Sunday, February 10, 2002
Home cookin' at the oval
By ERIC FRANCIS -- Calgary Sun
SALT LAKE CITY -- Shortly after crossing the finish line to a thunderous roar of the crowd, Calgary's Dustin Molicki raised his hands in triumph.
As 'World Record' flashed across the scoreboard of the Utah Olympic Oval, he grabbed the hand of his competitor and waved to the fans.
It wasn't a podium performance for Molicki but he was part of one.
Despite breaking his own 5,000-metre Canadian record with a time of six minutes, 26.29 second, it was the man he skated against, American Derek Parra, who had sparked the euphoric reaction.
A Home Depot employee from California, who seemed more likely to build a podium than stand on one, the 31-year-old shocked the speed skating world with a performance that saw him shave an incredible 15 seconds off his personal best.
Although Dutch skater Jochem Uytdehaage bettered Parra's time 30 minutes later to win gold, it was the silver-medallist from aisle three that demonstrated the power of home-ice advantage.
"It shows a working-class man can be on the podium," said Parra, a former in-line skater who was recently transferred from electrical to floor and wall at his store.
"This is a total surprise -- I'm sure there are people in Holland checking out the results on the Internet and saying, 'this can't be right.' "
Parra was one of the eight Americans who carried the World Trade Centre flag into the opening ceremonies but said he drew his inspiration from compatriot KC Boutiette earlier in the day.
"Tears were coming out of my eyes watching him because he really went for it and that's what the Olympics are all about," said Parra of Boutiette, who shaved nine seconds off his personal best. "I went to the (start) line thankful for all I had in my life and just went for it, too."
Having beaten Parra head-to-head more than his fair share of times, Molicki said it was an honour to be part of such an inspired performance by his friend.
"I was happy to get a Canadian record but I was hoping to stay closer to Derek," said Molicki, 26, a 1,500m specialist who finished 11th.
"(Parra) lit it up right off the bat, which I knew he would do because all the Americans were doing that. I was waiting for him to tire. It's tough when you're racing the world-record guy."
Molicki thinks more records will fall in Salt Lake.
"We're at a higher altitude and there's lots of air to push, so there should be world records," he said.
German Jens Boden had set an Olympic record early in the day to finish third.
When Uytdehaage looked up to see he beat Parra by more than three seconds, he burst into tears.
Regina's Mark Knoll was on pace to break Molicki's record earlier in the day but tired down the stretch to finish 18th.
"With two laps to go, I remember thinking 'thank God I have the new tight suit on' because it felt like my legs were going to explode," said Knoll, 25, who set a personal best of 6:30.46
"I'm pretty disappointed I didn't get under the 6:30 mark but in the same breathe to have a personal best today, I'm pleased."
Red Deer's Steve Elm was unable to beat his personal best and finished 23rd.
"It was a good chance to go through a race before the 1,500, which has been my main focus this season," said Elm.
2002 Games Columnists
