Olympic Short Track Speed Skating

Short-track speedskating at the 2014 Winter Olympics has come to a close. It ended with a bang on the women’s side, as the finals for the 1,000-meter was one of the most thrilling events of the Sochi Games.

Willie Cornblatt of NBC Olympics tweeted out the winner:

It took three heats to narrow the field down to six skaters to bring us to an epic medal round, which was ultimately dominated by South Korea.

Seung-Hi Park ended up earning gold for the country, lighting up the ice with her speed and quickness. Her time of 1 minute, 30.761 seconds was .050 seconds faster than the next closest competitor.

That time belonged to silver medalist Kexin Fan of China, who tried her best to top the podium but fell just short.

Bronze went to South Korea’s Suk Hee Shim after her strong surge at the 1,000-meter distance. She completed the course in 1:29.356.

Let’s take a look at how each competitor fared in the medal rounds of this short-track speedskating event, plus recap the top performances and take a look at what is next for these incredible athletes.

Scores

Recap

Park was simply the fastest woman in Sochi at the 1,000-meter distance on Friday. The 2010 bronze medalist improved her standing from the Vancouver Games, blitzing through the semis and finals with the top score. She conserved energy in the initial heats, coming in fifth in the qualifier and second in the quarterfinals.

Fan came out of seemingly nowhere to come through when it counted. She snuck into the medal round with the fifth-best time of 1:32.618

Jessica Smith, America’s best hope for a medal, failed to earn a place on the podium in this event. She recovered from a mediocre start to her semifinal run to improbably advance to the medal round.

Cornblatt tweeted about the miraculous semifinal finish:

The 30-year-old, who has 12 World Cup medals under her belt—two gold, five silver and five bronze—since switching to short-track in 2008, was not selected to compete for the United States in Vancouver four years ago.

When USSpeedskating.org asked what the biggest challenge of her career was, Smith answered: “Just missing out on the 2010 Olympic team. I hadn’t been on the ice very long but it was hard to be one spot away from making it.”

Fourth place is definitely a major step up from not being selected to the Olympics, but she has to be disappointed after finishing .274 seconds away from the podium.

What’s Next

This event marks the end of short-track speedskating for the ladies at the 2014 Winter Olympics. Only the men’s 5000-meter relay is left, which will take place at 1:18 p.m. ET on Friday.

South Korea, China and Russia are currently tied for the lead with the most golds in the discipline, taking home two each throughout the seven medal events that have been run thus far. China and South Korea are also tied for most overall medals, with five each during the Winter Olympics.

It’ll be interesting to see how the men’s relay shakes out, which will conclude this discipline’s run in Sochi.

Many of these short-track speedskaters will soon start training and preparing for the World Cup tournament, which begins this coming September and ends in November.

Keep an eye on some of the younger participants, such as 21-year-old gold medalist Park, when the Winter Olympics kick off in South Korea in 2018.

South Korea have won gold in the women's short-track 3,000-meter relay on Day 11 at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

Canada claimed silver, while Italy took bronze. Defending champions China were penalised after one of their competitors was deemed to have made an illegal overtake.

In the original finish, China finished second after contesting a tightly fought race with the South Koreans, but the standings were adjusted following China's disqualification.

The South Korean team, which consisted of Ha-Ri Cho, Alang Kim, Seung-Hi Park and Suk Hee Shim, secured a time of four minutes, 9.498 seconds to take victory at the Iceberg Skating Palace.

The win claimed South Korea's third gold medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics and their fifth overall.

China coach Li Yan disputed the officials' decision to penalise them but ultimately accepted it, via Greg Hughes of CBC news in Canada:

According to the judges, When [Yang] Zhou exchanged, she was on the track and impeded skaters behind her. But according to what I saw, there were two to three metres between her and the Korean skater and a skater is allowed to go on to the track when they exchange. 

The judges' decision is the final one. We are disappointed, but we respect it.

Canada, who claimed silver at the 2010 Games, were second best once again, crossing the line with a time of 4:10.641.

Marianne St-Gelais was the only competitor to skate for Canada in Vancouver in 2010 and in Sochi in 2014.

Their achievement was recognised by the Olympics Canada Twitter account:

South Korea may feel like justice has finally been done, after they were penalised during the 2010 Winter Olympics and lost their gold medal to China due to an illegal overtaking manoeuvre.

