Davis vs. Hedrick: Shani beats his rival by two-hundreds of a second at US speedskating trials

Davis beats rival Hedrick at 5,000 meters

MILWAUKEE — Chad Hedrick put up a time. Shani Davis went out and beat it.

By two-hundredths of a second.

These guys just can’t get away from each other — even after skating more than three miles.

Davis won a thrilling 5,000 meters at the U.S. speedskating trials Thursday night, maintaining a steady pace over the 12½ laps and crossing the line in 6 minutes, 30.90 seconds.

Hedrick, who had skated one pair earlier, used his trademark finishing kick to cross the line in 6:30.92 — then watched Davis go a blink of the eye faster.

Bitter rivals at the 2006 Olympics, they shook hands when it was done.

“Was that close enough for you?” Hedrick quipped to reporters in the tunnel beneath the Pettit National Ice Center. “If we had been paired together, it would have been beautiful. We probably would have killed each other.”

He was only kidding.

The two have reached a truce since their much-publicized feud in Italy, which was evident when Davis stuck out his hand to encourage Hedrick beforehand, then accepted a congratulatory hand when it was over.

“It’s always good to be good sports about it,” Davis said. “It was a great race. We were both competitive. Win or lose, I would have given him congratulations because he also had a great race.”

Davis had the strongest night of anyone. He also posted the fastest time in the 1,000 — an event he won at Turin and is the world-record holder. He’s already qualified for the World Cup team in the 500, and still had another of his bread-and-butter events to go at these trials, the 1,500.

He hasn’t decided what he’ll skate in Vancouver, but his showing in the 5,000 will at least give him reason to consider putting it on his program.

“Hopefully by the Olympics, I’ll have a good solid idea of what I’m going in there to do,” said Davis, who became the first black athlete to win an individual gold at the Winter Games.

Hedrick, who captured gold in the 5,000 as part of his three-medal haul at Turin, has been on the comeback trail after taking a long post-Olympic break, struggling to get back into shape and trying to overcome problems with his form.

This was a good first step, he said. When it was done, Hedrick scooped up his 7-month-old daughter, Hadley, and took her for a spin around the ice.

“I’m real proud of her,” the father beamed. “It’s not all about skating anymore. It’s nice to have goals and stuff, but there’s more to life now.”

Three-time Olympian Jennifer Rodriguez has endured plenty of anguish since Italy: her mother’s death, a divorce, financial problems. But she’s finding solace on the ice.

The 33-year-old skater known as “J-Rod” put up the fastest time in the women’s 1,000 and is well on her way to reaching the Olympics for the fourth time.

“It’s actually helped me a lot to help get me through my turmoil,” Rodriguez said. “It gives you some time away from reality for a little bit. It’s really been helpful to me.”

Rodriguez already made the World Cup team in the 500, and her 1,000 time of 1:17.91 was faster than anyone else at the Pettit National Ice Center.

She’s got the 1,500 on Saturday, and also wants to compete in the team pursuit. This meet is a major first step on the road to the Olympics — a skater must first qualify for the World Cup team, then an Olympic squad will be determined based on the result of those competitions.

In the other event Thursday, former inliner Jilleanne Rookard was a surprise winner of the women’s 3,000.

Rising star Trevor Marsicano also had a surprising night — for all the wrong reasons. He skated with Davis in the final pair of the 5,000 and faded to seventh, about 6½ seconds behind the winner he was expected to challenge.

Marsicano also looked to be the top rival to Davis in the 1,000, an event the 20-year-old New Yorker won at the World Single Distance Championships last season. But Davis won easily, just a half-second off the track record at 1:08.85, while Marsicano was a distant third (1:10.61), also behind Nick Pearson.