Unstoppable: Tucker Fredricks cruises to 500-meter title at US speedskating trials

Fredricks cruises to men’s 500 speedskating title

MILWAUKEE — Tucker Fredricks was embarrassed by the way he skated in Turin. He’s determined to have a much better showing in Vancouver.

Fredricks got off to a good start with a dominating win in the 500 meters at the U.S. speedskating trials Wednesday night, the first step on the road to the Olympics. Elli Ochowicz, the daughter of three-time Olympic medalist Sheila Young Ochowicz, won the women’s 500.

Shani Davis, who hasn’t decided whether to add the 500 to his two strongest events, finished third to at least give himself the option of racing the closest thing to an all-out sprint on the long track.

“I just have to listen to my body more than anything,” said Davis, who holds the world records in the 1,000 and 1,500. “As much as I want this to be an event for the Olympics, if my body is telling me, ‘No,’ there’s nothing I can really do about it. After these races, I’m kind of in the middle right now. This is not a good feeling. It’s a very demanding race.”

Fredricks made it look easy. Only 5-foot-6, he burst off the line in the second heat and was already going about 24 mph as he dove into the first turn, having covered the opening straightway in a blistering 9.66 seconds.

He crossed the line in 35.01, only about a tenth of a second off the track record at the Pettit National Ice Center, and finished with a two-heat total of 1 minute, 10.21 seconds. He also had the fastest time (35.20) of the opening round.

“Right now, it’s all about winning,” Fredricks said.

He wasn’t close to winning in Italy, finishing a dismal 25th in the 500. It was a disheartening result that left him wondering about his commitment to the sport.

A few months later, on a fishing trip with buddy Nick Pearson in Utah, Fredricks had an epiphany when it came to speedskating. He suddenly realized that he needed to work harder, eat better and put in the time needed to reach the next level instead of doing just enough to get by.

During the last World Cup season, that new attitude paid off with two gold medals and a bronze in the 500. He also finished third at the World Cup final and fifth overall at the World Single Distance Championships — quite an improvement on 25th.

“I’m doing a lot more work, I have a better attitude,” he said. “In summers, I wake up in the morning and go running before the workout, which I never would have even dreamed of doing before 2006. I’m eating better. Everything about me has just changed.”

Ochowicz dominated on the women’s side with the fastest time in both heats. She went 39.34 in the opening round and locked her win by crossing in 38.81, for a total of 1:18.15.

“This is about the fastest I’ve ever raced here. I’m actually quite surprised,” she said. “That second 500 felt flawless. I can’t pick anything out that I did wrong.”

Heather Richardson, a relative newcomer to the sport from North Carolina, was second with a combined time of 1:18.73. Two-time Olympic medalist Jennifer Rodriguez was third at 1:19.09, and also advancing were Lauren Cholewinski (1:19.49) and Rebekah Bradford (1:20.04).

For the men, Brent Aussprung was second — a full second behind Fredricks at 1:11.21 — with Davis next (1:11.46), followed by Pearson (1:11.73) and Matthew Plummer (1:11.93).

The top five earned spots on the World Cup team, a major step toward claiming a trip to Vancouver. In a change from past years, the trials were held at the beginning of the season and World Cup results will be used to determine the American team for the Olympics.

Ochowicz’s mother is one of the great skaters in U.S. history. At the 1976 Olympics in Innsbruck, she won a gold in the 500, a silver in the 1,500 and a bronze in the 1,000.

Her daughter made the U.S. team at the last two Olympics, but she’s yet to match her mother’s success on the biggest stage.

“A medal is definitely in the back of my mind,” Ochowicz said. “I’ve been an Olympian. I want a medal.”

The 33-year-old Rodriguez already has her medals — two bronzes from Salt Lake City — and she retired from the sport after the 2006 Turin Games. She stayed away for two years, then got back on the ice at a rink in her native Miami.

Right then, she knew just how bad she missed it.

“I’m really glad I’m here,” said Rodriguez, one of the pioneers of the inline-to-ice movement and a three-time Olympian. “I don’t know what to expect at the Olympics. I keep getting better, keep getting better, but I don’t know where I’ll be in February.”

Richardson is one of those who followed Rodriguez’s path. The 20-year-old from High Point, N.C., traded wheels for blades in 2007 and has quickly become one of the top American women on ice.

“It’s happened very quick. It’s not what I expected,” Richardson said. “I came over to try for 2014. To have a chance for 2010 is just awesome.”