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Bronze winner seeing golden changes
By Stephen Speckman
Deseret News Olympic specialist
KEARNS — Life after an Olympic bronze medal — it's just not quite the same for one long-track speed skater.
U.S. Speedskating's Kip Carpenter, 22, has already appeared on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno," "The Today Show" on NBC and "The Morning Show" on CBS.
On Feb. 12, Carpenter skated faster than his gold-medal winning teammate Casey FitzRandolph in the men's 500 meters, but his combined time over two days was good enough for only a bronze. You'd expect fans, sponsors and media to fawn over FitzRandolph, but life for Carpenter has changed dramatically.
The e-mails have begun arriving from girls across the United States for this cereal-box shoo-in. A trip down Main Street in Salt Lake City brings instant recognition, autograph requests and a free meal at a local restaurant. Still, he's taking it all in stride.
"I'm still pretty humble about things," said the Wisconsin native turned Park City resident.
Free toys, including a PlayStation, local support for him to do well in the 1,000 meters Saturday — he finished fourth behind teammate and bronze medalist Joey Cheek — and endorsements have all become part of the Olympic experience. His agent Nate DiPalma is handling any endorsement opportunities and to keep focused, Carpenter has asked him not to mention anything about deals until after the Games.
For a few days his bronze was stored in a Ziploc bag inside his underwear drawer. He has since been given a "cool" box for a more appropriate display.
E-MAIL: sspeckman@desnews.com
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February 24, 2002
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