Issue 11 DAY 8 Saturday, February 20, 2010 ON THE RIGHT TRACK

Transcription

1 ON THE RIGHT TRACK

2 LIFE S LESSONS Over the last four years since he won a gold medal in speedskating in the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Torino, Chad Hedrick (Spring, Texas) has learned there s a better life to live off the field of competition. For sure, when Hedrick is on the speedskating track here in Vancouver, he s going for the gold. But also, it s important to him that his wife, Lynsey, and new daughter, Hadley the two new lights of his life are with him and watching him race. He s already had milestones in Vancouver. On Wednesday, he won the bronze medal in the 1000m event, his fourth Olympic medal to go with a gold, silver and bronze from Torino. But more important than the bronze medal here and the gold from Torino, was 10-month-old Hadley taking her first steps and saying daddy for the first time. Speedskating is what I do, not who I am, Hedrick said of his new life. I m very, very happy with my maturity as a person over the last four years. Hedrick still is asked about his entrance to the Torino Games when he predicted he would equal Olympic legend Eric Heiden s five gold medals in speedskating at the 1980 Winter Games in Lake Placid. I was a bit abrasive and felt that the world was against me, Hedrick said of his attitude going into Torino. I m a very competitive person and felt that I had to prove myself. Because he entered five races, the media picked up on his confidence and the connection to Heiden s 1980 Games. Hedrick credits Lynsey and Hadley for keeping him focused on his sport at a level needed to make another Olympic team. They believed in me so much, he said. That helped me keep the passion and drive for four years to compete at this level. Hedrick found a new life in speedskating when he was 25 years old, making him wonder what he could have accomplished if he had started at a younger age. He was 27 when he competed in Torino. Before switching to the ice, Hedrick won 50 World Championships in inline speedskating. The impetus to exchange roller skates for ice skates was watching on television as former inline skater Derek Parra won an Olympic medal in the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City. At 32, Hedrick plans to retire after his competition in Vancouver. He s not sure what he will do to replace his hobby but whatever it is, his new life will follow the same passion and energy that filled his speedskating career. Vancouver already has been special. The bronze medal, Lynsey and Hadley sharing the experience and as a medalist, Hedrick participated in the USOC s Order of Ikkos program. He presented an award to his father, Paul, also his coach and mentor. Hedrick will skate his final individual Olympic race in the 1500m. If he wins a medal, it will be his fifth Olympic medal. He also will compete in the team pursuit event next week where he could gain a medal as a team member. Whether it s four or five individual medals, Hedrick plans to display his Olympic trophies for everyone to see. I m a different person than I was before, Hedrick said. I m grateful to have been an Olympian and proud to be an American. If there s a fifth individual Olympic medal, it s ironic that he once predicted he would win five in one Games. That didn t happen. But maturity has added perspective. There aren t many athletes who can say they won five Olympic medals, Hedrick said. That would be an elite club to be part of.

