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Oh yes! American Ohno wins at speed skating qualifiers
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Apolo Anton Ohno of the United States took advantage of an early break from the pack by Italy's Nicola Rodigari on Thursday to win a men's 1,500-meter short-track skating qualifying race for the 2002 Salt Lake City Games. In the women's events, Korea's Gi-Hyun Ko stayed with the pack through the first half of the race before taking the lead and holding off Bulgaria's Evgenia Radanova and Chinese standout Yang Yang (A). The races marked the opening of three days of individual short-track skating competition that ends Saturday with the awarding of Olympic berths for next February's Winter Games. A ranking of the top 32 skaters is compiled through points amassed in each of the races, from which the berths are awarded. The qualifying competition ends Sunday with relay races that will send eight teams to the Olympics, where women will compete over 3,000 meters and men over 5,000. Ohno was timed in the 1,500 in 2 minutes, 25.795 seconds, while Korea's Dong-Sung Kim was second in 2:26.257 and Rodigari, the 2001 World Cup overall champion, was third in 2:26.334. Ohno, ranked 19th in the 1,500 rankings this season even though the American team skipped the first two races in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, displayed midseason form in chasing down Rodigari. "I was surprised that he came by with so much speed," said the Seattle-based skater. "I was in a good position to push past and when I did, I just put the pedal down." For Korea's Ko, her victory pointed perhaps to a changing of the guard for the women's field. While Yang Yang (A) has dominated short-track skating in recent years, winning the last five overall World Short Track Championship titles, the 16-year-old Ko currently stands atop both the overall and 1,500 women's rankings. Ko moved to the front of the pack with six laps to go and held on for the victory. "I think they are better than me," Ko said. "But I will do my best." Ko's time was 2:27.709. For Amy Peterson, who owns the American records in the 500, 1,000, 1,500 and 3,000, the Salt Lake Games will be her fifth, and mostly likely last, Olympic competition. But the Ballston Spa, New York resident, who has battled Chronic Fatigue Syndrome her entire career, failed Thursday to advance beyond the semifinal race in the 1,500.
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