To be able to start the 2018 Winter Olympics, which will be hosted in Pyeongchang, South Korea, as defending champions will mean a lot.

Being penalised will be a bitter pill to swallow for the China team, who had high hopes of retaining their crown, and they will be upset about the way in which they failed to defend their title.

However, the Koreans were too good for them and deserved the victory after a spirited race, and the majority of their team are at an age where they will be able to defend their crown in 2018 on home soil.

It's impressive enough that Yang Zhou defended her gold medal in the women's short-track 1,500-meter race Saturday morning. But when you consider that she's done so at the age of 22, well, it puts the full nature of the accomplishment in perspective.

From BuzzFeed Sports:

As Alex Goldberger of NBC notes, its been another strong start for the Chinese in short-track speedskating:

Suk Hee Shim of South Korea took home the silver, while Italy's Arianna Fontana captured bronze.

Here are the full results:

Zhou was able to overcome a false start Saturday to win her second consecutive gold. Her grip on this event very well could extend for the next four years, perhaps even eight, given her age. And another gold could very well be hers in the 3,000-meter relay, to be contested Tuesday.

China will be one of the favorites in that event, though South Korea and Canada will also have their eyes on a gold medal.

While Zhou celebrated, other skaters weren't so lucky.

The A Final was marred by a crash with seven laps to go that wiped out Jianrou Li of China, Alang Kim of South Korea and Emily Scott of the United States. While Scott recovered from the crash to finish fifth, Li was unable to finish, and Kim was disqualified.

It was a tragic result for Scott, who had to overcome so much just to reach Sochi, including the loss of her funding from $2,000 a month to $600. But she started a GoFundMe.com fundraiser and, by late January, had raised $48,735.

She expressed to Joe Posnanski of NBC Sports just how much those contributions meant to her before the Sochi Games:

The people who donated will never know how much it means to me. I wrote every one of them a personal email thanking them, but no amount of thank yous would ever be enough. They will never understand how much it did, I’ll never be able to thank them as much as I want to thank them.

Sadly, her shot at gold in the 1,500-meter race was doomed with seven laps to go, and she didn't advance past the quarterfinal in the 500-meter race.

The 24-year-old may not have medaled, but even finishing fifth is an accomplishment for a racer who very nearly never even made it to Sochi. 

The Iceberg Skating Palace was a raucous scene on Saturday for the men's 1,000-meter event in short-track speedskating. It is unclear how much athletes are able to feed off of a crowd, but the fans certainly seemed to make an impact as Russia took gold and silver at the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Victor An, who captured three speedskating gold medals along with a bronze for South Korea at the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy, represented his new country in style as he took gold for the host Russians and earned them their first ever gold in short track, according to Alex Goldberger of NBCOlympics.com:

Fellow Russian Vladimir Grigorev nabbed the silver medal, while Dutch skater Sjinkie Knegt made the most of his new lease on life by winning bronze after being given a spot in the finals at the discretion of the officials.

Here is a look at the full finishing order for what was an extremely entertaining 1,000-meter final:

Along with that, here is some further analysis regarding the biggest angles that took shape throughout the competition.

Recap for 1,000-Meter Final

With five finalists vying for just three spots on the podium, it should come as no surprise that the 1,000-meter final was chaotic and exciting. An entered the race as the favorite since other potential contenders had failed to reach the final, and he didn't disappoint as he made South Korea regret its questionable treatment of him.

According to Kwanwoo Jun of the Wall Street Journal, An's failure to qualify for the 2010 Olympics led to a falling out between he and his native country, and South Korea's loss ended up being Russia's gain.

An was basically in control from start to finish, so it became a question of which other two skaters would win medals. It quickly became a three-horse race for two podium spots behind An after Da Woon Sin of South Korea was penalized and eliminated from contention.

Grigorev was able to stick near his teammate for much of the race, and they worked together effectively to block other skaters from making a pass, per Alec Luhn of The Nation:

In addition to Russia's huge gold-silver finish, Knegt made history for the Netherlands. The Dutch are known for their excellence in long-track speedskating, but his bronze is the first for the Netherlands in short-track, according to CNN's Tom McGowan.

Knegt's accomplishment is yet another reminder that pretty much anything can happen in short-track speedskating. It is one of the most entertaining events at the Winter Olympics, and that held true on Saturday.

