Utahn flirts with Olympic history

SYDNEY — Utahn Chris Witty flirted with Olympic sports history Saturday night.

The Park City resident and silver- and bronze-medalist in speedskating at the 1998 Nagano Winter Games was trying to become only the fourth person ever — and the first American — to medal in both the Summer and Winter Olympics as she competed in the women's 500-meter time trials at the Dunc Gray Velodrome.

After her two laps around the 250-meter track and her 35 seconds of participation in the 2000 Sydney Summer Games, the Park City resident and two-season Olympian walked away without having her name further etched in annals of athletic achievement. What she did carry with her was the satisfaction of improving her personal record and finishing among the top five athletes in her second-best sport.

In the Olympic debut of the women's 500-meter time trials, Witty finished with a fifth-place time of 35.230 seconds, more than .25 of a second faster than her previous personal best in the event. Since it was a first-time event, the fastest time recorded in the event resulted in an Olympic record — and Witty temporarily had the night's fastest time until eventually being upstaged by four other cyclists, including the ultimate gold-medalist, Felicia Ballanger of France.

"I'm happy with it," said Witty of her race against the clock Saturday night. "A personal record coming at the Olympics — what else could you ask for? And I held an Olympic record for five minutes."

For the Wisconsin native who has moved to Utah in preparation for the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympics, Witty enjoyed not only her first exposure to the Summer Games but being an underdog in the sport of cycling.

It's a far cry from speedskating, where Witty was a favorite in the 1,000- and 1,500-meter speedskating events (she finished with silver and bronze medals in 1998) and remembers being stared down at the starting line by opponents wanting to play mind games with her.

"This was more fun," she said. "When you're a medal contender, it's much more stressful. In cycling, I'm out there by myself. It's me against the clock — it's my world."

Still, Witty wasn't without attention in the days leading up to the race, and the pressure and anxieties started to pester her. The night before her event, she left the Olympic Village and the athletes' party-on attitude in favor of a hotel and better prospects of sleeping.