Hedrick finishes 6th in Olympic finale

By DAVID BARRON Chronicle Olympic Bureau

Feb. 21, 2010, 12:36AM

Four years after the two Americans were upset by Enrico Fabris of Italy at speedskating’s classic distance, they were outpaced Saturday at the Richmond Olympic Oval by Mark Tuitert of the Netherlands, who won the gold medal in 1:45.57.

Davis, the world record-holder and gold-medal favorite, was second in 1:46.10, and Havard Bokko of Norway was third in 1:46.13.

Hedrick, 32, of Spring, skating in his final individual race as he ends two decades as a champion of inline and ice speedskating, was sixth in 1:46.47.

The four-time Olympic medalist will return to the oval Friday to lead a young U.S. squad in the team pursuit, but he wrapped up his Olympic career as he began it: overcome by emotions that on this occasion worked against him rather than in his favor.

“I wasted a lot of energy during the race,” Hedrick said. “There was a lot of emotion with this being my last race. It was sort of like my first race in 2006 when I was crying before the race (before winning gold in the 5,000).

“I let my emotions get the best of me, and I was a wreck. I lost control of the race and forgot all the things I’ve been working on technically and panicked.”

Tuitert, who was ranked fifth in the World Cup standings at 1,500 meters and fourth at 1,000, edged Bokko in the 17th of 19 pairs to take the lead from Russia’s Ivan Skobrev.

No storybook ending

Matched against Stefan Groothuis of the Netherlands in the 18th pair, Hedrick tried to use the same approach he used in the 1,000, where he drafted off Korean sprinter Mo Tae-bum and ended up with a bronze medal.

This time, he tried to draft off Groothuis at the crossover of the first full lap and could not capitalize.

“I was out over my toes rather than all my weight being more on my butt, creating power,” Hedrick said. “I was trying to draft and came up short, and by that time I was rushing and got stuck in that rhythm for the full race, and it wasn’t good.”

Davis, skating in the 19th and final pair against Lucas Makowsky of Canada, had the fastest first full lap of the race in 25.82 seconds but dropped back on the second lap and faded in the third.

“It was the best I could do,” Davis said. “I struggled the whole race. I couldn’t build up enough speed.

“It’s the way of the sport. On any given day, anybody can come out and achieve greatness. It happened to me in Torino, and now it happens to me in Vancouver four years later. I have to accept it, and I hope I can get stronger from it.”

Hedrick was optimistic Friday of his medal chances but said the gravity of the moment began to set in when he arrived at the rink Saturday. He began replaying scenarios in his mind, “and then it’s time to put your skates and even though you thought you were ready emotionally, you’re not.”

“It was that dream of finishing your career with a win. That is what I came out here to do today,” he said. “I skated for 30 years. I’m 32 years old, and I started walking on roller skates. I felt like I trained 30 years for this one race. I had this picture-perfect, storybook ending that I wanted to put on the end of my career, and I couldn’t do it.”

Long shot in team pursuit

Hedrick’s voice wavered as he described the emotions of the moment and eight years in speedskating after switching over from the inline sport after watching his friend Derek Parra, now his coach, win a gold medal in 2002.

“We always think that being on the Olympic team and representing your country is about you standing on the top of the podium,” Hedrick said. “Really, it’s about you representing your friends and family that are home in front of the TV supporting you.

“For me, it’s been more about giving everybody else a show rather than me getting the self-satisfaction of winning medals. ... When you’re an Olympian, it’s a different feeling, and it’s not about you. It’s about 300 million people watching.”

Hedrick will take a couple of days off before returning to practice for the team pursuit. Davis will not compete in that race, and the U.S. team is a long shot for a medal.

“I’ve got three guys that I need to help get across that line,” he said. “We’re going to do the best we can.”