Americans Crash Out in Quarterfinals

Nobody said that life after Apolo Anton Ohno would be easy for USA speedskating, and Saturday's 1,000-meter races made that abundantly clear.

After winning two bronze medals in Vancouver, J.R. Celski was expected to essentially take the torch from Ohno, but that hasn't been the case thus far. Celski's latest shortcoming occurred in one of Saturday's quarterfinal races as he fell after his skate hit a block, according to Goldberger:

Celski didn't finish the race, and he may have injured himself, per Chris Daniels of King 5 News in Seattle:

Celski's fall was yet another disappointment in what has been a tough run for him in Sochi. He narrowly missed winning a medal in the 1,500 as he finished in fourth place, and he later admitted that there is pressure on him to be "the guy" for USA speedskating, according to Philip Hersh of the Chicago Tribune:

Of course the spotlight is on me more. (Having) it gives me some kind of confidence, knowing that I am able to do this ... Of course I want to be on the podium again (here). But this is short track, and it's a tough sport.

If Celski is going to reach the podium, he'll have to do so in the 500 or the 5,000-meter team relay. Depending upon the severity of his apparent knee injury, though, his ability to compete in those races could be compromised.

In addition to Celski, American Eddy Alvarez experienced a crash in the quarterfinals as well. Alvarez was extremely unlucky as Canadian favorite Charles Hamelin fell in front of him and ultimately took him out in the process.

Alvarez finished third, and although officials reserve the right to advance a skater if they are impeded, he was not given a spot in the semifinals. According to Beau Dure of SportsMyriad.com, it was a controversial and curious decision:

If all of that wasn't enough disappointment for American speedskating fans in one day, Chris Creveling finished third in his quarterfinal, so no Team USA skater had the opportunity to race their way into the finals.

Charles Hamelin Fails to Qualify for Finals

After winning gold in the 1,500-meter race, Canada's Charles Hamelin was viewed as a top contender to do the same in the 1,000. Hamelin is a three-time Olympic gold medalist and a four-time medalist overall, although he has never captured an Olympic medal in the 1,000-meter event. That drought continued for the 29-year-old native of Quebec, as he failed to make it past his quarterfinal heat.

Things appeared to be going swimmingly for Hamelin, but in an extremely uncharacteristic move, he appeared to lose an edge, which caused him to go down. According to Bruce Arthur of The National Post, it looked as though Hamelin simply fell on his own.

That is extremely rare for such a steady skater, but it was a perfect example of the perils of short-track speedskating. Being the favorite often means nothing since one false move by anyone on the track can change things significantly. Hamelin ended up finishing last in his heat, nearly 15 seconds behind Victor An of Russia due to the fall.

Hamelin had a golden opportunity heading into the 1,000-meter event. With his second gold medal in Sochi, he would have become the most decorated Canadian Winter Olympian of all time, per Charlie Gillis of Macleans.ca:

Unfortunately for Hamelin and Canadian speedskating fans, it simply wasn't meant to be. However, he still has a great chance to secure more hardware in Sochi. The 500-meter race will take place on Feb. 21, and he has medaled in that event at the Olympic level.

Hamelin will once again be the prohibitive favorite in the 500. He won gold in that race on home ice in Vancouver back in 2010, and there is reason to believe that he can do it again in Sochi.

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J.R. Celski is the present and future of American short-track speedskating, but his medal drought in Sochi continued on Saturday as he failed to reach the podium in the 1,000-meter race at the 2014 Winter Olympics.

He failed to even advance out of the quarterfinal round after tripping over his own skate. 

Celski wasn't on the radar in 2010, but he won a pair of bronze medals in Vancouver at the age of 19. That caused expectations to rise significantly heading into Sochi, but he has struggled to live up to them thus far.

Celski has yet to medal in the 1,000 on the Olympic stage, although he did take bronze in the 1,500-meter race as well as the 5,000-meter relay in Vancouver. The hope is for Celski to be the next great American short-track speedskater following Apolo Anton Ohno's retirement, but he doesn't appear ready to fill those shoes at 23 years of age.

Celski was essentially the only American hope on the men's side heading into Sochi, and his first race didn't go according to plan. He made the final of the 1,500-meter event, but he fell just short in his bid for a medal by finishing in fourth.

Per Philip Hersh of the Chicago Tribune, Celski chalked his fourth-place outing up to a failure to position himself properly as well as a stroke of bad luck.

