6B THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
▼ OLYMPICS
SPORTS
WEDNESDAY. FEBRUARY 22, 2006
Rivals bitter about handshake
Silver medalist United States Shani Davis, from Chicago, Ill., left, gold medalist Italy's Enrico Fabris, center, and bronze medalist United States Chad Hadrick, from Salt Lake City, Ut., wave to spectators during a flower ceremony of the Winter Olympics men's 1,500 meter speedskating competition at the Oval Lingotto in Turin, Italy, Tuesday.
Dusan Vranic/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BY PAUL NEWBERRY
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
TURIN, Italy — Shani Davis got the best of Chad Hedrick, though it wasn't good enough for gold. Then they both took the Olympics' hottest rivalry to a whole new level.
These guys really don't like each other.
That much they could shake on.
While Italy's Enrico Fabris was becoming an Olympic hero in his home country, upsetting the Davis-Hedrick showdown with a victory Tuesday in the 1,500 meters, the most compelling storyline was the two American favorites who settled for silver and bronze.
Davis, the runner-up, and Hedrick, a disappointing third, were forced to spend an uncomfortable half-hour in a brightly lit room that might as well have been the scene of an interrogation.
Finally, the truth came out.
Finally, the third Davis was still mad that Hedrick didn't shake his hand after Davis' victory Saturday in the 1,000. This time, Hedrick did shake hands and offrick his congratulations, but that clearly was too late to soothe Davis' feelings.
"I'll be honest with you," said Davis, the first black athlete
ever to win an individual gold medal in the Winter Olympics. "Sure, Chad and I are fighting for the same thing. But it would have been kind of nice after I won the 1,000 if he would have been a good teammate and shook my hand."
A response. Chad?
With that, Davis jumped out of his seat and stormed from the room, mumbling on his way through the door, "Shakes my hand when I lose. Typical Chad."
Now sitting alone at the podium, Hedrick didn't back down. He flipped on his microphone and said he was upset that Davis wouldn't take part in the team pursuit last week because he wanted to focus on his individual races.
A Hedrick-led trio was upset by the Italians in the quarterfinals, doomed by a slower skater who probably wouldn't have been on the ice if Davis had been available.
"We're all part of Team USA," Hedrick said. "We had a great opportunity to win the team pursuit. I felt betrayed in a way. Not only did he not participate, he wouldn't even discuss it with me as a leader of the team. I thought we passed up a medal."
OLYMPICS
Hedrick said he wasn't mad because the loss cost him a chance to win five gold medals.
Bittersweet opening round for arials
BY EDDIE PELLS THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAUZE D'OULX, Italy — Two inspiring comeback stories reached their crossroads on a foggy night in the Italian Alps.
American Emily Cook's came to a bittersweet end.
Aussie Jacqui Cooper's resulted in an improbable world record.
Cook capped her four-year comeback from devastating foot injuries with a less-than-memorable landing on the Olympic aerials course Tuesday, one that eliminated her from the finals and from contention for the medal that would have made her tale that much sweeter.
She smiled when it was over — probably to hold back the tears.
"I will not, in any way, let a little tumble ruin this experience," she insisted, "No way."
And Cooper? At 33, she now looks like a possible Olympic champion instead of someone simply happy to be here. She was among the world's best for much of the end of last decade and the start of this, but has no Olympic medal to show for it.
"I waited eight years for this moment," Cooper said. "Every day, I've dreamed about it, thought about it."
During qualifying eight years ago in the Nagano Games, she crashed and endured leg and head injuries. And in training four years ago at the Salt Lake City Games, she tore up her knee.
Barring something drastic, she'll be in the finals this time after a qualifying score of 213.36, a mark that bettered the old record, set three years ago by Aussie teammate Alisa Camplin, by more than 6 points.
Cooper won qualifying by nearly 10 points over Guo Xinxin of China by nailing a triple backflip with three full twists for the first time in four years. It was the toughest trick of the night, performed by herself and Guo.
"That was probably a great moment for me," Cooper said. "That was a massive confidence booster."
While Cooper will get an encore Wednesday night, Cook will only get to sit in the stands and watch.
Both she and teammate Jana Lindsey failed to qualify, continuing a disappointing week for the U.S. freestyle team. Of six U.S. aerialists, both men and women, only Jeret "Speedy" Peterson advanced to the finals.
All six came to Italy ranked in the top 15 in the world.
"Definitely, the best in the world miss sometimes." Lindsey said. "You're always trying to go for it and go big and give it all you've got. Sometimes you pull through and sometimes it isn't your day."
Cook was determined to make this her day regardless of the result.
Still, there was no masking the disappointment after her first landing went awry.
Leaning forward when her skis hit, her legs flailed out, causing her to nearly do the splits. She tumbled forward, her body somersaulting through the powder. Stopped at the bottom, she cradled her head — a rare moment when the 26-year-old may have dared feel sorry for herself.
Lionel Cironneau/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Emily Cook of the USA crashes in the qualifying session Women's Aerials at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Sauze d'Oulx, Italy, Tuesday. Cook did not qualify, the finals are scheduled for today.
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