Heiden Thinks His Records Are Safe

Chad Hedrick might have predicted he could match Eric Heiden’s record of five gold medals in speedskating, but Heiden says he’s not so sure.

Hedrick won the 5,000 meters on Saturday, with the 1,000, 1,500, 10,000 and team pursuit to follow. Heiden said Hedrick would need a break to win the 1,000.

“He lacks the ability to get up to speed, which makes you a good 1,000-meter skater,” Heiden said Saturday.

“He’s going to have to have some luck there.”

Heiden, who won five golds at Lake Placid in 1980, is the U.S. speedskating team doctor.

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Herschel Walker, who followed his NFL career by joining the 1992 U.S. Olympic bobsled team, is in Turin as part of a United States delegation led by First Lady Laura Bush.

Walker said Saturday he was honored to accept the invitation and has known the Bush family “for a long time.” Still, when the White House left him an initial message without saying why, Walker said he didn’t return the call.

“I was thinking they were going to be asking for money,” he said.

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The image is etched in American Olympic history forever: Kerri Strug, hampered by an injured ankle, nailing her final vault to clinch a gold medal for the U.S. women’s gymnastics team. That was 10 years ago.

“It absolutely changed my life,” Strug said Saturday. “I’ve had opportunities I never dreamed of. I’ve met people who have impacted my life.”

Strug, 28, is in Turin as part of the U.S. delegation led by Bush. She works in a Department of Justice unit that awards grants to such groups as the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, the Tiger Woods Foundation and Big Brothers, Big Sisters.

Strug, who attended UCLA, said her Olympic experience ignited a patriotic spark that led her to Washington.

“I wanted to serve. After you attain your personal goal, it’s good to give to a greater cause.”

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NBC’s delayed coverage of the opening ceremony Friday night attracted an estimated U.S. television audience of 50 million, the network announced.

The four hours of coverage, 8 p.m. to midnight, averaged a 12.1 national Nielsen rating with a 21 share, and the prime-time hours (8-11 p.m.) did a 13.1/21.

The 12.1 rating is the highest for any show on NBC since “ER” got a 13.0 on Jan. 27, 2005.

The 50 million viewers were the most for any television show last week. The Grammys drew 44.3 million, and “American Idol” had 40 million Tuesday.

The opening ceremony for the 2002 Winter Olympics at Salt Lake City drew a record 72 million viewers and a 25.5 rating.

-- Larry Stewart