Speedskating: Hedrick, Ohno might restore some luster to Games

TURIN, Italy — Speedskaters Apolo Ohno and Chad Hedrick are accustomed to carrying a lot on their shoulders. But the hopes of a nation — and its ratings-challenged TV network, NBC — might be a bit much.

That, however, is the onus some are putting on the two skaters today, when they return to the ice hoping to return to the medal stand — and perhaps save the day for NBC, which is struggling to broadcast an Olympics which, for Americans, has lost a lot of glamour.

Figure skater Michelle Kwan withdrew before she ever skated here. Alpine star Bode Miller, in spite of skiing well in his speed events, has been a medal-stand no-show. Ohno went out in the first rounds of his first race, and the U.S. was shut out in men's figure skating.

Friday didn't help: Snowboarder Lindsey Jacobellis' silver-plated hotdogging flub in the snowboardcross, followed closely by the stunning upset of the U.S. women's hockey team by Sweden, leaves the viewing public in search of a new hero, or at least something less painful to watch on TV.

Enter Hedrick, who returns to the ice in search of a second gold medal in speedskating's 1,000-meter long-track race at Oval Lingotto. Hedrick is a favorite, but is likely to be challenged by teammate Shani Davis, who has been a source of controversy in Turin all week for his refusal to skate in this week's team pursuit race.

The U.S., without multiple-world-record holder Davis in the event, was upset by hometown Italy in qualifying rounds for the pursuit, a new Olympic medal event. The entire affair angered Hedrick, the 5,000-meter gold medalist who had a chance to win five gold medals here. He's vowed to not lose again during the Olympics.

Adding to the drama of the 1,000-meter race is the draw: Hedrick will skate early, in the fourth paring. Davis will skate late, in the 19th, with another familiar face, Canada's Jeremy Wotherspoon.

Several blocks away in short-track speedskating, Ohno will be attempting to recover from his own rough start to the Olympics — a stumble and near-fall in the 1,500 meters, which kept him out of last weekend's final and off the medal stand.

He recovered somewhat on Wednesday, advancing in an early 1,000 meters heat, and helping his U.S. relay team qualify for the Feb. 25 final. But tonight at the Palavela, he'll face his chief nemesis early.

Korea's Hyung-Soo Ahn, the gold medalist at 1,500 meters, is a favorite in the 1,000, as well. And he and Ohno will be shoulder to shoulder in their quarterfinal heat tonight.

But Ahn, ranked second in the world in this race, isn't the only South Korean likely to be all over Ohno, ranked third in the world at this distance. Also in the running is Ho-Suk Lee, ranked first in the world in the event. Canada's Eric Bedard is ranked fourth.

Ohno won a gold medal in the 1,500 meters and a silver medal in the 1,000 at the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Games. He's hoping tonight's 1,000 meters will go a bit smoother than the last one.

The last Olympic 1,000 meters has become the stuff of legend: It's the race in which Ohno and two other skaters collided on the final lap, leaving Australia's Stephen Bradbury, the last man standing, to waltz to the gold medal. Ohno crawled to cross the finish line second, winning silver.

Ron Judd: 206-464-8280 or rjudd@seattletimes.com.