Exceptional start: Hedrick grabs gold for U.S. in first Olympic race

TORINO, Italy — Chad Hedrick cut through the ice in his first Olympic race — arms swinging furiously, body gently swaying, mouth hanging open. When he crossed the line, flipped back his hood and caught a glimpse of the scoreboard, it was time to let out a Texas-sized yell.

Yeeeaaaaah!

"The Exception" was downright exceptional.

Hedrick took the first step toward Eric Heiden's Holy Grail of Winter Olympic records — five gold medals in 1980 — with a dominating win Saturday in the 5,000 meters, the first speedskating race of the Torino Games.

Even though it's only one down and four to go, Hedrick didn't plan for this to be his only trip to the top of the medals podium.

"I didn't come here to win one gold medal," said the 28-year-old Texan, flashing his toothy grin. "You're going to see my face a lot more."

While that was typical Hedrick bravado, the scene that unfolded before the race was hardly expected.

After a light jog around the edge of the oval, he headed downstairs to get in some stretching. Suddenly, Hedrick's body began to shake. Then, the tears started to flow. Maybe it was the thought of his grandmother, who died 13 years earlier to the day. Maybe it was just the inevitable nervousness that goes along with that first Olympic race.

Whatever the case, it took a hug from his coach, some good-natured kidding from teammate Derek Parra and a quick visit with his family in the stands before Hedrick settled down.

Then, it was time to get down to business. When Hedrick stepped to the line, he was in control. The former world champion from inline skating who made the switch to ice less than four years ago, knew it was his moment.

The ice was soft, making it difficult to build up power in the curves, but Hedrick persevered better than anyone else. His winning time of 6 minutes, 14.68 seconds was nearly six seconds off the world record but almost two seconds ahead of the runner-up, Sven Kramer of the Netherlands.

"He can work his way through the turns because he's physically stronger than the other skaters," said his father, Paul Hedrick. "And he's mentally stronger, too, so he can fight through the pain."