Speedskating has been an Olympic sport for nearly a century, and for most of that century, it, along with all the other winter sports, has been the domain of people from colder climates.
U.S. speedskater Shani Davis has changed all that.
Davis, an African-American who grew up in Chicago, showed so much natural talent on roller skates that at age six he was invited to join the Evanston, Illinois, Speedskating Club. Within a few years, he was competing in—and winning—local events.
Davis credits his mother for providing constant support and encouragement. When he was 10, she moved across town to be closer to the skating rink so he could have more time to practice.
His mother still manages him. “My mom never thought of herself first, and I credit most of my success to her,” Davis says on his Web site.
At age 13, Davis won the first of five National Age Group Championships, and at 17, a North American Championship. That same year, he became the first U.S. athlete chosen to compete on both the short-track and long-track events on the Junior World Team, a feat he repeated twice more.
In 2002, Shani Davis became the first African-American athlete chosen by the U.S. Olympic speedskating team. He was an alternate and did not compete.
In 2006 he became the first black athlete to win an individual medal in the Winter Olympics, taking home a gold and a silver medal. Davis went on to win seven World Championships at various distances by 2009.
Davis doesn’t make much of the fact that he is the first African-American to excel in winter sports. “I’m one of a kind,'' he admitted after winning the gold at Torino. Davis sees himself as an athlete, not a representative of any specific race.
Now 27, Shani Davis is heading to Vancouver to compete in his third Olympic Games.
In Vancouver, Davis will be reaching for yet another milestone. He will be trying to win medals in all five Men’s Individual speedskating events.
Davis will be contesting the 500 m, 1,000 m, 1,500 m, 5,000 m, and 10,000 m races. Most of Davis’s success has come in shorter events. He currently holds the world record for 1,000 m and 1,500 m. The 5,000 m and 10,000 m races will stretch him to his limits.
Davis will compete in five events over 10 days. He will have a day to recover between events. But the first event is the second longest, the 5,000 meters. Then on Day 12, he will skate in the grueling 10,000 m—6.25 miles of skating at 35 mph.
Davis should be up to the task. He has won the World Allround title three times consecutively, 2004–2006. The Allround requires a skater to compete in the 500 m, 1,500 m, 5,000 m, and 10,000 m races all in a two-day span.
Davis’s most successful year was 2009. He won all four World Cup 1,000 m races, as well as four firsts and a second place in the 1,500 m. His world records in the 1,000 m and 1,500 m still stand.
Shani Davis is heading to Vancouver to break more barriers and set more records, and chances are, he will. He is the gold medal favorite in the 1,000 m and 1,500 m races.
U.S. speedskater Shani Davis has changed all that.
Davis, an African-American who grew up in Chicago, showed so much natural talent on roller skates that at age six he was invited to join the Evanston, Illinois, Speedskating Club. Within a few years, he was competing in—and winning—local events.
Davis credits his mother for providing constant support and encouragement. When he was 10, she moved across town to be closer to the skating rink so he could have more time to practice.
His mother still manages him. “My mom never thought of herself first, and I credit most of my success to her,” Davis says on his Web site.
At age 13, Davis won the first of five National Age Group Championships, and at 17, a North American Championship. That same year, he became the first U.S. athlete chosen to compete on both the short-track and long-track events on the Junior World Team, a feat he repeated twice more.
In 2002, Shani Davis became the first African-American athlete chosen by the U.S. Olympic speedskating team. He was an alternate and did not compete.
In 2006 he became the first black athlete to win an individual medal in the Winter Olympics, taking home a gold and a silver medal. Davis went on to win seven World Championships at various distances by 2009.
Davis doesn’t make much of the fact that he is the first African-American to excel in winter sports. “I’m one of a kind,'' he admitted after winning the gold at Torino. Davis sees himself as an athlete, not a representative of any specific race.
Now 27, Shani Davis is heading to Vancouver to compete in his third Olympic Games.
Davis Enters All Individual Events
In Vancouver, Davis will be reaching for yet another milestone. He will be trying to win medals in all five Men’s Individual speedskating events.
Davis will be contesting the 500 m, 1,000 m, 1,500 m, 5,000 m, and 10,000 m races. Most of Davis’s success has come in shorter events. He currently holds the world record for 1,000 m and 1,500 m. The 5,000 m and 10,000 m races will stretch him to his limits.
Davis will compete in five events over 10 days. He will have a day to recover between events. But the first event is the second longest, the 5,000 meters. Then on Day 12, he will skate in the grueling 10,000 m—6.25 miles of skating at 35 mph.
Davis should be up to the task. He has won the World Allround title three times consecutively, 2004–2006. The Allround requires a skater to compete in the 500 m, 1,500 m, 5,000 m, and 10,000 m races all in a two-day span.
Davis’s most successful year was 2009. He won all four World Cup 1,000 m races, as well as four firsts and a second place in the 1,500 m. His world records in the 1,000 m and 1,500 m still stand.
Shani Davis is heading to Vancouver to break more barriers and set more records, and chances are, he will. He is the gold medal favorite in the 1,000 m and 1,500 m races.
