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Skater gets a second chance
Wotherspoon looks to 1,000m
By Jay Evensen
Deseret News Olympic specialist
Jeremy Wotherspoon fell in the men's 500 meters of long-track speedskating earlier this week, ending his chances for the gold in that event. He'll get a chance to redeem himself Saturday in the 1,000 meters at the Utah Olympic Oval.
Wotherspoon holds the world record in this event, a 1:07.72 time he set in Utah last December. If he stays on his feet, he figures to have the best shot at the gold.
After his devastating tumble, he told reporters he was putting that race out of his mind and concentrating on the 1,000.
"I don't really think about it," he said. "It's part of my mental preparation. I think about what's next."
But his fans, and most of Canada, are expected to be holding their collective breath when the gun goes off.
His rival and best friend, Casey FitzRandolph, may stand in his way. FitzRandolph now is a gold medalist, thanks in some measure to Wotherspoon's tumble, and that may give him the confidence to rise above his fourth-place ranking in World Cup competition.
Make no mistake, though. This will not be a two-man race. Japan's Hiroyasu Shimizu, the silver medalist in the 500, figures to be tough competition. He won a bronze in this event in 1998. The Netherlands Jan Bos, the silver medalist in Nagano, also figures to strong, as does Norway's Adne Sondral, Canada's Michael Ireland and the Netherlands' Erben Wennemars.
Racing begins at 1 p.m. in Kearns.
E-MAIL: even@desnews.com
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February 14, 2002
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