U.S. Veterans Finish Without Medals in Short-Track Events

It was a long wait for no return in these Winter Olympics for Andy Gabel.

Ditto for Amy Peterson.

The short-track speedskating veterans had previous Olympic medals to talk about, but they weren’t quite the right hue. Gold was the color they were after.

Nothing is what they got here Saturday night.

Gabel, 33, was here because he was knocked out of the race in a collision in the quarterfinals of the men’s 500-meter event in Lillehammer.

“I knew when I was still on the ice [at Lillehammer] that I was going to keep skating at least four more years,” he said before Saturday’s race. “I knew I wouldn’t be able to go out like that. I think about that race almost every day.”

Now he has another one to think about.

This time, he made it to the semifinals. Then, motoring along nicely in second place in his heat, he put his skate blade down on a plastic lane marker and went flying into the protective pads.

“That was as good as I’ve ever felt,” he said of his effort. “I just stepped on a block. That’s just how it goes. I skated as well as I could, and I’m satisfied with that, but it’s disappointing.”

Gabel had gone into the semifinals on an officials’ ruling after Canadian Francois Drolet interfered with him on the final lap of their quarterfinal heat. Gabel finished last, but the ruling allowed him to advance with the top two finishers.

So Gabel, who is retiring, will have to be content with the silver he won at Lillehammer as part of the 5,000-meter relay team.

Peterson, 26, has time left, but for the first time since short-track became a medal sport in 1992 at Albertville, she went home empty-handed, matching the short-track team as a whole.

“I didn’t win any medals, but today I skated close to as good as I could,” she said.

She, too, made it to the semifinals, in the women’s 1,000, after setting an Olympic record of 1 minute 33.530 seconds in the first round. She broke to the front in her semifinal heat, then quickly was passed by two skaters and was shut out when she tried to move up on the inside with a lap to go.

Chun Lee Kyung of South Korea went on to win the women’s race, sticking her skate blade out to beat Yang Yang (A) of China as they tangled at the finish line. Yang, who in her quarterfinal heat broke Peterson’s record with a time of 1:31.99, was then disqualified for interfering with Chun at the finish. The silver went to another Chinese skater, Yang Yang (S). Another South Korean, Won Hye Kyung took the bronze.

Americans Erin Gleason and Erin Porter were eliminated in the preliminary 1,000 heats.

Stirring the hometown crowd to “Banzai!” cheers at White Ring arena, Japan won gold and bronze in the men’s 500, Takafumi Nishitani finishing first and Hitoshi Uematsu third. An Yulong of China was second.

Canada won the men’s 5,000-meter relay race--the U.S. had been eliminated in Thursday’s qualifying session--South Korea was second and China third. Skating for Canada were Eric Bedard, Derrick Campbell, Drolet and Marc Gagnon.

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MEDALISTS

Short-Track Spedskating

WOMEN’S 1,000-METERS

Gold: Chun Lee Hyung, S. Korea

Silver: Yang Yang (S), China

Bronze: Won Hye Kyung, S. Korea

MEN’S 500 METERS

Gold: Takafumi Nishitani, Japan

Silver: An Yulong, china

Bronze: Hitoshi Uematsu, Japan

MEN’S 5,000-METER RELAY

Gold: Canada

Silver: South Korea

Bronze: China