Casey FitzRandolph may be America's best chance for a gold in men's long-track speedskating, and he will get his chance to take a step toward that end on Monday at the Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns.
The first of two days of men's 500 meter races begins at 1 p.m. Races begin at the same time Tuesday. Winners are determined based on the best combined times of the two days.
This year's World Cup season has seen FitzRandolph and Canada's Jeremy Wotherspoon locked in a struggle for supremacy. The two rarely finish more than a few hundredths of a second apart. That may not be surprising, considering they train together in Calgary and are close enough friends that they often go fishing together. And they often are the butt of each other's good-natured kidding.
Asked if he thought training with FitzRandolph had helped him prepare for the Games, Wotherspoon acknowledged, "We push each other," but then added with a smile, "I think it might have helped him more than it helped me."
But they aren't the only ones with a good shot at the gold. Japan's Hiroyasu Shimizu remains a force to be reckoned with. A nagging back injury has slowed him a little this season, but he remains the world record holder, and he set that time, 34.32 seconds, at the Utah Olympic Oval last March.
Shimizu is a hero in Japan. He won the gold in the 500 in Nagano, setting an Olympic record in the process. Wotherspoon won the silver in Nagano. FitzRandolph is the relative upstart. He competed in Nagano, but finished only sixth in the 500 meters.
Wotherspoon believes the winner will have to break the world record. "I definitely feel capable of breaking that record," he said.
The 500 meters could be a good test of the newly designed high-tech body suits worn by the athletes. FitzRandolph will be wearing the Swift Skin, designed by Nike. It uses six different types of fabric and is supposed to reduce wind resistance. At a press conference late last week, FitzRandolph's father said the suit could mean the difference in this event, which may be decided by a few hundredths of a second.
But Wotherspoon and the Canadians are wearing a suit designed by Descente. It, too, is supposed to reduce wind resistance.
"It's not going to make or break the race," he said. "But if you have the ability to wear something that helps you do better, why not?"
? Jay Evensen