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Ohno 'shines like a star' in gold-medal 1,500m finish
By Maria Titze
Deseret News Olympic specialist
At last a golden Olympic moment for the young American whose name means, "Look out, here he comes."
But Apolo Anton Ohno was actually the second man to cross the finish line Wednesday in the men's 1,500-meter final, and his gold medal, like so many at the Delta Center (Salt Lake Ice Center) at these Games, came with controversy.
Judges disqualified the leader, Olympic medalist Dong-Sung Kim of Korea, for crosstracking — skating into another skater's path — in the final stretch of the race.
Kim, already starting a victory lap with the Korean flag in hand, stopped short upon hearing the ruling, made by Australian official James Hewish, and threw the flag to the ice. The crowd, which had been cheering Ohno's newly announced victory, then erupted in boos for the Korean skater's tantrum.
Ohno, who had to settle for the silver Saturday night after a disastrous fall in the 1000-meter final, was reluctant to leave the ice Wednesday night. He dropped to his knees, then stood to raise his arms as the crowd roared.
"I waited for the right time to move and it worked," Ohno said after the race. "I just gave my best and I shined, like a star or something. I saw my chance and took it."
Facing accusations that he play-acted a near miss with Kim, Ohno said he was forced to stand up to avoid a collision.
Other skaters saw it differently. After watching the replay, Italian Fabio Carta remarked, "We should use a rifle on Ohno. It's absurd that the Korean was disqualified."
Kim did not talk to reporters after the race.
His coach, Myung-Kyu Jun, however, said he protested the disqualification to no avail. "I told Kim he was champion because he finished the race before Ohno," Jun said through a translator.
Sung-in Park, head of the South Korean Olympic delegation, said formal complaints will be filed with the International Olympic Committee and International Skating Union.
South Korea's state news agency Yonhap summed up the race this way:
"After several failed attempts to cut in front of Kim Dong-sung, Ohno drew attention of the referees with a 'Hollywood action,' and finally won the gold medal. He should have won an Academy Award for his trick."
But nothing could spoil the moment for Ohno.
"Deep down, I really know what happened," he said. "So I'm very happy. I got to skate with the best once again."
The final round was indeed packed with all the talent this sport has to offer: Ohno and Kim as well as Jiajun Li of China, another Olympic medalist, and Marc Gagnon of Canada, who is the reigning world champion in this distance.
After Kim's disqualification, Li and Gagnon claimed the silver and bronze respectively.
Though disappointed by the men's final, the Korean team had reason to celebrate: Their women's relay team won their third consecutive Olympic gold medal and set a new world record of 4 minutes, 12.793 seconds.
"I think we did not know we are winning a gold medal until the last minute. But we did our best to the end," Min-Kyung Choi said through a translator.
The Koreans sealed their victory with a brilliant stroke of strategy. While the Chinese lost time during their final exchange, the Koreans shot ahead. By delaying the exchange by half a lap, the Koreans gained precious momentum going into the final turn. The Chinese would have to settle for silver, and third place went to the Canadians.
"We are all really proud to be here and win the bronze. It meant just as much as a gold to us," said Canadian Alanna Kraus.
Ohno may have taken the spotlight, but other American skaters had moments of brilliance.
Rusty Smith was unable to break out of the semis. "I've been feeling kind of ill lately, and I believe it kicked in at that race, unfortunately," he said. But his head cold didn't stop him from skating to a dramatic victory in the consolation round.
Caroline Hallisey made it through the women's 1000-meter heats to race in what will be the final event for the women on Saturday.
Hallisey, who also skated well in a consolation bracket of the women's relay, believes her performance is peaking in Salt Lake City. "I'm definitely going into Saturday with more confidence," she said.
Teammate Erin Porter slipped in the 1,000-meter heat, taking Russian Nina Evteeva out with her. "I hit my head quite strong, and I feel a bit foggy right now," Evteeva said after managing to get back up and finish the race in second place, qualifying for the semifinal.
Porter, on the other hand, could not recover from the fall. "Obviously I'm not very happy with my performance," she said.
The world and Olympic record holder in this race, Yang Yang (A) of China, is favored to take the gold in the 1,000 meter. Other favorites are Gi-Hyun Ko of Korea, Evgenia Radanova of Bulgaria and Alanna Kraus of Canada.
The men's 500 meter and the men's relay final will also be skated on Saturday.
Contributing: Jenifer K. Nii and The Associated Press
E-MAIL: mtitze@desnews.com
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February 21, 2002
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