It was hard to recover the speed I lost. It's about timing in short track. If I was in front, that probably wouldn't have happened. I got a little unlucky. But last time I benefited and won the bronze because of some falls. Sometimes you're on the good side of it, sometimes the bad.

That once again appeared to be an issue for Celski in the 1,000, as he struggled to get to the front and maintain positioning. 

Although things haven't started particularly well, Celski still has a chance to make some noise at the 2014 Winter Games. He is expected to compete in the 500-meter race on Feb. 21 as well as the 5,000-meter relay on the same day, so two medals are within reach.

The 1,500 is Celski's best event, but he has had success in other races, plus the unpredictability of short track means anything can happen. His best finish in the 500 was fifth at the 2013 World Championships, and he has finished in the top three in the team competition on multiple occasions; however, Ohno's absence will hinder Team USA's chances.

If Celski is going to carry the torch for American short-track speedskating and pick up where Ohno left off, then he must become Team USA's leader moving forward. Based on his comments to the U.S. Olympic team, he doesn't take that responsibility lightly:

Celski certainly finds himself in a difficult position in his final two races. He isn't favored or even expected on a worldwide scale to medal in either event. Still, Americans view him as someone who should medal, so there seems to be a disconnect.

The fact that Celski was unable to deliver in his two better events means there is a great deal of pressure heading into the 500 as well as the team event. The truly great skaters use their failures as motivation, though, so it wouldn't be wise to count Celski out of medal contention quite yet.

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Speedskating has been a rather one-sided sport at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. In the first two men's events, the Netherlands occupied all three spots on the podium, while Irene Wust took home her third career Olympic gold medal with a win in the women's 3,000 meters.

The Dutch have had at least one medalist in every speedskating event so far—with the exception of the two short-track races—while Team USA hasn't managed a medal in any of the competitions.

Thankfully for the American faithful, that's going to change when speedster J.R. Celski hits the ice on Saturday for the men's 1,000-meter short-track final.

Celski is considered a favorite to contend for the top prize, and his efforts in Sochi suggest that he's capable of grabbing the gold at Iceberg Skating Palace. He won his heat on Thursday to advance to the quarterfinals (h/t Sochi2014.com) and is essentially a lock to reach Saturday's final.

The 23-year-old Celski hasn't shied away from lofty expectations, and he said before the Winter Games that a "dream scenario" would be winning four gold medals. That may be ambitious to a fault, but it's encouraging that Celski is shooting high in the hopes of securing at least one superior finish.

In short, Celski didn't quite live up to the hype in the 1,500-meter short track.

After capturing the bronze in the 2010 Vancouver Games for that event, a collision with Jack Whelbourne caused Celski to fall out of the lead in Sochi with three laps to go. He never recovered, and it cost him a shot at the podium.

That disappointment stung Celski, but he at least had some perspective on it after the intense sprint, per the Chicago Tribune's Philip Hersh:

It was hard to recover the speed I lost. It’s about timing in short track. If I was in front, that probably wouldn’t have happened...I got a little unlucky. But last time I benefitted and won the bronze because of some falls. Sometimes you’re on the good side of it, sometimes the bad.

Between that and the letdowns U.S. men's speedskater Shani Davis and women's favorites Heather Richardson and Brittany Bowe have suffered thus far, these Olympics leave much to be desired.

But that's where Celski will redeem the previous shortcomings in avenging the slight collision with Whelbourne and winning the gold medal. He has the makeup and previous handling of adversity to get the job done, and this shorter distance will allow him to.

It was a minor miracle that he won bronze in Vancouver, considering the gruesome injury he suffered when he sliced open his left leg with his own skate in a fall just five months before 2010's opening ceremonies.

If Celski can overcome something that could have ended his life, he can certainly rise above a lackluster finish in his maiden competition at these Olympics—especially since it wasn't his fault, for the most part.

Traffic issues shouldn't deny Celski with this event's shorter distance, and he won't have to worry as much about feeling out the pace of the race as he had to do in the 1,500 meters, since the push to the finish will happen quicker.

The top contenders for medals in this race should be Canada's Charles Hamelin—who capitalized on Celski's inadvertent miscue and won the 1,500 meters in the short track—and Russian favorite Victor An, the prior competition's bronze medalist. Both men won their heats on Thursday, while the 1,500-meter silver medalist in China's Tianyu Han finished second in his.

