Leaving No Doubts

The critics questioned Shani Davis’ sense of patriotism.

They questioned his loyalty to the other U.S. speedskaters after he skipped the team pursuit race last week to focus on individual events.

Not one to do much talking to reporters, Davis answered his skeptics the best way he knew how.

By skating fast. By skating into history.

With a resounding victory in the 1,000 meters Saturday night, the 23-year-old from Chicago became the first black to earn individual gold at a Winter Olympics.

He also showed that he knows how to prepare for a race. As he said: “The things I’ve trained for, I was right about.”

But in the media circus that U.S. speedskating has become, a landmark achievement serves only to create more controversy.

So, minutes after Davis accepted the cheers of a packed, boisterous crowd at Oval Lingotto -- he finished ahead of red-hot teammate Joey Cheek and Erben Wennemars of the Netherlands -- the reticent athlete faced even more questions.

Specifically, who shook whose hand?

The new hubbub involved yet another U.S. teammate, Chad Hedrick, who won gold in the 5,000 last week and not only chose to race in the team pursuit but also wondered whether the U.S. might have gotten past the quarterfinals with Davis in the lineup.

Hedrick finished sixth in the 1,000 and was asked whether he had congratulated Davis.

“I’m happy for Joey,” he said, skipping right to Cheek.

Such melodrama almost overshadowed the precedent that Davis had set.

He wasn’t the first black to win gold. Vonetta Flowers won as part of a two-woman bobsled in the 2002 Salt Lake City Games.

But he won in a sport where he stood alone. Visible to all the world.

Asked about the social significance of this, Davis wasn’t sure. “It’s what people make of it,” he said. He said he hoped his example might prompt more kids to try the sport.

“If people in America are excited and thrilled to have a black Olympic champion in speedskating,” he said, “then I’m happy that I can make people happy.”

Saturday’s victory -- in 1 minute 8.89 seconds, .27 ahead of Cheek -- offered some payback for 2002, when Davis was named to the U.S. Olympic short-track team but never got into a race.

The last four years, he continued to improve despite a 6-foot-2 frame, tall for speedskating, making for slow starts. His strength lies toward the end of the race, when that big body gains momentum, remaining low and powerful.

This attribute proved valuable Saturday on what the skaters described as a “slow” track.

“When the rest of us start getting tired and we’re kind of high-stepping through the turns, he’s really down into it,” Cheek said. “You can see him accelerate every push through the corner.”

As the world-record holder at 1,000 meters, Davis also proved capable of handling the expectations that accompany being singled out as the favorite.

“For him, the pressure was the highest it could get,” Wennemars said. “And he came through it.”

The post-race interview scene required almost as much poise.

Not only had Davis skipped the team pursuit, he trains apart from the rest of the speedskaters and, according to his coach, Bob Fenn, recently moved out of the athletes’ village to stay in an apartment with his mother.

Ninth-place finisher Casey FitzRandolph of the U.S. was asked if Davis felt set upon. FitzRandolph replied: “If he feels it’s him against the rest of the world, then he’s the one who pitted himself against the rest of the world.”

Hedrick was similarly cool. In a roundabout way, he said that participating in the team pursuit hurt his chances in the 1,000 but that he was happy to do his part for the U.S. He also confirmed that he had not spoken to Davis after the race.

Later, his attitude softened.

“Yeah, I’ll congratulate him,” he said. “He skated a great race.”

The stage was set for a showdown. But when Davis was guided into a news conference for the medalists, he didn’t take the bait, talking instead about Hedrick’s talent and competitiveness.

“At least he said I skated fast,” Davis mused. “I mean, that’s nice.”

Cheek attended the conference too, listening patiently as every question was directed at Davis.

It was something of a slight to a skater who had won gold in the 500 on Monday and, as teammates repeatedly mentioned, has been on fire the last month. Cheek has also made news by donating his U.S. Olympic Committee bonuses, a total of $40,000 for a gold and a silver, to a charity that provides sports programs for underprivileged children.

At one point, someone asked him whether he minded sitting there. He quipped: “I’ve got the best seat in the house for this.”

The American speedskaters have grown accustomed to the public drama between Davis and Hedrick. It will grow even more heated -- at least in the media -- when the two compete in the 1,500 meters Tuesday.

“I’ll be the favorite,” Hedrick proclaimed immediately after Saturday’s race. “All the pressure’s on me, like I like it.”

Davis insisted that it doesn’t do him any good to focus on one skater, that he has to defeat the entire field to win gold. He said that people who question his decision not to race in the team pursuit don’t understand him.

And Cheek, looking a little amused, offered some perspective.

“Oh, it gives you guys something to write about,” he said. “We train our whole lives to get to this point, and sometimes there’s going to be some tension.”

*

MEN’S 1,000

GOLD

* Shani Davis, Chicago

SILVER

* Joey Cheek, Greensboro, N.C.

BRONZE

* Erben Wennemars, Netherlands