Shani Davis tried to go to a place no American man in Winter
Olympics history had traveled. He came up just short of his destination.
Davis finished the 1,000 in 1 minute, 9.12 seconds Wednesday at Sochi’s Adler Arena, good enough for eighth. He was trying to win the event for the third straight Games.
“There’s no excuse,” Davis said. "It was nothing physical that went wrong. I just simply didn’t have the speed and the lap and that’s something that I’ve always had over my competitors.”
The Netherlands took two medals in the race, with Stefan Groothuis winning gold in 1:08.39 and Michel Mulder winning bronze in 1:08.74. Canada’s Dennny Morrison took silver in 1:08.43. Mulder won the 500 earlier in the Games.
“This one hurts me a lot but kudos to the people who were able to go out there and achieve their dreams,” Davis said. “It’s a great feeling. I’m aware of it, and now I’ve got to look for the feeling in the 1,500-meter race.”
The top-ranked skater in the world, Davis has held the world record of 1:06.42 set in Salt Lake City since 2009. He was the overwhelming favorite heading into the race. The Netherlands Gerard van Velde set the Olympic record of 1:07.18 in 2002 in Salt Lake City.
Davis was born on the South Side of Chicago and later moved to Evanston, where he excelled. In addition to his five Olympic medals, he has 57 World Cup medals in his career, 10 shy of the all-time record.
He will compete Saturday in the 1,500.
Brian Hansen of Glenview, 23, who was considered an outside medal contender, was ninth at 1:09.29.
jahopkins@tribune.com
Davis finished the 1,000 in 1 minute, 9.12 seconds Wednesday at Sochi’s Adler Arena, good enough for eighth. He was trying to win the event for the third straight Games.
“There’s no excuse,” Davis said. "It was nothing physical that went wrong. I just simply didn’t have the speed and the lap and that’s something that I’ve always had over my competitors.”
The Netherlands took two medals in the race, with Stefan Groothuis winning gold in 1:08.39 and Michel Mulder winning bronze in 1:08.74. Canada’s Dennny Morrison took silver in 1:08.43. Mulder won the 500 earlier in the Games.
“This one hurts me a lot but kudos to the people who were able to go out there and achieve their dreams,” Davis said. “It’s a great feeling. I’m aware of it, and now I’ve got to look for the feeling in the 1,500-meter race.”
The top-ranked skater in the world, Davis has held the world record of 1:06.42 set in Salt Lake City since 2009. He was the overwhelming favorite heading into the race. The Netherlands Gerard van Velde set the Olympic record of 1:07.18 in 2002 in Salt Lake City.
Davis was born on the South Side of Chicago and later moved to Evanston, where he excelled. In addition to his five Olympic medals, he has 57 World Cup medals in his career, 10 shy of the all-time record.
He will compete Saturday in the 1,500.
Brian Hansen of Glenview, 23, who was considered an outside medal contender, was ninth at 1:09.29.
jahopkins@tribune.com
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