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FitzRandolph glows at speedskating win
By Stephen Speckman
Deseret News Olympic specialist
KEARNS — American speedskater Casey FitzRandolph was generous in victory Tuesday, thanking teammates who challenged him, an opponent he defeated and a role model who inspired him.
FitzRandolph credited help from all corners in speeding him to gold in the men's 500 meters Tuesday. In the last race of the day, FitzRandolph joined teammate and bronze medalist Kip Carpenter — they were first and third going into the second of two days of racing. The night before, the two tried to fight off nerves by watching a hunting program on TV. It didn't help. Carpenter slept only three hours.
"I was really nervous," Carpenter said. "I felt a little drowsy when I got out there. . . . I didn't think I was going to have any juice."
FitzRandolph was just as bad.
"It was a 24-hour struggle," said the first American gold-medal winner in the men's 500 since Eric Heiden's five-gold performance in 1980.
FitzRandolph posted the fastest start, but it would be Carpenter who helped pull the winner to gold with a time of 34.79 seconds, beating his teammate by 0.02 seconds. FitzRandolph's combined time for two races was 69.23, just .03 seconds faster than the silver-medal winner, Japan's Hiroyasu Shimizu, still the world-record holder in the distance.
The silver medalist was still fighting lower back problems that came on last October during training.
"I really could have done better," he said. "I feel a little bit of regret. . . . I was not able to give it my all."
FitzRandolph offered kudos to his friends from Calgary who have helped him train and regroup since a disappointing finish in the 1998 Nagano Olympics.
FitzRandolph became best friends with Canada's Jeremy Wotherspoon, the favorite to win the 500 and possibly break Shimizu's record. Wotherspoon fell Monday in the first of the two races over two days and did not finish. He came back the next day and skated the fastest time of anyone, but it was only for pride. The two fish together, and Wotherspoon will stand up in FitzRandolph's wedding.
"I owe Jeremy and Mike (Ireland) a huge, huge thank you," he said. "They accepted me. It was the perfect training environment day in and day out."
The two friends will meet again Saturday in the men's 1,000.
For now, FitzRandolph is just trying to comprehend his accomplishment.
"There's too many things going through my head," said FitzRandolph, who received a celebratory hug from Heiden, who won all five men's events at the 1980 Lake Placid Games.
When FitzRandolph, now 27, was young and into hockey, it was Heiden's performances that inspired him to pick up speed skates.
"It's my hope a lot of young kids are paying attention," he said, anxious to have a similar impact.
American Joey Cheek finished sixth, while U.S. teammate Marc Pelchat posted the fastest opening 100 meters of the day. However, he finished 28th overall after falling Monday.
E-mail: sspeckman@desnews.com
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February 13, 2002
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