Smith, Biondo Make Up

Short track speedskater Rusty Smith of Sunset Beach said he and teammate Ron Biondo cleared the air about allegations made by Tommy O’Hare and initially supported by Biondo that Smith and Apolo Anton Ohno colluded to fix a race at the U.S. Olympic trials in December.

“I have no problem. It’s over. We have a written statement saying it’s over,” said Smith, who was cleared of any wrongdoing by an arbitrator after O’Hare filed a complaint. O’Hare’s complaint was found to have no merit and was withdrawn.

“Our whole team has come back together really quickly. It would be great to have everybody on the team be best friends, but welcome to the real world. We’re not best friends, but we’re teammates and we’re there for each other.... Everybody’s back on track and ready to go. We’re more focused than we would have been if we hadn’t had this happen.”

Smith acknowledged missing nearly a week’s training while defending himself from the allegation, but he’s not worried. “It’s nice now to have everything out of the way and focus on what we’re here to do,” he said.

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Long track speedskater Jennifer Rodriguez expects history to be made early and often at the Olympic Oval, where competition begins Saturday.

“I think the track is definitely the fastest in the world,” she said. “I know the times everybody’s skating, they’re breaking American or country records.

“Records are going to fall like flies here at these Games.”

Five world records were set at the Oval at the world single distance championships last March and during World Cup races in December.

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The speedskaters will be wearing new skinsuits made for them by Nike. The suits are designed to cut down on wind resistance and are cut to be most comfortable in a bent-over skating posture, creating a need for extensive custom fitting.

“I believe we’re the only short track country wearing them,” Smith said. “As soon as we step on the track, everybody’s looking at us.”

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Alpine skier Casey Puckett, who will be competing in his fourth Olympics, said he has noticed the high level of security at all the venues.

“We just went through seven checkpoints to get here,” he said during a news conference at the main press center. “They had mirrors over the car and under the car. It’s going to be difficult to get around. I guess we’re going to have to go through that to get to Snowbasin every morning. That means we’re going to have to get up earlier.”

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Helene Elliott