Let the clapping begin

Posted: Sat February 14, 1998 at 2:04 AM ET

American K.C. Boutiette wears the clap skate that has revolutionized speed skating   AP

By Jim Kelley

NAGANO, Japan (CNN/SI) -- Technology has come to speed skating and it's as simple as this.

Clap on, or clap off.

Late night television viewers be warned, we're not talking about the little electronic device that will turn lights on or off based on your ability to applaud. Even though this sport has had its share of athletes who have fallen and can't get up, the clap-on, clap-off issue has to do with equipment.

Equipment that apparently can make or break a career.

"At the beginning of the season it was 'Geez what is this,' " said Chris Witty, the lone American still thought to be in medal contention in this sport. "I had seen the year before where people came out of nowhere and were suddenly winning. No one knew where they stood before the first World Cup race of the season, where they were going to finish. Everyone was extremely nervous because records were falling every day.''

The cause of all this anxiety is the clap. No not what you're thinking, the clap skate.

The clapper, first popularized by the Dutch and dismissed by the Americans, has revolutionized the sport and is considered essential equipment for any skater who hopes to grab a medal of any color.

After using essentially the same equipment from the time when Hans Brinker glided across the pond to just last year, speed skating is grappling with the same kinds of technological innovations that have overwhelmed other heretofore sedate sports like golf, fishing and presidential eavesdropping.

Nontechnical people may want to skip this paragraph, but essentially, the skate is attached to the boot by a hinged device that anchors the toe, but allows the heal of the blade to detach. This allows the blade to stay on the ice longer as the skater powers through his stride. When the heal snaps back into place (usually when the skater's full weight is over the blade), it makes a clapping sound. Hence the name and a change the likes of which some speed skaters still haven't fully come to grips with.

"You've kind of got to abandon everything you've ever learned before," said Kirstin Holum, a rising star on the American squad. "That's hard. I've been training for 10 years to push straight to the side. I mastered that and then this year I had to learn to push straight back.''

It's a lot harder than it sounds.

The Dutch were the first out of the box with these things and they've become so dominant that the Americans lobbied to have the skates put away at least until after these Olympics. It seems the Dutch did not quickly make the device available to the rest of the world and American and other federations argued that such a radical change in equipment so soon before these Games gave the Dutch an unfair advantage.

They may have a case as world records tumbled prior to the Games and Olympic and world records are taking major tumbles here. In the first real test, the Dutch posted three world records through various eliminations in the 5,000 meters. U.S. speed skater K.C. Boutiette, who's had an on-again, off-again relationship with the skates, broke the U.S. record in that race and still finished 14th. The winner, Gianni Romme of the Netherlands, won the gold with a world record 6:22.20. His teammate, Rintje Ritsma, also broke the old record in that race with a 6:28.24 clocking. Belgium's Bart Velkamp won the bronze in 6:28.31. The previous record was 6:30:63, making Romme's time the stuff of legend.

Italy's Ermanno Ioriatti, also wearing the clap skate, set a world record in the 500 meters. By the end of these Games, every mark in the books could fall.

"I don't think anyone in America wanted to stop this from happening," said Gerard Kemkers, a former Dutch skater who is now coach of the U.S. long distance team. "We wanted it to be delayed. There are people who are used to skating on the traditional skate. All of a sudden they have to make a change to the new skate. That's a little bit harsh.''

Especially for the Americans.

This Olympics is a transition event for U.S. speed skaters. Short distance phenom Bonnie Blair has retired. So has men's champion Dan Jansen. Blair's husband, Dave Cruikshank, will hang them up after these Games. There are young skaters coming, especially Witty, Casey FitzRandolph and Boutiette. But they've all had to make a determination on their skates and then learn how to adjust.

FitzRandolph has struggled more than most, but knows he has to make the change in order to compete.

"I couldn't stand them at first,'' he said. "That clapping noise drove me crazy all around the rink. It really annoyed me.'' One could say the same about FitzRandolph who was thought to be a contender in the 1,000, but the skate issue seems to have retarted his progress. He's now looked upon as someone who is preparing for Salt Lake City in 2002.

Witty, on the other foot, embraced the floppy blades early and is now looked upon as America's best hope in this arena.

She recently took three seconds off her personal best and set a world record in a race leading up to the Games. People close to the sport say the new skate gives an advantage to skaters with brute strength and takes something away from the ones who rely more on timing and technique.

"If you look at the majority of our team it's young,'' said Nick Thometz, the director of the U.S. speed skating program. "Unfortunately for most of them this will be their first Olympics. You never know how they'll react."

Or adapt.