Speed Thrills at Olympic Oval

One of the biggest stars of the 2002 Winter Olympics could be a building that sits, almost unobtrusively, several hundred feet from the street in an unincorporated part of Salt Lake County.

The Utah Olympic Oval, site of long-track speedskating at the Winter Games and the new heart of a transplanted U.S. speedskating program, already has brought excitement to a sport whose format often is numbingly dull for fans.

“Fast ice is exciting to skate on,” said Derek Parra, who broke his U.S. record while finishing second in the 1,500 meters at the World Single Distance Championships that ended Sunday.

In a world fascinated by record speed, this rink provides the world’s fastest environment for skating counterclockwise around a 400-meter ice ring.

After five of the 10 events at the single-distance meet, the first competition to be held at the Olympic Oval, the scoreboard was filled with flashing stars surrounding the announcement, “New World Record.”

Jeremy Wotherspoon of Canada completed the record spree Sunday as he won the 1,000 meters in 1 minute 8.28 seconds, bettering the mark of 1:08.34 countryman Michael Ireland had set a week ago in Calgary, Canada.

“We figured Salt Lake would be the fastest track in the world,” U.S. Coach Tom Cushman said.

Giving the world’s best skaters a combination of high-quality ice and a Rocky Mountain high--at 4,675 feet above sea level, this is the highest enclosed skating oval in the world--proved such figuring true in record time.

Before this meet began Friday, eight of the 10 world records had been set at the 1988 Olympic Oval in Calgary, at 3,300 feet the world’s second-highest oval.

“In the future 80% of the world records will be here,” said Carl Foster, a sports scientist at the University of Wisconsin LaCrosse.

Although the 2002 Olympic Oval may become a sports landmark, it isn’t much to look at. From an architectural, interior design or price standpoint, the $29-million Utah Olympic Oval has nothing in common with the speedskating rinks at the last two Winter Games, Nagano’s $300-million “M-Wave” and Norway’s “Viking Ship,” which cost $35 million upon completion eight years ago.

The Utah rink is striking from the outside, with eye-catching geometry created by the cables holding its suspension roof. That impression, however, is diminished by the rink being tucked behind a local recreation center. Inside it looks like a rec center rink.