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SPEED
SKATINGStriding High - washingtonpost.com graphic
In eight
of the 10 events contested at the Utah Olympic Oval, the winning time
was a world record. Jochem Uytdehaage of the Netherlands (5000 and
10,000 meters) accounted for two of those, as did Germany’s Claudia
Pechstein (3000 and 5000). Americans Derek Parra (1500) and Chris
Witty (1000) each had one — Witty’s gaining special luster in that
she’d been diagnosed with mononucleosis in January. Catriona Le May
Doan of Canada set an Olympic record in winning the 500 in her final
Olympic race, repeating her victory in Nagano. And Gerard van Velde of
the Netherlands contributed to the carnival ride with a world mark in
the men’s 1000.
Clara Hughes attached special significance to the women’s 5000, winning the bronze medal to become the fourth Olympic athlete ever to win medals in both the Summer and Winter Games. Hughes won bronze in two track cycling events at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games (see Facts & Figures).
MULTIPLE MEDAL WINNERS
- Sabine Voelker (GER) — bronze 500; silver 1000; silver 1500
- Jennifer Rodriguez (USA) — bronze 1000; bronze 1500
- Claudia Pechstein (GER) — gold 3000; gold 5000
- Derek Parra (USA) — silver 5000; gold 1500
- Jochem Uytdehaage (NED) — gold 5000; silver 1500; gold 10,000
MEN
500m |
|
Casey Fitzrandolph (USA) |
69.23 |
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Hiroyasu Shimizu (JPN) |
69.26 |
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Kip Carpenter (USA) |
69.47 |
|
1000m |
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Gerard van Velde (NED) |
(WR) 1:07.18 |
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Jan Bos (NED) |
1:07.53 |
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Joey Cheek (USA) |
1:07.61 |
|
1500m |
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Derek Parra (USA) |
(WR) 1:43.95 |
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Jochem Uytdehaage (NED) |
1:44.57 |
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Adne Sondral (NOR) |
1:45.26 |
|
5000m |
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Jochem Uytdehaage (NED) |
(WR) 6:14.66 |
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Derek Parra (USA) |
6:17.98 |
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Jens Boden (GER) |
6:21.73 |
|
10000m |
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Jochem Uytdehaage (NED) |
(WR) 12:58.92 |
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Gianni Romme (NED) |
13:10.03 |
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Lasse Saetre (NOR) |
13:16.92 |
WOMEN
500m |
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Catriona LeMay-Doan (CAN) |
74.75 |
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Monique Garbrecht-Enfeldt (GER) |
74.94 |
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Sabine Voelker (GER) |
75.19 |
|
1000m |
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Chris Witty (USA) |
(WR) 1:13.83 |
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Sabine Voelker (GER) |
1:13.96 |
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Jennifer Rodriguez (USA) |
1:14.24 |
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1500m |
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Anni Friesinger (GER) |
(WR) 1:54.02 |
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Sabine Voelker (GER) |
1:54.97 |
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Jennifer Rodriguez (USA) |
1:55.32 |
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3000m |
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Claudia Pechstein (GER) |
(WR) 3:57.70 |
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Renate Groenewold (NED) |
3:58.94 |
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Cindy Klassen (CAN) |
3:58.97 |
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5000m |
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Claudia Pechstein (GER) |
(WR) 6:46.91 |
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Gretha Smit (NED) |
6:49.22 |
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Clara Hughes (CAN) |
6:53.53 |
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MEDAL TALLY |
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Total |
Netherlands |
3 |
5 |
0 |
8 |
Germany |
3 |
3 |
2 |
8 |
United States |
3 |
1 |
4 |
8 |
Canada |
1 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
Japan |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
Norway |
0 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
Total |
10 |
10 |
10 |
30 |
VENUE & EVENTS
Utah Olympic
Oval
5662 South 4800 West in Kearns, Utah
Located about 14 miles from the center of Salt Lake City and with a projected capacity of more than 6,000, the Utah Olympic Oval will be home to speed skating at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. At 4,675 feet, The Utah Olympic Oval is the world's highest-altitude indoor speed-skating oval. At high altitudes, ice tends to be denser, which makes it harder and faster. Indoor venues also have an added advantage because temperature and humidity can be controlled to maintain optimal conditions.
It may have been a slow starter but when the Utah Olympic Oval was finished, it quickly acquired a reputation as the fastest speed-skating track in the world. Construction of the $30-million venue was set back in 2000 by improperly set cement and a partial roof collapse. But at its first event in March 2001 - the world single-distance speed skating championships - world records were broken in five of 11 events.
The Oval's signature is a unique, cable-suspended system that helps eliminate massive trusses that would ordinarily be necessary to support the structure. The roof structure is 1,200 tons lighter than a traditional truss solution. Due to its elevation, Utah's dry air and the building's design, the ice sheet is expected to be the fastest in the world. The Oval, which is exceptionally flat and without banked turns due to the fact that the concrete was placed with a continuous pour, cost approximately $30 million to build. It contains a 400-meter enclosed oval with two full-sized hockey sheets, a weight training room, a sports medicine room, 15 locker rooms, a pro shop, concessions and a skate rental area. The planned capacity of the Utah Olympic Oval, which is one of only six enclosed ovals in the world (there are three in North America), is projected at 6,500. It will be used for 10 events during 12 Olympic competition days.
Speedskating is the fastest an individual can move under his own power, with speeds reaching as much as 40 miles per hour. In speedskating, the competitors skate against the clock, although they race in pairs, and use long, graceful and powerful strides around a 400-meter double track. They are required to change lanes in the back straightaway of each lap. The skater on the outside is considered to have the right of way.
The sport of speedskating was turned upside down in 1998 because of the slapskate, a small but expensive mechanical device, a bolt-and-hinge mechanism that allows a skate blade to disconnect briefly from a skater's boot thereby prolonging the blade's contact with the ice and increasing the skater's pushing capacity, showed up in world-class speedskating in 1997 on the feet of women from the Netherlands and quickly caught on among top males. As the blade comes back in contact with the heel of the boot, it makes a clacking sound, a distinct departure from the whispering brush of traditional skates.
"Instead of just having the toe part of your skate working on the ice, you have the whole blade to work with," says former U.S. speedskater KC Boutiette. "It means your motion is more economical and you go faster."
In order to profit as much as possible from each` stride, skaters crouch so that their stomachs and thighs are almost touching. In addition, they wear special skintight, hooded suits, which cover the skater from head to toe in one piece, to minimize wind resistance.
Events range from the 500m (covering 1.25 laps around the 400m oval) to 10,000m which is 25 laps around the oval.