3 VANCOUVER FORECAST HIGH/LOW Feb. 20 Sunny 50/32 F Feb. 21 Sunny 51/38 F Feb. 22 Mostly Sunny 54/39 F WHISTLER FORECAST HIGH/LOW Feb. 20 Sunny 49/24 F Feb. 21 Sunny 45/30 F Feb. 22 Mostly Sunny 49/32 F CELEBRATING A BIRTHDAY February 20 Tracy Sachtjen, Curling 41 QUOTEABLE My favorite moment is not the press conference, it s not the awards ceremony, it s just before I come across the finish line and I m forced to make an assessment of how I am and who I am and what I ve done. -- Bode Miller, Alpine Skiing after winning silver in the super G I grew up racing my buddies down to the lodge for hot chocolate. Now we re doing it for medals. -- Daron Rahlves, Ski Cross AGE NO OBSTACLE FOR TEAM USA For Olympians, some numbers matter more than others. Their personal best. Olympic record time. World record time. Number of medals won. Number of Games in which they ve competed. The list goes on. But for some Team USA athletes, one number doesn t matter one bit: age. It s an afterthought the last thing on their mind. What s in a number, really? Some athletes perform better with age, using experience to their advantage in pressure-packed situations. Men s curler John Benton (St. Michael, Minn.) started playing the sport before any of his teammates were born. But the 40-year-old s experience is an asset to the team. John Benton (Right) THE TWEET SPOT Tweets from the U.S. Olympic Team I got to eat dinner with Dan Janson and his wife on his 16th GOLD MEDAL anniversary! Congratulations! He s a great guy too. -- Trevor Marsicano, Long Track Speedskating (@tmarsicano) I love Matt, Meredith, Anne, and Al at the Today Show! They re like family! -- Evan Lysacek, Figure Skating (@EvanLysacek) Its been 5 days since the race and it feels like 5 months already..the Olympic experience has been amazing and I am so thankful for it all! -- Tony Benshoof, Luge (@tonybenshoof ) Follow Team USA online at and on Twitter and Facebook. Receive breaking news via Twitter. On the Cover: Chad Hedrick Photos: Getty Images Since 2009 Mr. Benton has helped us make that transition from the young men and playing in juniors in the lower ranks and developing into pretty darn good men s curling team, team skip John Shuster (Chisholm, Minn.) said. And Benton says he is simply happy to be a part of the Olympic Games at his age. When I first learned that I was possibly the oldest member on the U.S. team, I got a lot of razzing, Benton said. It s a real honor to be here after such a long career. His teammates even have a fitting nickname for him. They call me great grandpa. Or G-G for short. Casey Puckett Being an experienced member of an Olympic team is one thing, but competing as a veteran in an individual sport proves to be an entirely different beast. Ski cross team members Casey Puckett (Aspen, Colo.) and Daron Rahlves (Sugar Bowl, Calif.) can attest to that. At 37, Puckett is competing in his fifth Olympic Winter Games. [In 1992] I was racing against Alberto Tomba and Mark Ghirardelli, Puckett said. To be on a big stage like that at 19 was something else. Now I ve quite a bit more experience. I m hoping to bring all those years of experience to the ski cross event here. continued...

4 Daron Rahlves For these Olympians, all that matters is that they are here, healthy and ready to compete. Doubles luge teammates 39-year-old Mark Grimmette (Muskegon, Mich.) and 36-year-old Brian Martin (Palo Alto, Calif.) also defied the age barrier. But for these guys, continuing to compete at a high level keeps them going. For this to be my fifth Games, it just sort of happened, Grimmette said. Brian and I are very good at focusing on the very next Games. We don t look beyond it. We focus on the Games. We focus on what we need to do. Every four years after the Games are done, we sit down and talk about it and decide whether to go on or whether to continue or stop. Rahlves, 36, has most of his Olympic experience as a downhill skier but retired after 13 seasons on the team in He now comes to Vancouver in his fourth Games focused and enjoying the moment. For him, age simply means more poise on the hill. And as long as these athletes can continue to compete, their age will be the last thing that prevents them from representing their country in the Games. I have a lot of energy and I have a lot of confidence now, too, and that could erase any possibility of the injury being a problem, Rahlves said. I just got to focus on being relaxed out there, ski smooth and have a fun time in Cypress. ENTERING THE ORDER OF IKKOS Coaches are commonly the unsung heros of the Olympic Games. They laugh, cry and push their athletes toward the finish line, hoping and praying that they have done enough to lead their hopefuls to the podium. When they are successful, they stand on the sidelines and watch in joy as a medal is placed around their athlete s neck. This moment of elation becomes the defining moment of their careers. Enter the Order of Ikkos, a medallion and award that the U.S. Olympic Committee created to help U.S. Olympic and Paralympic medalists show their appreciation for those who led them in the right direction, their coaches. The Order of Ikkos was developed to recognize when coaches reach the pinnacle of their career, said Dave McCann, Manager of Coaching Education for the USOC. The concept of the medal dates back to 444 B.C. from Ikkos of Tarentum, a pentathlon athlete from ancient Greece who won gold in his event. He became recognized as the first coach in Olympic history after he led two young pentathlon athletes to the top of the podium. Created before the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing with the help the former Manager of Coaching Education Cathy Sellers, the Order of Ikkos is presented to a coach of choice by an athlete at the victory celebration organized by the USOC. Frank Carroll & Evan Lysacek I remember being really choked up and it was hard to speak, said Peter Foley, coach of snowboardcross gold medalist Seth Wescott and Ikkos recipient. For me it validates all that we have done to build the program. The medallion, which is pewter and depicts a torch being handed off from one person to another also signifies the induction of the coach into the Order of Ikkos. My first thought was my coach, who has been working for this Olympic gold longer than I have been alive. To be able to give it to him...it s like a dream come true, said figure skating gold medalist Evan Lysacek of his coach Frank Carroll on NBC s Today Show.

