Davis is a 22-year-old Chicago
native who quiets the skeptics on a daily basis.
I don't like getting caught up in
the hype," Davis said. You lose focus if you're chasing someone else's
accomplishments.
Heiden and Mark Spitz and Michael
Phelps were great athletes and had great goals and accomplishments. What I do is
skate, and what I want to do is be competitive."
Davis won his third all-around
title Dec. 22 in the U.S. long-track nationals at
the Pettit National Ice Center, winning two of the four events and finishing
second in the others. In the sprint division, Davis took the overall silver,
finishing no lower than fourth in any of the four races. In eight skates over
five days, he set two track records, one of them erasing 1998 Olympic gold
medalist Adne Sondral of Norway from the record book.
All this after only two weeks on
the clap"-style long-bladed skates worn by long-trackers. Earlier this season,
Davis was racing for the United States in short-track World Cups.
I'm doing this because I've been
doing it since I was 6 years old, and I'm good at it," Davis said.
Good at it? Davis stands to go
down as the most remarkable skater in history, insiders say.
The fact that he's even able to
skate both long-track and short-track at this level is phenomenal," said U.S.
Speedskating president Andy Gabel, the former Northbrook skater who competed on
four Olympic teams.
U.S. long-track program
coordinator Mike Crowe says it's speculation to think Davis is spreading himself
too thin.
I've never seen another athlete
do it or as well," Crowe said. At this point, I don't think I'd put any limits
on what he is able to do."
The short-track trials next
December in Marquette, Mich., are a five-day event, with preliminaries,
semifinals and finals in each race. Just 10 days later, Davis will have six days
of racing at the long-track trials at the Utah Olympic Oval. Originally, there
was just a two-day gap between the meets, but U.S. Speedskating made the change
to accommodate Davis.
We'll look at the overall
picture," said Bob Fenn, who coaches Davis in long-track. It's how his
recuperation time period is, and we'll go from there. We'll send in an entry
form for all five events, absolutely. We're not giving anything up."
In the Olympics, short-trackers
have three individual events and a relay, while long-track racers compete in
five individual distances.
There's a twist for the 2006
Games in Turin, Italy, with the addition of the three-person long-track team
pursuit, a race in which Davis could excel with his endurance and experience at
skating in a group.
In fact, Gabel said it's the
relay and team pursuit that might force Davis into a decision.
If he's off skating long-track in
January and not practicing with his short-track relay team for three or four
weeks, it's not fair to his team," said Gabel, a 1994 silver medalist in the
short-track relay. I'd argue the same thing with the team pursuit."
The Olympic schedule has
competition in both short-track and long-track on two days -- one of which
features preliminaries in the short-track relay and qualifying in long-track
team pursuit. Overall, Davis might face competition for three consecutive days
before two days off, then race again seven of the next 11 days.
Davis' best distance might be the
1,500 meters, which is contested in both short- and long-track. He won the
long-track 1,500 at the World Single-Distance Championships last year.
I'll bet you right now he'll win
the long-track 1,500 at the Olympics," Gabel said.
Davis grew up in Hyde Park and
began roller-skating with his mother, Cherie, when he was 21/2. A year later, he
was darting around the rink, and I took him to a coach," Cherie recalled.
By the time he was 6, Shani was
being urged to hit the ice. As luck would have it, Cherie Davis was working as a
legal assistant at Benjamin and Shapiro. Fred Benjamin is a longtime
speedskating official, and one day he asked Cherie to type up the minutes of the
Illinois Speedskating Association, her introduction to the sport's club
structure.
Next thing you know, Cherie was
driving Shani to practices with the Evanston Speedskating Club. When Shani was
about 10, they moved to Rogers Park to shorten the commute.
When we joined our club, there
were 12 other black children, so we weren't aware this is a white sport," Cherie
recalled. By the time Shani was 10, all the other black kids had quit. By then,
he had invested so much and loved it so much."
Nathaniel Mills was one of Davis'
early coaches in Evanston and was quickly impressed.
Mostly, his talent is between his
ears," said Mills, a former Olympian from Highland Park who now works with an
inner-city speedskating club in Washington. Few people truly understand his
background, his struggle, his nature. I don't think he really cares, though,
which is also key to his success."
Some think Davis might do well to
hone in on one type of skating.
To try to [double] at the
Olympics, I think he's jeopardizing his chance at a medal," said Bonnie Blair,
who was a short-track world champion before winning five Olympic golds in
long-track. He seems to enjoy short-track more, but I think he's more talented
in long-track."
Davis admits he rather would have
Olympic hardware than an ironman distinction that might be quickly forgotten.
Making five events might be
cool," he said, but why make five distances if you aren't going to try to
medal?"
(from US Olympic Team)
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