’s presence with spurring Blair to her best performance in weeks.

“She might not want to go out and not skate well in front of one of her main competitors,” Thometz said. “There’s not a whole lot of women in the world who can skate (the 500 meters) under 40, so for her to do it here sends a real message.”

Ye has yet to regain full strength in her left knee after an operation in August to repair damaged ligaments and cartilage. “This is my last season, so I will do my very, very best,” Ye said, “but if I do very bad, if I just get fifth or sixth in the World Cup and sprint (championships) in Calgary, I don’t think I go to the Olympics.”

Jansen and his coach, Peter Mueller, complained that the brittle ice conditions hurt Jansen’s ability to accelerate coming out of turns in the 1,500.

“I didn’t skate very well today--my 500 was OK,” said Jansen, who set the world record of 35.92 last month. “I’ve been having trouble getting healthy. I had a fever Wednesday night. It is time to get into racing mode, and I think that will happen naturally with the World Cup coming. I need to skate well and feel good during these races for my confidence. If I skate a first turn like I did today, it’s not going to help my head.”