5 Reutter is joined in the 1500m race by Olympic veterans Kimberly Derrick (Memphis, Tenn.) and Allison Baver (Sinking Spring, Pa.), currently ranked 11th and 14th in overall World Cup rankings respectively. Dave McCann, Peter Foley, Seth Wescott The process began in November when s were sent out to the executive directors of the U.S. sport National Governing Bodies. The athletes were then asked to fill out their coach of choice for each event. Following Wednesday s heats, Apolo Anton Ohno (Seattle, Wash.) and J.R. Celski (Federal Way, Wash.) return for the men s 1000m medal event. Ohno and Celski finished second and third in this distance, respectively, at the 2009 World Championships and have a good chance to podium Saturday night. A podium finish will give Ohno a historic seventh Olympic Winter Games medal, making him the most decorated U.S. winter Olympian. Ohno is currently tied with another U.S. speedskater, Bonnie Blair, with six medals to sit atop the U.S. Olympic Winter Games all-time medals list. Blair won her sixth in the ladies 1000m long track event at the 1994 Lillehammer Games. In 2008, 88 coaches were recognized, echoing the number of medals won at the Beijing Games. Through Thursday, 18 have been awarded during the Vancouver Games. We want to give them something to recognize their work, Mc- Cann said. The coaches don t get accolades, so it is good to see. OHNO VIES FOR 7TH MEDAL Team USA s Short Track athletes will return to the ice tomorrow night at the Pacific Coliseum for the ladies 1500m and men s 1000m medal events. Racing begins at 5:45 p.m. Katherine Reutter (Champaign, Ill.) will compete in her strongest distance, coming into the event ranked third in Overall World Cup standings in the 1500m, including a gold Apolo Anton Ohno medal in World Cup #3 in Montreal in November Reutter comes in the event feeling strong and focused on a good result. The best thing my coaches have told me is that we only need 30 minutes before a race to decide how to race, said Reutter following Friday s practice. The way I ve prepared for the 1500m is if I don t make any mistakes, do what I do and stay focused, I ll walk away with a medal. Shani Davis and Chad Hedrick captured gold and bronze, respectively, in the 1000m on Wednesday. MEN S 1500M MARKS HEDRICK S LAST INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE The men s 1500m event will be a defining moment for Olympic medalist Chad Hedrick (Spring, Texas). Two years ago, Hedrick set a goal to earn a gold medal at this event and he s dedicated his life to accomplishing that goal. During Saturday s event at the Richmond Olympic Oval, Hedrick will face some tough competitors, including teammate Shani Davis (Chicago, Ill.). Racing begins at 4:15 pm. Of the last five World Cups, Davis has brought home gold four times in the 1500m and currently holds the world record in that distance. Hedrick topped the podium for the 1500m at the World Cup in Calgary and took silver next to Davis in Salt Lake in December Hedrick s bronze medal in the 1000m event on Wednesday boosted his confidence and he s ready to take the ice. I m a fighter and this ice suits my style of skating, Hedrick said. I m excited to go out there and skate against the best skaters in the world.