It's bold to say that Celski will win the gold against such a formidable field of elite speedskaters and big names, especially with how he stumbled in the short track and with the disappointment Team USA has suffered so far in these Olympics. However, he has the right attack-oriented mindset and aggression to push for the gold after coming up just shy of the podium in his last event.

The victory may not alleviate all the trials and tribulations the American speedskaters have endured, but Celski's forthcoming medal will add to the USA's growing collection as one of the most successful countries in these Winter Games.

They always say the 500-meter short track is one of the more thrilling and unpredictable events in the Winter Olympics. Well, "unpredictable" and "thrilling" are two of the most mild adjectives one could use to describe Thursday's final in Sochi. 

Jianrou Li captured the fourth straight gold medal for China in the 500 meters, skating through the finish line alone following a shocking crash on the first lap that took out each of her competitors.

Arianna Fontana of Italy received silver, and South Korea's Seung-Hi Park won bronze, but the story of the race was how the two competitors fell to the ice. Heading into the first corner, Great Britain's Elise Christie attempted to move her way into better position but went a little too far and caused a three-person pile with Park and Fontana.

Willie Cornblatt of NBC Olympics had a snapshot of what transpired:

The three-way spill left Li alone skating for her first Olympic medal. Knowing the situation at hand, she glided carefully and conservatively to finish the race in 45.263 seconds. While Christie crossed the finish line second, she was penalized and given a last-place finish. Fontana officially clocked in at 51.250 seconds, and Park at 54.207. 

For many, Thursday's final will be a disappointing finish to what is one of the higher-intensity Winter Olympic events. Skaters who moved through the heats on Monday had to race the quarterfinals, semifinals and medal race all on Thursday within about a two-hour span.

While these are world-class athletes who are used to the grind, you could see the frustration on three of the four skaters' faces. 

Li's victory is China's second gold medal of these Games and third medal overall. The Chinese have now won this event more than a decade running, with three different competitors bringing home the gold. 

Wang Meng, who won gold in Turin and Vancouver in this event, was forced to abdicate her throne after suffering a broken ankle in training. Meng's absence not only hurts her overall Olympic profile, but it left the Chinese scrambling for a star in an event they have dominated since her arrival on the national stage.  

While they eventually found victory in Li, Kexin Fan's shocking failure to qualify for the final initially sent shock waves through the field. Fan, selected by the Associated Press as the gold-medal winner coming into Sochi, had turned in the best times in both the heat and quarterfinal runs.

However, as is often the case in short-track speedskating, one huge mistake forced her to go home empty-handed. Fan caught her own skate and tumbled to the ice, as Elise Christie of Great Britain crossed the finish line first to keep her country's hopes alive. Willie Cornblatt of NBC Olympics was one of many to express shock at the turn of events:

Christie, 23, came into these Games as something of a controversial figure. Not only is she one of the fastest skaters in the world, but she's unique as a well-known talker on the ice. Her intensity and confidence radiates throughout her skate, and she readily admitted to Ollie Williams of BBC Sport she uses her confidence to psych out opponents:

A lot of people just sit there in the zone, and I generally will go up and talk to them. I think that makes them think I'm not very nervous. 'Oh God, she's fine.' And it's because I am fine. I mean, what's going to happen on the ice is going to happen. I can't do much about it. So I just chat to them about other stuff.

While it's unclear whether Christie made a tactical error or was just nervous, it's safe to say she had a ton of pressure mounting. Great Britain has just one speed-skating medal in history, a bronze, and Christie was seen as the great hope to alter that trajectory. Instead, she will likely leave Sochi wondering what could have been had she not made such a critical error.

A similar feeling will hit home with Fontana and Park. The 21-year-old South Korean was picked second by the AP and saw a gold medal flash before her eyes when Fan went down in the semis. Fontana, who won bronze in 2010, improved to a silver four years later but cannot be happy her chance at gold was taken away.

Fontana will have the best chance of these women to earn an additional medal going forward. She was selected by the AP as the silver-medal favorite in the ladies' 1,000 meters, which will get underway with qualification on Tuesday. Shim Suk-Hee of South Korea is considered the overwhelming favorite in both the 1,000 meters and 1,500 meters.

Li was the overall world champion in 2012 and captured the 1,500 meters in Shanghai, so she's also far from finished. But for now, Li will merely get to bask in her good fortune and gold medal.

