2/26/2006: But wait, there's more
In a stunning Saturday night double-header special, short track speedskater Apolo Anton Ohno pulled out all the stops and ended the night with two new medals around his neck, one gold and one bronze. He barely qualified for the 500 meter final and the race had two false starts that set nerves on edge, but on the third Apolo came out flying and was in the lead and on point for the superfast sprint in the sport that seems to defy the physics of gravity. He crossed the finish line ahead of Canadians Francois-Louis Tremblay & Eric Bedard and his long-time rival Ahn Hyun-Soo of Korea, who came in fifth/last, shutting him out of an individual short track gold medal sweep.
This was Apolo's second gold medal, but he got his first in Salt Lake City because the winner was disqualified. Tonight's was undeniably earned, and the guy with the best name and best game face at these Olympics showed that he also has the most contagious joy. Afterwards he said "I've been searching my entire career for the perfect race and that was it."
Not long after, still high on his win and adrenalin, Apolo anchored the US team for the 5,000 meter relay race, one of the most chaotic events in sports. Five teams, twenty skaters trading off every two laps and shoving & jostling in very crowded small spaces made for mass confusion to us non-experts but it sure was exciting. Apolo passed in the last lap to land the bronze along with Alex Izykowski, Rusty Smith and J.P. Kepka. This time Ahn & his teammates got the gold.
All was not perfect on the short track ice tonight though. 20-year-old Kimberly Derrick of Michigan was eliminated in the quarter-finals of the 1,000 meter women's race. Her grandfather had come to Torino to watch her skate but had died suddenly the night before from an apparent heart attack. She was barely fighting back tears minutes before her race but she went for it anyway.. I'm sure because her grandpa would have wanted her to.
So on the next to last day of competition, I'm giving Kimberly a 2Cents Gold Medal Spirit Award for giving her all when all felt impossible. After her race she said, "This was the most emotional day of my life. I'm proud to be at the Olympics and at the same time, my heart hurts so much. When I got onto the ice I was overcome by emotions, but I knew I had to race." I'm sure Lindsey Kildow won't mind sharing this little blog's podium with her.
Meanwhile Bode Miller failed to medal again in his fifth and final event today. The press is having a field day bashing his losing streak but hey, they're the ones who hyped him up as the golden boy expected to win everything.. at the same time as they were poking at him for being an individual and not always saying what they wanted him to. Bode responded to it all by saying he had a great time at these Olympics and that "the expectations were other people's."
NBC had the oddest Bode wrapup tonight, talking him up as a failure but making his losses a top story. They even pulled Tom Brokaw out of retirement and sent him out to Bode's trailer for the interview. It wasn't special or controversial and held no surprises, but afterwards Bob Costas ripped into Bode for no apparent reason. It was vicious, ugly and seemingly unprovoked. Ehhh, there's always somebody who has to spoil a terrific Saturday night party.
Costas must be losing it. He later said "Ohno will retire as the sole patched face of this sport".. whatever that means.
