TURIN, Italy -- This was supposed to be the U.S. speed skating showdown of the metric mile. But a powerful Italian let loose a furious skate and couldn't be caught.
Enrico Fabris upstaged American favorites Chad Hedrick and Shani Davis on Tuesday, capturing the gold medal in the 1,500 meters.
Davis ended up with silver and Hedrick with bronze.
"Shani and I both wanted to win the race," Hedrick said. "We both wanted to prove to each other who was going to win. Somebody else slid in there and got it from us."
Fabris, who adds another medal to his gold and bronze at these games, raced a couple of heats before Hedrick and Davis. He set the time at 1:45.97, then waited for the previous and current world record holders in the event to skate.
"I started quite slow, and the others skaters after me skated quite fast. I couldn't believe it would hold," he said of his winning time.
Hedrick, skating in the next-to-last pairing, looked sluggish from previous races and went much slower on his last lap, usually his strongest. The world record holder, he could not catch Fabris with his time of 1:46.22.
Afterward, he knew he had not skated his best. He hung his head down and put his hands on his knees and skated around the rink.
Fabris saw Hedrick's time and jumped into his coach's arms.
Davis raced in the last heat and knew the time to beat. After a false start, he couldn't keep it together at the end, he said afterward. "I'm upset that I couldn't take advantage of the opportunity of being the last pair. I think what would have made a difference for me and my race is if I didn't have a false start."
Hedrick spoke of his rivalry with Davis, saying both are competitors who respect each other and have heightened each other's skating.
"I am really glad we weren't the same pair today, because we would have been trying to kill each other out there," he said, laughing.
"I am not motivated by trying to beat Chad," Davis said. "This is long track -- you've got to skate your best, period."
Hedrick looked uncomfortable on the podium, and later admitted his disappointment: "Every time I step out there, I go out there to win, I don't go out there to get second or third. Third is a great accomplishment, but am I really happy with it⢠No. ... I want to be a winner."
American speedskaters have now contributed seven medals -- three of them gold -- to the U.S. medal count of 17.
American Joey Cheek, the gold medalist in the 500 and silver medalist in the 1000, took ninth place in the 1,500; teammate Derek Parra, the defending Olympic champion, was 19th.
"I knew coming into the 1,500 it was going to be a thrilling race, no matter who took it," Cheek said. "I was a little surprised at the outcome. I really did think it was a battle between Shani and Chad.
"But if I knew what would happen, I'd be a gambler."
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Tribune-Review foreign correspondent Betsy Hiel is covering the Winter Games. E-mail her at hielb@yahoo.com.
Additional Information:
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