Celski easily wins men’s 1,500 over Ohno at US short track nationals

Celski beats Ohno short track nationals

MARQUETTE, Mich. — J.R. Celski keeps beating childhood idol Apolo Anton Ohno.

Celski easily won the 1,500 meters at the U.S. short track speedskating national championships Wednesday night. He crossed the finish line waving his right arm in the air, leaving Ohno and Jordan Malone to battle it out for second.

Ohno barely got his blade in front of Malone, who ended up crashing into the boards after they crossed the line.

Celski, a 19-year-old skater from Federal Way, Wash. — a suburb of Ohno’s hometown of Seattle — was timed in 2:22.834. He won the nine-lap time trial a night earlier with a personal-best time that left Ohno in second in their head-to-head pairing.

Ohno was clocked in 2:23.050, and Malone was third in 2:23.058.

The men’s final was jammed with seven skaters, including Eddy Alvarez who got in after Joey Lindsey was disqualified for impeding in their earlier heat. Ohno false-started before the 13½-lap race began slowly.

The speed picked up with five laps to go and Celski leading the way. Ohno moved from fourth to second over the final laps, with the five-time Olympic medalist using his racing experience to edge Malone at the finish.

Celski earned 1,000 points for the win, giving him 2,800 in the overall standings. Ohno picked up 800 points for second, but remained third overall with 2,112. He trails second-place Malone by 168 points.

On the women’s side, Katherine Reutter won the 1,500 in 2:24.184.

The 21-year-old skater from Champaign, Ill., took the lead with an outside pass late in the race. She stayed there the rest of the way in winning the first of two women’s finals at the distance.

Two-time Olympian Allison Baver, making a comeback after breaking her lower right leg in February, held on for second despite slipping on the last lap. She pumped her right arm after crossing the finish line just ahead of 2006 Olympian Kimberly Derrick.

Reutter earned 1,000 points for the victory, giving her a leading 2,640 points on the second night of the four-day meet that determines the Olympic team for Vancouver.

Morgan Izykowski, the 18-year-old sister of 2006 Olympian Alex Izykowski, had a nightmare evening. She never got to skate after being disqualified for two false starts in both her 1,500 and 500 heats.