Hamelin edges Ohno for 1,000-metre gold
CanWest News Service
Sun 26 Oct 2008
Byline: Gary Kingston
Dateline: VANCOUVER
Source: Canwest News Service

VANCOUVER- Charles Hamelin of Montreal passed American Apolo Anton Ohno on the first turn of the final lap Saturday to claim a victory in a thrilling and controversial men's 1,000-metre final at the Samsung ISU World Cup short track meet at Pacific Coliseum.

It was the first gold medal of the season for Hamelin whose brother, Francois, took the bronze medal.

Ohno, who had grabbed the lead with five laps to go in the nine-lap race, crossed the line in second, but was disqualified after the race for what the officials called "cross-tracking.'' He appeared to nudge Hamelin in the turn, but didn't see it that way.

"I got hit twice, I had the right of way because I was in the lead,'' said Ohno. "Charles kind of hit me twice. I thought for sure he was going to be disqualified after the race, but it's out of my control.''

Hamelin, of course, saw it differently.

"He ran into me twice.''

Hamelin said the race was a terrific showcase for the sport as it goes through a pre-Olympic test this weekend.

"To have a race like that, it is pretty much what you want. A lot of action, a good finish at the end, with some Canadians on the podium.''

Ohno, who grew up in Seattle, also said the race had all the elements fans crave.

"I think this sport is amazing. It's very high speed, it's got everything people love about performance and extreme sport,'' said Ohno. "Hopefully we can get more people to come out here and watch.''

A crowd of 2,718 took in the Saturday afternoon finals. Repechage racing resumes Sunday morning. In the afternoon, there are 500- and 1,000-metre quarter-finals, semifinals and finals, plus finals in the women's 3,000-metre and men's 5,000-metre relays.

Hamelin's win was one of the few bright spots for the Canadian team on Saturday. Olivier Jean of Montreal, Michael Gilday of Yellowknife and Jessica Hewitt of Kamloops, B.C., were all disqualified in the semifinals of the 1,500 metres.

Gilday, skating in seven-man heat, was last with four laps to go. He made a strong move into third, then tried to pull of a risky inside pass of Jeff Simon on the last lap, wiping out the American in the process.

As the rookie Hewitt said on Friday when she was disqualified in a 1,000- metre heat, Gilday was not unhappy with his disqualification.

"It sounds funny to say, but I was happy . . . because of the way I followed my race plan,'' said Gilday, competing in just his fifth World Cup. "I'd already done three 1,500s this morning coming through the repechage, so I was a little bit tired. Hindsight's 20-20, maybe I should have gone outside on him. It didn't work this time, but next time hopefully it will.''

Gilday says trying difficult passes and getting disqualified is all part of the learning process.

"Everything you learn here is put in the memory bank for when we come up (to the Olympics).''

China and Korea dominated the podium on the first day of finals.

World-record holder Wang Meng of China captured the women's 1,000 metres ahead of compatriot Liu Qiuhong and Yang Shin-Young of Korea, while Zhou Yang of China took the women's 1,500 metres ahead of Koreans Jung Eun-Ju and 16-year- old phenom Shin Sae-Bom.

Lee Jung-Su and Sung Si-Bak went one-two in the men's 1,500 metres, with Jeff Simon of the U.S. third.