U.S. speedskaters try to put Sochi behind them.
Speedskaters look to skip repeat of 2014 ‘disaster’
PYEONGCHANG, South Korea — Perhaps no team has more to prove at the Pyeongchang Olympics than the U.S. speedskaters.
Limited to one medal four years ago, they are eager to bounce back and show why their sport has produced the most medals for the U.S. in the Winter Games.
Going 0 for 12 in long track and 1 for 8 in short track in Sochi was a “disaster,” long track skater Mitch Whitmore said.
It’s certainly a memory the Americans haven’t forgotten, either.
“The thought is definitely in the back of my mind, you don’t want that to happen again,” Brittany Bowe said. “You just have to bring it back to, ‘Have I done everything I can to prepare myself the best way I can?’ I can answer that, yes.”
That’s quite a change from 2014, when the Americans debuted a hightech skin suit they thought would lead to more gold, silver and bronze.
Instead, it was an unqualified failure. Skaters complained the suit was too tight and they were stuck dealing with sizing issues on the day of their races. To compound their woes, the Americans trained outdoors at altitude leading up to the games when the venue in Sochi was indoors at sea level.
“The team morale was really weird,” Joey Mantia said. “There was just a weird vibe in the village among our team.”
This time, things are completely different.
“Basically, our entire staff has handed us all the tools we need to get medals,” said Mantia, a favorite for gold in the mass start event. “It’s just up to us now. There’s no more blaming it on anyone else.”
Last year, the Americans traveled to the Gangneung Oval, where they will race this week, and measured ice temperature and thickness and air conditions. They took that information back home and used it to reproduce those conditions at the Pettit National Ice Center in Milwaukee, where the long track Olympic trials and a pre-Olympic camp were held.
“We felt this was the best strategy to ensure we have peak performance at the right time,” said Shane Domer, sports science director for U.S. Speedskating.
They will find out starting Saturday when long track begins with the women’s 3,000 meters. Short track starts with the men’s 1,500-meter final, along with qualifying in other events.