KEARNS — Shani Davis has been avoiding the media after calling comedian and U.S. Speedskating team sponsor Stephen Colbert a "jerk" a few weeks ago. But after his second win of the Essent ISU World Cup at the Utah Olympic Oval Sunday, the most high-profile U.S. long track athlete finally gave reporters some time — and some insight into his impressive performances.
Davis has yet to explain why he was critical of Colbert, who has satirically railed on the Canadians for the lack of training time given to the U.S. on the Olympic Oval, but he was willing to discuss his recent success, which included a world record in the 1,500-meters and a win in Sunday's 1,000-meter event.
He is also qualified to represent the U.S. in at least five races, should he choose to do so.
"I am really excited," Davis said Sunday afternoon. "I've been skating really good and hopefully I can just continue to get stronger."
Davis attributes some of his dominance to his physical maturity.
"I think I just got older and stronger," he said with a grin. "I have that old man strength kicking in. I think I'm just hitting my physical peak as a male."
Davis won't decide until the Dec. 24 deadline exactly which races he'll compete in. For sure, he said, he will skate the 1,500 (in which he set a new world record) and the 1,000-meter races.
"Those are my two favorite races," he said. "We'll see what happens. I'm just really excited."
One thing that's almost certain, Davis said he doesn't want Chad Hedrick's spot in the 10,000-meter race, should his teammate opt out of it.
"I just have no ambition to do it," he said shaking his head. "I'm a middle distance guy."
In fact, Davis trains with the U.S. short track speed skaters for a couple of months each year.
"It's refreshing," he said. "It's not as repetitive. I like the thrills and spills; it's just a lot of excitement."
Davis even picks up some coaching tips from those helping short track skaters.
"It's not a conflict of interest because I don't directly compete with any of those skaters," he said. "For some reason, training with them, it seems to work for me."
"I've never been in the kind of shape I'm in," he said. And as for whether the slower ice will favor a different type of skater, he shakes his head in disagreement.
"I am a versatile skater," he said. "I think I can adapt to different conditions. Only time will tell though."
Davis said he is flattered that so many see him as the U.S. team's brightest hope for Gold in speed skating.
"I think it's nice," he said. "I like that they embrace me and I will try to make them proud."
He will also not be resting on his laurels any time soon.
"I am just going to keep thinking I'm the underdog," he said flashing that smile again. "I'm going to keep training like an underdog."
Meanwhile, Davis' teammate Chad Hedrick said he, too, is right where he wants to be after finishing fifth (1:07.33) in Sunday's race.
"I really like my chances in Vancouver," said the Texan, "much better than here."
Hedrick said his strength is power and endurance, which should give him an advantage on the slower ice of Vancouver.
"I skated a very disciplined race today," he said. "You can try too hard and you can be too clinical. You have to find that delicate balance. That is my personal best by almost a second."
He said he gained confidence and put the world on notice that he plans to be in the mix this February. The U.S. men's team is extremely strong.
"In those first three distances, we're pretty solid," he said. "I think everybody has their hands full."
While Davis and Hedrick are better at the middle distances, Tucker Fredricks has been on the podium in the 500 in every single World Cup this season. Still, many love the rivalry of Davis and Hedrick — even though it has mellowed significantly.
"It's still Shani vs. Chad, but it's on a lot different terms," Hedrick said referring to the new-found respect and friendship among the duo. Both men said they plan to stay in Utah to train for a few weeks.
Canada's best hope of medals appears to be their women's team which is loaded with talent. Christine Nesbitt won the 1,000-meter race (1:14.17), and then she helped the Canadians take second in the team pursuit, just behind the Russian women.
"I think this weekend went really well," she said. "It was a really good weekend. I think it shows just how strong our team is that we can throw any girls on the team together and win a medal."
e-mail: adonaldson@desnews.com