Athletes - Shani Davis

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	Athletes - Shani Davis

Shani Davis (born August 13, 1982 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American speed skater who competes in both short track and long track speed skating. At the 2006 Winter Olympics, Davis became the first black athlete to win a gold medal in an individual sport (1,000m) and the fourth black Winter Olympics medalist.

At 6'2", Davis is the tallest American speed skater; most speed skaters are much shorter, making it easier to race low to the ice. "It's hard for me to get low and do all this leaning and trying to protect my track," said Davis. Since 2002, Shani has trained out of Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Childhood

Davis learned to roller skate at the age of two. By the time he was three, he could skate so quickly that he had to be slowed down by the rink's skate guards. At six, Shani switched to ice skating. Shani's mother Cherie worked for a lawyer whose son was an elite level speed skater. At the suggestion of her boss, lawyer and speed skating official Fred Benjamin, Cherie enrolled her son at the Evanston Speed Skating Club. Within two months, Shani was winning regional races in his age groups, earning the admiration of his friends and Northbrook rivals alike.

Determined that her son reach his maximum potential, Cherie would wake Shani up in the mornings to run a mile on a nearby track to build up his endurance. In order to be closer to Shani's skating club, she and Shani moved from Hyde Park to Rogers Park.

Junior level competition

At 16, Davis was invited to Lake Placid to participate in a development program for young speed skaters. After training there for a year, Davis decided to pursue his Olympic dreams and moved to Marquette, Mich., to further his training. There, he would graduate from Marquette Senior High School, where he ran track his senior year.

Davis earned spots on both the long track and short track teams at the 1999 junior world championship, simultaneously making the national team. In 2000, he made history by become the first U.S. skater to make the long and short track teams at the Junior World Teams, a feat he would accomplish again in 2001 and 2002.

2002 qualification race controversy

In January of 2002, Davis traveled to Utah to race for a spot on the 2002 Winter Olympics short track team. Teammates Apolo Ohno and Rusty Smith already had slots on the six-man team due to points earned from earlier races, and Ron Biondo was a lock for the third spot. In order for Shani to qualify, he would have to not only beat Tommy O'Hare's time (O'Hare would skate in a subsequent heat), but would have to beat Ohno and Smith as well. The 1,500m race would end with Ohno coming in 3rd, Smith 2nd and Davis at the front of the line. O'Hare couldn't match Shani's time, and Shani became the first African-American skater to earn a spot on the team.

However, the victory was short-lived, as rumors began to swirl that Ohno and Smith, both good friends of Davis', intentionally threw the race so that Shani would win. After returning to Colorado Springs, O'Hare would file a formal complaint against Davis. For three days, Davis stood before an arbitration panel as three of his fellow skaters testified that they heard Ohno telling Davis that he was going to let him win. But holes were poked in the stories of the skaters, and they all recanted their stories, causing the arbitrator to rule in Davis' favor. (In turn, Smith dropped his defamation lawsuit against O'Hare.) Ohno would later confess that he subconsciously held back for fear of crashing into Davis or Smith, pointing out that he didn't need to win the race because he already had a spot on the team.

On February 13th, 2002 Sports Illustrated writer Brian Cazeneuve published an article stating that, after reviewing the race, "To this day, there is no concrete proof that any skaters violated the spirit of competition." Cazeneuve would also publish the comments of Outside Life Network commentators Todd Harris and 1998 Winter Olympian speed skater Eric Flaim, which were made during the broadcast of the race. Both men agreed that while Ohno and Smith didn't skate at 100%, O'Hare looked psyched out before he even took the ice. "I don't know if you have words to describe it...I think he's just seen his chances of making the Olympic team disappear", Flaim was quoted as saying.

Wanting to concentrate more on his long track skating and living in a town with no long track, Davis left Colorado Springs, Colorado, headquarters to the U.S. National Short Track Team, and moved to Calgary. Once there, he trained with the 1998 short track gold medalist Derrick Campbell.

A dream deferred

Upon arriving in Salt Lake City for the 2002 Winter Olympics, Shani was informed that he would not be competing in the games; he was chosen to be an alternate. Thunderstruck, Davis would leave Utah before the final was held, arriving in Italy in time to compete in the world junior long-track championships. Davis would take first place in the 1,500m relay. Back in Salt Late City, the U.S. men's speed skating team would finish in 4th place. Of his Olympic "debut", Davis said: "I didn't even consider myself an Olympian. One day I was a hero, the next day I was a cheater."

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