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FitzRandolph brings home Americans' first speedskating gold
By Paul Newberry
AP sports writer
KEARNS, Utah — Casey FitzRandolph won the first speedskating gold medal of the Olympics for the United States, edging 1998 champion Hiroyasu Shimizu of Japan by 0.03 seconds in the 500 meters Tuesday.
Another American, Kip Carpenter, won an improbable bronze medal, giving the home team three medals through the first three events at the Utah Olympic Oval.
FitzRandolph had a 0.19-second advantage over Shimizu after the first round Monday. The American needed almost the entire cushion to hold off the world-record holder, who had the best time of Day 2.
FitzRandolph skated his second race in 34.81, giving him a two-day total of 1 minutes, 9.23 seconds.
Shimizu, who produced one of the most memorable moments of the 1998 Nagano Games when he won gold on his home ice, skated 34.65 Tuesday for a 1:09.26 total.
Carpenter, paired with FitzRandolph in the final group of the day, actually beat his fellow American in 34.79 but finished third overall at 1:09.47.
Carpenter edged Dutchman Gerard van Velde by 0.02 seconds for the final medal.
Shimizu still holds the world record of 34.32, set last March on the same ice. That marks the first time in three events that the old mark stood up.
Many had predicted that all 10 records would fall on the world's fastest oval.
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February 12, 2002
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