O'Hare files arbitration request

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Speedskater Tommy O'Hare has asked for arbitration to resolve his claim that other competitors, including Olympic medal favorite Apolo Ohno, conspired to deny him a spot on the U.S. team.

O'Hare's attorney said Thursday that "numerous people" in speedskating will support the claim that Ohno and training partner Rusty Smith fixed a short-track race to boost their friend, Shani Davis, onto the Olympic team.

Davis won the 1,000-meter finals Dec. 22 at the U.S. Olympic trials, putting him into next month's Salt Lake Games. The outcome dropped O'Hare, who raced at the 1998 Nagano Games, from the Olympic squad.

O'Hare, 24, claims Smith and Ohno used blocking tactics to help Davis win.

No date was set for an arbitration hearing, but lawyers for both sides said it should be scheduled within the next week. O'Hare's request was filed Tuesday with the U.S. Olympic Committee.

"It alleges that participants predetermined the outcome of the race," said John Collins, a Chicago attorney representing O'Hare. "We've received statements from a number of people, which we believe supports that claim."

Collins declined to specify who came forward for O'Hare, except to say the claim will be backed up by "numerous people from all segments of the speedskating community."

The dispute must be resolved by Jan. 28, the USOC's deadline for submitting names of athletes to the International Olympic Committee.

O'Hare's complaint also says Ohno and Smith broke U.S. Speedskating's code of conduct and should be banned from the Olympic team, and that O'Hare should be put on the team.

Ohno, 19, has been projected as a breakout Olympic star. He won last season's World Cup title and could sweep all four gold medals in short-track speedskating, where athletes zip around a hockey rink.

Going into the qualifying race, the last event of the trials, Davis had to win to make the team. Until that point, Ohno skated to dominant victories in all seven other events, securing his spot on the Olympic squad.

Davis took the lead from the start, holding off Ohno and two other skaters. Ohno stayed back in third and never made a serious push for the lead, shying away from daring passes he used in his wins.

Afterward, national short-track coach Susan Ellis questioned whether Ohno tried to win and immediately asked him about his tactics.

"The talk and suspicion is kind of troubling," Ellis said that day. "But Shani skated a great race. That's the bottom line."

Ohno said at the time he had "played it safe" in the race and denied trying to help Davis make the team. Smith and Davis also said nothing shady occurred among the friends.

Arbitration takes the issue away from the USOC and U.S. Speedskating, allowing an independent outsider to determine if claims are warranted.

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