Speed Skating Worlds '06

Between the men's and women's races in the 500 meter, 33 personal records were skated. Thus the theory was proven that the Canadians pay incredible attention to the ice surface and its grooming. Two Zambonies made sure the rink's surface would give the athletes everything they could hope for. Canadian officials wanted their ice to be known for world records, and they certainly are now.

The effort of rink officials prepared for the athletes' absolute best efforts, and fans were not disappointed. Several skaters beat their own personal and national records in the 500 meter, with times ranging from 35.5 to nearly 40 seconds. American Shani Davis blew past them all with a new world record, racing the 500 meters in 35.17 seconds.

Not every pairing got off to a fast start, though. When Ireen Wust of the Netherlands and Katarzyna Wojcicka of Poland took to the ice, one false start by each made the fans and coaches nervous. One more false start for either lady would have disqualified her from the race, thereby eliminating her for the All-Around title. Luckily, only two athletes were unable to complete the competition, and it wasn't because of false starts. The 5000 meter claimed Canadian Justin Warsylewicz and Russian Ivan Skobrev. Both men went down independently while rounding the back corner. Ivan later told team officials that there was a "hole in the ice" over a foot long. He quickly added: "But it wasn't my fault." No one seemed to blame, but the skaters were out of the running for the title. After a quick ice resurfacing, the competition resumed and completed with sufficient drama.

In the men's 500 meter race, American Chad Hendrick trailed Konrad Niedzwiedzki of Poland by nearly a quarter of a rink. Chad turned on the heat in the last lap and crossed the finish line only .06 behind his competitor.

USA's Maria Lam gave everything she had, collapsed and slid on the ice after the finish. Her coach picked her up and helped her to the center of the oval where she lay for several minutes. She was visibly exhausted and gasped for breath, before she was able to skate a cool-down lap.

The ladies' story of the night happened when Cindy Klassen exploaded the old world record, skating the 3000 meters in 3 minutes, 53.34 seconds. Her hometown crowd quieted only for the start of the next pairing, but continued to cheer Klassen as she cooled down for several laps. Coming in second was Claudia Pechstein of Germany who skated a 3:57.35, and Kristina Groves of Canada posted a 3:59.49. Ireen Wust challenged Cindy Klassen for the top spot with her smoking split times, but couldn't keep it up to the end.

Third from last to skate for the evening were Chad Hedrick and Shani Davis. Reporters stood close at the barriers to capture any action between the two, since they engaged in a little brawl in the Olympic rink in Italy just a few weeks earlier. Although Shani stayed with Chad for most of the race, Chad was the clear first-place finisher over all the men in the 5000 meter. Immediately after crossing the finish line, Chad veered quickly over to Shani and raised his hand in victory. The two put an arm around each other while they skated and waved to the fans.

If they were trying to prove they've moved on, they're going to have to try harder. Shani refused to show up for the press conference and declined to answer any questions. Chad was noticeably frustrated by the continual references by media to the fight at the Olympics. He did, however, answer nearly every question asked of him by eventually referring to Shani's races. "It's all business on the ice," Chad said of his relationship with his teammate. "I love racing against him." He later went on to say: "Shani skated the best 5K of his life, and it was exciting how he fought out there."

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