Hedrick going for gold in 10,000

TORINO, Italy — Chad Hedrick finally had a chance to rest. Now, after four Olympics races — and one very juicy feud — he'll try to finish these Winter Games like he started.

With a gold medal.

Hedrick is the world record holder heading into today's10,000 meters, the final men's speedskating event. The competition closes on Saturday with the women's 5,000.

The 28-year-old Hedrick already has a gold and a bronze, but he'll need another medal to truly be one of the stars of the Games. Remember, it's all about expectations — and the Texan came into the Olympics hoping to make a run at Eric Heiden's record of five gold medals.

For now, Hedrick doesn't even have the most speedskating medals in Torino. That honor belongs to Italy's Enrico Fabris, who already had two golds and a bronze, with another chance to add to his tally in the 10,000.

Hedrick concedes that he might have overdone it by competing in five events. He won the 5,000, was part of the U.S. pursuit team that lost in the quarterfinals, placed sixth in the 1,000 (his weakest individual event) and had a disappointing third-place showing in the 1,500.

"I've been at the rink nonstop," he said after his last race. "I don't even have time to go to the bathroom right now."

Hedrick took a couple of days off, hoping that would get him back on track for the longest race of the Olympics. He's also tried to put to rest his testy relationship with U.S. teammate Shani Davis, which erupted at the news conference following the 1,500.

"I've got a 10-K to worry about," Hedrick said. "He's got two medals in his pocket, so he's done great. He's competed at an awesome level, and I hope to go and finish it for our team."

Among the other medal contenders: 5,000 silver medalist Sven Kramer and fellow Dutchman Carl Verheijen. The underperforming Norwegian skating team also could be a factor.

Hedrick will be racing Verheijen in the final pairing. Both racers set world records at the same meet in December, and Hedrick took the mark even lower at Salt Lake City later in the month.

Fabris was paired with Johan Rojler of Sweden and likely will need the crowd to roar him on during the final stages.

Momentum does a lot, though, and Fabris has plenty of that. From near-anonymity a few months ago, he has become an Olympic star.