6 The 1500m will mark the last individual event of Hedrick s career and has been the focus of his training with U.S. Olympic coach Derek Parra for the last two years. Looking back over the last few years and what he s done to get back here, I believe he can t be prepared anymore than he is right now, Parra said. Between his two Olympic Games, Hedrick has earned four medals in four individual distances: gold in the 5000m (2006), silver in the 10,000m (2006), bronze in the 1500m (2006) and bronze in the 1000m (2010). One more medal and Hedrick will be tied with Eric Heiden for the most medals won by a long track speedskating male. It s been a marvelous ride, Hedrick said. I don t know if I m going to miss it or not. We ll see. Skating for Team USA in tomorrow s 1500m will be Hedrick, Davis, Trevor Marsicano (Ballston Spa, N.Y.) and Brian Hansen (Glenview, Ill.). Marsicano is currently ranked 11th in the world at this distance and Hansen is ranked 19th. WOMEN S SUPER G ON TAP Julia Mancuso (Squaw Valley, Calif.), Lindsey Vonn (Vail, Colo.) and Leanne Smith (Conway, N.H.) will be back on the hill at Whistler Creekside, and Chelsea Marshall (Pittsfield, Vt.) will get her first test of the mountain in the Ladies Super G on Saturday. Racing begins at 10 a.m. with a third set women s alpine skiing medals on the line. Confidence breeds confidence, Head Coach Jim Tracy said. We ve got two of them right now that have a lot of confidence going. WOMEN READY TO FLY After sitting out of the last two world cup events before the 2010 Olympic Winter Games to rehab a bruised heal injury, freestyle aerials skier Emily Cook (Belmont, Mass.) is excited to be competing in her second Games. She has jumped in all the aerial training sessions and has now reached the degree of difficulty with her training jumps which will allow her to confidentially compete for Olympic gold. Jana Lindsey (Black Hawk, Emily Cook S.D.) is also no stranger to the Olympic stage. Lindsey gained considerable experience competing in Torino and this season has upped the difficulty of her jump repertoire in order to be a respected contender in Their teammates Lacy Schnoor (Draper, Utah) and Ashley Caldwell (Hamilton, Va.) are both first-time Olympians. Schnoor gained her spot early in the season at the Olympic qualifiers in Steamboat Springs, Colo. giving her considerable time to prepare solidly for the biggest event of her career. Caldwall, however, was named to the team just a few weeks ago. At 16 years of age, Caldwell is the youngest member of the 2010 U.S. athlete delegation and admits the whole experience has been a whirlwind of fun and activity. Ladies aerials qualifications begin at 10 a.m. on Cypress Mountain. TWO RUNS FOR TWO-MAN The first two of four runs begin Saturday in the men s two-man bobsled competition at the Whistler Sliding Center. Athletes will slide the final two runs Sunday, and the 2010 Olympic champion will be named based on the team with the lowest combined time in four heats. Saturday s first heat is scheduled for 5 p.m. Our athletes are excited to get on the track, said Darrin Steele, U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Federation Mike Kohn Chief Executive Officer. The team has been waiting for this all season, and they are ready. We ve got a mix of Olympic, World Cup and World Championship medalists on this team as well as a group of athletes that are experiencing their first Olympics, so there s a lot of excitement going into this weekend. The U.S. will field three sleds into the competition, including World Championship medalists Steven Holcomb (Park City, Utah) and Curt Tomasevicz (Shelby, Neb.) in USA I, World Cup medalists John Napier (Lake Placid, N.Y.) and Steve Langton (Melrose, Mass.) in USA II, and Mike Kohn (Fairfax, Va.) and Nick Cunningham (Monterery, Calif.) in USA III. SKI JUMPERS ADVANCE IN LARGE HILL Nick Alexander (Lebanon, N.H.) and Peter Frenette (Saranac Lake, N.Y.) compete Saturday in long hill ski jumping at Whistler Olympic Park, qualifying 28th and 30th, respectively. The first round begins Saturday at 11:30 a.m. I was pretty confident in my training jumps that I would be able to qualify today, Frenette said. I think I can do pretty well tomorrow. Hopefully make the final round. Alexander qualified for the World Cup and was the top American in the Continental Cup standings in mid-january. Seventeen-

