When Charles Hamelin was shutout of winning a medal in last week's 1,500 metres, the speedskater told Canadians not to worry. That distance, he said, was considered his weakest. Besides, the Olympics had barely begun and there were many more races where he could reach the podium. Just wait and see. Well, after two races, the wait continues.
VANCOUVER -- When Charles Hamelin was shutout of winning a medal in last week's 1,500 metres, the short-track speedskater told Canadians not to worry.
That distance, he said, was his weakest. Besides, the Olympics had barely begun and there were many more races where he could reach the podium. Just wait and see.
Well, after two races, the wait continues.
Despite having two Hamelins in Saturday night's 1,000-metre final -- Charles and his younger brother Francois -- Canada's short-track speedskaters once again came up short, as Korea's Lee Jung-Su won his second straight gold medal. Korean teammate Lee Ho-Suk earned the silver and American skater Apolo Anton Ohno the bronze.
Charles, who ended up a disappointing seventh in the 1,500 metres that Lee Jung-Su won exactly a week ago, crossed the finish line in fourth. Francois was one spot behind in last.
Missing out on a medal in the 1,000 metres hit Charles harder than his letdown in the 1,500. This was, after all, his race. Last month, he set a world record. And heading into the Olympics, he was ranked third in the world.
"For sure, it's disappointing a little bit more than the 1,500," said Charles, "because I had a little more success at this one in the past. But for me, today was a really good day for races. The end was not how I wanted, but I'm looking forward to the 500 and the relay."
For Hamelin and Canada's short-track speedskaters, looking ahead is all that they can do. But time is quickly running out.
With three events in the books, the team has just the silver medal that Montreal's Marianne St-Gelais won in the 500 metres earlier this week and is well off the pace of six medals that many expected them to win. The Canadians still have the relay, where both the men and women should reach the podium. And Charles Hamelin still has the 500 metres, where he is ranked first in the world.
But considering that two of the five skaters in Saturday night's final were from Canada, coming up empty was a major disappointment.
"Tonight, we were hoping for one," said team leader Yves Hamelin, who also happens to be the father of Charles and Francois. "With two advancing (to the final) . . . we were hoping for one of two would be finishing in the top three. Unfortunately, it didn't happen."
Though Charles is actually better in the shorter 500-metre dash, he actually prefers the 1,000 metres. A mix of sprinting and strategy, the middle distance rewards the well-rounded skater. Being a fast sprinter is a must. But because the race takes 13.5 laps to complete, so too is having a plan of attack when manoeuvring around the oval.
On Saturday night, Charles lost the race not because of his skating ability, but rather because of what went on in his head.
Part of it was nerves. Part of it was racing against what a U.S. official described as "the toughest field he had ever seen."
The Pacific Coliseum shook when Charles and his brother's names were announced before the race. Up in the stands, a visibly excited -- and nervous -- St-Gelais shouted "Go Charles!" toward her boyfriend. The support was encouraging, but it was also overwhelming.
Feeding off the crowd's energy, Charles and Francois jumped out to an early lead in the final and separated themselves from the pack. Speeding around the oval, Charles said he felt like he was in control and on his way to a gold-medal victory. But as the race wore on, his body tired and an exhausted Charles fell apart like a house of cards.
"I'm used to doing that kind of strategy," said Charles. "But in the beginning, with all the crowd going so loud like that it was difficult to have the good race. I thought I was at a good pace for the race. But in the end, for the last two laps, I was missing juice."
While Charles and Francois went all-out at the start, the other skaters conserved their energy for the end. And with two laps remaining, one by one, the brothers were passed. Charles pushed back as hard as he could. But, like a car stuck in first gear, he simply could not build enough speed to close the gap.
"The first, second and third laps were a bit too fast," said Yves Hamelin, who added Charles was keeping a world-record pace before he came apart. "But it's always easy to say that after."
When asked if he should have hung back and waited to make his move, Charles just shrugged. In the past, this strategy had resulted in victory. But Saturday night, the result was a lot of second-guessing.
