Janesville native Fredricks says he's ready for Vancouver
Fredricks' Olympic races
Tucker Fredricks will race twice at 500 meters, on Monday, Feb. 15.
The first race begins at 12:30 p.m. Wisconsin time, and the second at 2:28 p.m. It is the only event in long-track skating with more than one heat. The combined times determine the standings.
"I like it because you don't have to go home and sleep on it," said Fredricks. "You get one race and you know where you're at, so you get prepared for the next one."
Competitors race one heat starting in the inner lane and the other starting in the outer lane. This is done in the interest of fairness, since it is more difficult for skaters in the inner lane to maintain their speed on the final curve.
American skaters have won the last two 500-meter Olympic golds—Casey FitzRandolph of Verona in 2002 and Joey Cheek in 2006. All told, the U.S. has won the Olympic men's 500 seven times.
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Janesville native Tucker Fredricks faces a talented field of skaters when he goes after an Olympic medal in the 500 meters.
SALT LAKE CITY — It's bad enough that Tucker Fredricks has to live out of a suitcase when he's racing around the speedskating ovals in Europe, but in Salt Lake City, where he owns a condo?
Janesville's Olympian has had to move into a hotel while repairs are made following burst pipes that resulted from unseasonably cold weather in Utah last week. Don't worry, though, Fredricks said he's not frazzled by the situation.
"I'm mentally stronger, and I don't let things bother me anymore when I'm skating and trying to prepare," Fredricks said Thursday from Salt Lake, where a World Cup event begins tonight.
Fredricks found out about the problem when he was 900 miles away, racing at a World Cup event in Calgary. He got the word after his first 500-meter race, in which he finished ninth. The following day, he placed third —his third medal of the World Cup season.
"So far, so good," he said.
Fredricks ranks a solid third in the standings heading into racing at the Utah Olympic Oval in what will be his last international test before the Vancouver Olympics. The World Sprint championships are Jan. 16-17 in Japan, but the U.S. won't send a team due to concerns about the strain of traveling to Asia so close to the Olympics, which open Feb. 12.
Besides his bronze medal last weekend, Fredricks picked up a gold in the season's first World Cup event, in Berlin, and a silver in Heerenveen, The Netherlands.
"This is the most consistent he's been," said U.S. Sprint coach Ryan Shimabukuro.
Fredricks will need to show that consistency if he wants to medal in what should be one of the tightest fields in any Olympic speedskating race. So far in the World Cup season, the six 500-meter races have been won by six different skaters. All told, nine skaters have come away with medals.
"We still have two months until the Olympics, and anything can happen. People probably are going to get better," said Fredricks. "Right now, I'm in a good position.
"I'm pretty confident going into February. I still have room for improvement, and my body will get stronger, so I think I have a good chance."
This weekend, Fredricks faces a 500-meter race today and another on Saturday. There also will be competition Sunday, after which the field will be set for the Olympics, based on World Cup points and time rankings.
Fredricks' spot on the American team is safe, but the U.S. needs a big weekend out of some of its skaters for them to make it to Vancouver. For one, the women's team pursuit squad is one spot out of the qualifying field of eight teams.
Fredricks, however, thinks that forecasts of a strong U.S. showing at the Games still hold up. The Americans have gotten a monster season so far out of Shani Davis, who has won six of his seven World Cup races in the 1,000 and 1,500. His only loss came last weekend to teammate Chad Hedrick, in a 1,500.
Trevor Marsicano and Nick Pearson, from Vernon, Wis., also are skaters to watch, Fredricks said.
Fredricks plans to enter two or three races at the U.S. Championships, also at the Utah Olympic Oval, Dec. 26-30. The meet serves as a last-chance opportunity for American skaters to try to bump someone from the Olympic team.
Fredricks' own "team" for the Olympics also has yet to be determined. Just don't look to him to score you some tickets.
"Whatever family members or friends want to go, it's up to them," he said. "I can't be bothered by that kind of stuff. There's too much to do this year to be bogged down by all that."
Dec 12, 2009 at 3:19 p.m.
Suggest removal
Who'd want to score tickets from this guy. Maybe he ought to try sitting in front of a mirror and practice being nice.
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