7 BREAKING NEWS As part of the USOC s exclusive coverage of Team USA throughout the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, there are two options to receive Breaking News alerts from the USOC -- via and/or by following us on Twitter The USOC s Breaking News Bureau keeps the media and the U.S. delegation up to the moment with breaking news about U.S. athletes and team results, advisories and updates. The Bureau editor sends s to members of the media and delegation staff on breaking news and advisories. Visit the USA Media Services office to sign up to receive the Breaking News alerts during the Games. VISITNG USA HOUSE The USA House in Vancouver will have a limited media services operation. Journalists interested in gaining access and/ or setting up interviews at Vancouver USA House should request a media day pass 24 hours in advance by sending an to: usahousemedia@usoc.org. The facility will have a small workroom and will provide some interview opportunities with U.S. athletes and officials. In addition, USA House will be an evening stop in the Managing Victory tour for U.S. medal-winning athletes. Due to size constraints, USA House in Whistler is not open to the press. USOC PRESSBOX Visit the USOC media website, www. usocpressbox.org, for up-to-date and daily coverage of Team USA. Available on the site: headshots of the 2010 U.S. Olympic Team, releases, media annoucements, press conference transcripts, bios, athlete Tweets and more. DID YOU KNOW? Bode Miller s silver medal in the men s super-g on Friday gives him four Olympic alpine skiing medals, the most ever by an American. His medals to date (two silver in 2002, silver and bronze in 2010) give him the following rankings in Olympic alpine skiing: 8th all-time for most medals 4th all-time for most medals among men [trailing Norway s Kjetil André Aamodt (8), and Norway s Lasse Kjus and Italy s Alberto Tomba, with five each] 1st all-time for most silver medals [three, tied with Norway s Lasse Kjus] year-old Frenette has also moved up in the Continental Cup standings with several strong results in the season. MEN IN PURSUIT IN 30K The men s cross country 30km pursuit race will run Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at Whistler Olympic Park. The U.S. will field Andover, N.H., native Kris Freeman and James Southam of Anchorage, Alaska. It s a young team, but it s also an experienced team We feel like we re on the right path with this group, U.S. Cross Country Ski Head Coach Pete Vordenberg said of the entire team earlier this season. CURLERS LOOK TO CONTINUE WINNING WAYS The American curling teams continue action Saturday with matches at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. Alternate skip Chris Plys (Duluth, Minn.) and the American men (1-4) will face Sweden in the morning while Debbie McCormick (Madison, Wis.) and the U.S. ladies (1-3) take on Great Britain (3-1) in the afternoon. Both teams are trying to keep their playoff hopes alive. The American women picked up their first win Friday morning, as they defeated the Russian Federation, 6-4. The men s team also collected their first win on Friday, defeating France, 4-3. THIS DAY IN OLYMPIC HISTORY February 20, 1952 Nineteen-year-old Andrea Mead Lawrence recovered from a first-run fall on the women s slalom course in Oslo to become the first American skier to win two gold medals. February 20, 1998 Tara Lipinski and Michelle Kwan skated for gold and silver, respectively, in the tightly contested women s figure skating competition in Nagano Olympic gold medalist Evan Lysacek shares his new hardware with other U.S. figure skating gold medalists - Peggy Flemming (1968), Brian Boitano (1988) and Kristi Yamaguchi (1992) - during a celebration at USA House.

