Unlike the other distances, where the Americans are expected to dominate, the 500 is pretty wide open
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Olympic preview: Men's 500 metres
- February 14, 2010 3:12 PM |
- By Erin Valois
Story provided by
Speed skating: Men's 500
The Contenders
Unlike the other distances, where the Americans are expected to dominate, the 500 is pretty wide open, though the Koreans (Kang-Seok Lee and Kyou-Hyuk Lee) did top the World Cup standings this season
The Top 5 (World Cup standings)
1. Kang-Seok Lee, KOR, 523
2. Kyou-Hyuk Lee, KOR, 521
3. Mika Poutala, FIN, 501
4. Tucker Fredricks, USA, 468
5. Keiichiro Nagashima, JPN, 407
Canadian medal hopes
Jamie Gregg, ranked 10th in World Cup points (214) may still be a little too green to make the podium. But as the son of a former NHLer (Randy) and speed skater (Kathy) -- both former Olympians -- he certainly has the pedigree of an elite athlete.
Dark horses
Would it be too much to ask for veteran Canadian Jeremy Wotherspoon to go out on a high and win the gold? He used to be the man to beat at this distance, winning nine out of 10 races as recently as the 2007-08 season. But the Olympics have only yielded tragedy (he fell at the line in 2002) and disappointment (ninth in 2006). If anyone deserves a gold here, it's this man.
-- James Madge, National Post
About the Author
- Bruce Arthur Bruce Arthur is the National Post's national sports columnist. A Vancouver native, he has been with the Post since 2001, and a columnist since 2005. He is covering his second Olympics, after the 2008 Games in Beijing. He expects these Games to be slightly less propagandistic, and for China to win slightly fewer medals.
- Joe O'Connor Joe O'Connor is a roving sports feature writer with an open-ended beat. He joined the National Post in 2002, and has spent the past seven years bouncing from sport to sport, offering fresh perspectives and delivering unique stories wherever he goes. Whether it has been getting Don Cherry to open up about his love life; George Chuvalo to talk about heartbreaking loss; or racing down the side of a mountain with former Crazy Canuck, Dave Irwin, the veteran Postie chases a story wherever it leads. Before joining the newspaper he was a two-time silver medalist at the National Magazine Awards. Vancouver will be his first Olympics.
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