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Witty's heart yields gold
Deseret News editorial
Color her courageous and golden.
America's Chris Witty set a world record in the 1,000 meter Olympic speedskating final Sunday to win a gold medal.
And if golds were awarded for courage, she'd surely win one for that event as well.
Witty certainly had the pedigree to compete for a medal in the 1,000 meters at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games — after all, she had won a silver medal in that event in Nagano — but she didn't have the health.
That became obvious during her performance in the 500 meter race Wednesday and Thursday when she finished well out of medal contention.
For a little over a month, her strength has been sapped to the point that she even doubted whether she could compete. That's because last month she was diagnosed with mononucleosis.
That explains why she felt sluggish throughout the World Cup season. She has had to strike balance between training and rest — not the best way to go into the Olympics. She has been skating every other day, always taking into account her strength.
Sunday she not only skated, but skated magnificently.
Her time of 1 minute, 13.83 seconds easily beat the mark of 1:14.06 set in December at the Utah Olympic Oval by Germany's Sabine Voelker, who took the silver Sunday and also broke her record with a time of 1:13.96. America's Jennifer Rodriguez took the bronze medal in 1:14.24.
Confidence, a great training regimen and top-notch equipment are all part of what goes into getting a medal, but none of those components is as important as the individual performer's health.
Given that she was recovering from mononucleosis, Witty's performance not only ranks as one of the best during these Games but merits a place in Olympic lore.
When asked if whether having to recover from mono made the victory sweeter, she responded:
"It does. It was unexpected. I was trying to convince myself that Top 10 is OK. Even this morning, I didn't feel that good. Quite honestly I was happy just to compete at the Olympics."
Great athletes have the ability to rise up when others would call in sick. Utahns remember another gritty performance of that caliber at the Delta Center during the 1997 NBA Finals between the Utah Jazz and the Chicago Bulls.
The series was tied 2-2. Michael Jordan was sick with food poisoning and his playing status was in doubt. But not his heart. While ill he scored 38 points to lead the Bulls to a 90-88 victory, enabling them to take control of the Finals.
Witty's heart, more than her skates, is responsible for one of the great moments in Olympic skating history.
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February 18, 2002
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