8 2010 OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES SCHEDULE SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20 TIME SPORT EVENT VENUE 9:00 Curling Men s Round Robin Session 7: Sweden vs United States Vancouver Olympic Center U.S. Athletes: John Benton, Jeff Isaacson, Chris Plys, John Shuster, Jason Smith 10:00 Alpine Skiing Ladies Super-G Whistler Creekside U.S. Athletes: Julia Mancuso, Chelsea Marshall, Leanne Smith, Lindsey Vonn 10:00 Freestyle Skiing Ladies Aerials Qualification Cypress Mountain U.S. Athletes: Ashley Caldwell, Emily Cook, Jana Lindsey, Lacy Schnoor 11:30 Ski Jumping LH Individual 1st Round Whistler Olympic Park U.S. Athletes: Nick Alexander, Peter Frenette 12:30* Ski Jumping LH Individual Final Round Whistler Olympic Park Qualifiers TBD: (U.S. Athletes: Nick Alexander, Peter Frenette) 13:30 Cross Country Men s 30 km Pursuit (15Classic+15Free) Whistler Olympic Park U.S. Athletes: Kris Freeman, James Southam 14:00 Curling Women s Round Robin Session 7: United States vs Great Britain Vancouver Olympic Center U.S. Athletes: Nicole Joraanstad, Debbie McCormick, Natalie Nicholson, Allison Pottinger, Tracy Sachtjen 14:30 Ice Hockey Women s Classifications - Game 13 UBC Thunderbird Arena 16:15 LT Speedskating Men s 1500 m Richmond Olympic Oval U.S. Athletes: Shani Davis, Brian Hansen, Chad Hedrick, Trevor Marsicano 17:00 Bobsleigh Two-Man Heat 1 Whistler Sliding Center U.S. Athletes: Charles Berkeley/John Napier, Steven Holcomb/Curtis Tomasevicz, Mike Kohn/Nick Cunningham 17:45 ST Speedskating Ladies 1500 m Heats Pacific Coliseum U.S. Athletes: Allison Baver, Kimberly Derrick, Katherine Reutter 18:29 ST Speedskating Men s 1000 m Quarterfinals Pacific Coliseum U.S. Athletes: J.R. Celski, Travis Jayner, Apolo Anton Ohno 18:35* Bobsleigh Two-Man Heat 2 Whistler Sliding Center U.S. Athletes: Charles Berkeley/John Napier, Steven Holcomb/Curtis Tomasevicz, Mike Kohn/Nick Cunningham 18:58 ST Speedskating Ladies 1500 m Semifinals Pacific Coliseum Qualifiers TBD (U.S. Athletes: Allison Baver, Kimberly Derrick, Katherine Reutter) 19:00 Ice Hockey Women s Classifications - Game 14 UBC Thunderbird Arena 19:28 ST Speedskating Men s 1000 m Semifinals Pacific Coliseum Qualifiers TBD (U.S. Athletes: J.R. Celski, Travis Jayner, Apolo Anton Ohno) 19:51 ST Speedskating Ladies 1500 m Finals Pacific Coliseum Qualifiers TBD (U.S. Athletes: Allison Baver, Kimberly Derrick, Katherine Reutter) 20:05 ST Speedskating Men s 1000 m Finals Pacific Coliseum Qualifiers TBD (U.S. Athletes: J.R. Celski, Travis Jayner, Apolo Anton Ohno (PPD) - Postponed; bold denotes medal round; *estimated start time VICTORY CEREMONIES SCHEDULE SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20 19:00 Whistler Plaza Men s and Women s Skeleton Ladies Alpine Skiing (Super-G) Men s Ski Jumping (Individual Large Hill) SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21 19:00 BC Place Ladies 1500m Short Track Speedskating Men s 1000m Short Track Speedskating Men s 1500m Long Track Speedskating 19:00 Whistler Plaza Men s 15km Mass Start Biathlon Men s 30km Cross-Country Skiing Pursuit Men s Super Combined Alpine Skiing Two-Man Bobsleigh Women s 12.5 km Mass Start Biathlon MEDIA ZONE PRESS CONFERENCE SCHEDULE VANCOUVER Date Sport Time Room February 22 Snowboard PGS TBD TBD February 27 USA Wrap-up 10:00 Gabriola