The Rest Is History as Hedrick Gets Silver

It was not the sort of moment Chad Hedrick would have considered courageous two weeks ago. But with the residual ache from competing in five events over 14 days, he could finally appreciate his accomplishment.

Though falling short of the advertised goal of matching Eric Heiden’s 1980 achievement of five gold medals, Hedrick became only the third American in Winter Olympic history to win three medals in a single Games Friday, finishing behind gold medalist Bob de Jong of the Netherlands in the 10,000 meters.

The turning point in the race, an event in which Hedrick set the world record at the U.S. Olympic trials in Salt Lake City a little more than a month ago, came on the third-to-last lap. Hanging onto second place while trying to keep pairs partner Carl Verheijen of Holland at bay, Hedrick knew by then that the day would yield a silver at best.

Hedrick said he “rested” for a few laps before that, allowing Verheijen to catch up, then went into a dead sprint, finishing with a time of 13:05.40, nearly four seconds behind de Jong but almost 3.5 seconds ahead of Verheijen, who won the bronze.

“He gave his opponent an Armstrong, looked him in the eye and then took off,” said his coach, Bart Schouten, referring to cycling champion Lance Armstrong. “It was unbelievable. I’ve never seen anything like that before on the ice.”

Hedrick’s silver medal gave him a complete set for these Olympics, after winning the gold in the 5,000 meters on the first day of the Games, then a bronze in the 1,500 behind teammate and rival Shani Davis.

“I can honestly say I went out there and left it all on the ice,” said Hedrick, a former inline champion who joined Heiden and speedskater Sheila Young (1976) as triple U.S. medalists. “After four events, I could feel it taking a toll on me.”

About midway through the race, Hedrick said he was spent.

“I felt great at the beginning of the race,” he said, “but eventually, with about 10, 15 laps to go, I lost my edge. These guys skated a great race, but at the same time, they were competing in less events than I had. The 1,000 and 1,500 meters took a lot of snap out of my legs. I just didn’t feel like myself, but that’s part of the deal when you pick five events and try to go for something spectacular. You end up sacrificing some time in different events.”

There was also the suggestion that perhaps Hedrick had been sapped by controversy and his public feud with Davis, which reared its head over Davis’ decision not to compete in the team pursuit event. But he said the negative publicity would not diminish his overall experience here. “You guys [in the media] think more about Shani than I do,” Hedrick said.

Davis attended Friday’s race to cheer on Hedrick and afterward Schouten said the two were even considering training together. “As we’ve seen time and time again, these guys bring out the best in each other.”

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MEDAL WINNERS

MEN’S 10,000

GOLD

* Bob de Jong, Netherlands

SILVER

* Chad Hedrick, Spring, Texas

BRONZE

* Carl Verheijen, Netherlands