By William Beacom
Marquette, MI – The results for the Friday races of the 2010 U.S. Olympic Team Trials-Short Track Speed Skating are in. Close races caused time delays and, with tensions rising, points became increasingly valuable.
Senior Ladies 1000m final results have Katherine Reutter in 1st place, Alyson Dudek in 2nd place and Allison Baver in 3rd. In 1500m meter results Reutter maintained first place honors, while Baver took 2nd and Kimberly Derrick placed 3rd. Reutter maintains her points lead. Dudek stays in 2nd overall, while Baver improves by one place to 5th overall. Derrick remained 3rd overall.
1000m and 1500m groups were highly competitive with falls at speeds of up to 30 m.p.h. Speed skater Alyson Dudek managed to slide through the finish line during a Senior Ladies 1000m semi-final heat. . Dangerous falls halted the Senior Ladies Group D 1000m final when skaters Maria Garcia and Erin Bartlett were injured.
In Senior Men's 1000m finals Apolo Ohno placed first, Travis Jayner in 2nd, and J.R. Celski in 3rd. Ohno also placed first in the 1500m finals. Celski took 2nd and Jeffery Simon placed 3rd. Overall, Ohno climbed from 3rd to 1st place, Celski and Jordan Malone fell back a place, and Simon jumped from 12th to 6th place. Jayner and Simon Cho climbed up one place as Anthony Lobello Jr. fell 3 places. The volatile top of Senior Men's overall score and tight races brought excitement to the Berry Arena.
Senior Mens 1000m Group A finals were fast paced, with the top times within 5 hundredths of a second. Finishes like this have skaters extending toes as far out across the finish line. Tempers rose once costly falls on the men's side forced speed skaters into forfeiting valuable points. If Final heats continue at this pace, Saturday races should be very entertaining.
Saturday races will include 500m Finals and 100m Finals for both Senior Men's and Ladies. The races start at 6:30 p.m. at the Berry Arena. The U.S. Olympic Education Center has been hosting the event that lasts until September 12th.