The 2014 Winter Olympics have been sensational thus far, but Day 3 of the competition will bring speedskating to the forefront of the Olympics stage.

While the days of Apolo Anton Ohno setting the ice on fire are over, there is still plenty of intrigue out of the American camp when it comes to both the short-track and long-track events.

One of the most successful long-track skaters in American history will once again take the stage as Shani Davis looks to add a third gold medal to his collection.

Then there's J.R. Celski, who's on the opposite end of the spectrum from Davis. The 23-year-old competed in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, but is looking to enjoy much more success at this Olympics and earn his first gold.

Before the third day of competition officially begins, here is a look at the speedskating schedule for Monday and a preview of the events.

500 Meters

When it comes to decorated stars for Team USA, Davis is one of the best coming into the 2014 Winter Olympics. The 31-year-old already has four medals in his career at the Olympics, but has never won a gold medal in the 500-meter event.

After becoming the first-ever black athlete to win an individual gold medal in the Winter Olympics back in 2006, Davis is now a full-blown star for the USA in search of his third gold; he could win that in either the 500-, 1,000- or 1,500-meter events.

Though he wasn't one of the biggest names coming into the last two Winter Olympics, Davis said he is embracing the notoriety in his third crack, per Nancy Armour of USA Today:

It's not like I ever didn't want to be the face of the Olympics. There were other athletes who had a higher profile. [...] I was a goodie in a vending machine behind eight other awesome snacks. Now people are enjoying me for who I am.

The now-prominent snack will get his first chance at a third gold medal when he competes in the 500 meters, but will likely have to wait until the 1,000- or 1,500-meter events.

With silver medals in the 1,500 meters and gold in the 1,000 meters in both 2006 and 2010, it will be no surprise to see Davis atop the leaderboard when those races are final.

Short-Track 1,500 Meters

Celski is young, but he certainly has plenty of experience on the world's biggest stage for short-track speedskating.

After winning two bronze medals in the 2010 Winter Olympics, Celski is in search of turning those bronzes into golds in 2014.

The 23-year-old plans to do just that when he starts the next phase of his Olympic journey, but said he doesn't set out to achieve a specific medal, according to Craig Hill of The News Tribune.

"I don’t set goals for a specific time or medal," Celski said. "I set a goal to be the best I can be. I know the potential I have, and when I get there, I will be really satisfied."

The potential that Celski talks about makes him one of the favorites to win and sets him apart from the rest of the field. With just the qualifying for the 1,500-meter event taking place on Monday, expect Celski to torch the field en route to the finals.

Following his individual events, Celski will look to help the men's 5,000-meter relay team earn a gold medal as well. The team finished with the bronze back in 2010 and could medal again with Celski at the forefront.

While the likes of previous stars like Ohno won't be gracing the short-track stage, Celski is certainly ready to carry the torch for Team USA.

J.R. Celski doesn't have a soul patch or a red bandana or longish hair.

But he does have a cool commercial. The short-track speedskater is the subject of one of those Olympic television commercials that can make you go all warm and fuzzy.

It opens with a grown-up Celski raising a trophy and then shows home movies of his life lived backward, ending with a beaming toddler taking a few careful steps on a pair of plastic inline skates.

The ads—several of them depicting U.S. athletes—show where Celski came from. What we don’t know is where he’s going.

Until now, the steps were all laid out. Growing up in the same Seattle-area rink as an older Apolo Anton Ohno, Celski has spent his career in Ohno’s contrails. It prompted easy comparisons and the belief that Celski would inherit the mantle of American short track.

"I am very happy to be in the position I am now. I looked up to that guy for a long time," Celski told the Associated Press. "This time is completely different for me mentally, physically, I'm healthy. I'm going to ride that momentum."

Now, with a chance to forge his own identity, Celski, 23, begins the rest of his Olympic life with the opening 1,500-meter race.

"My goal was just to get to Vancouver. I did that and the medals were just a bonus," he told the Associated Press. "This time, I'm going to Sochi healthy and I'm looking forward to doing some damage."

He’ll have some familiar company, likely contending for a medal with former Ohno rival Ahn Hyun-Soo of Korea, who now goes by Viktor Ahn and is competing for Russia after a falling-out with the Korean federation. Ahn missed the 2010 Games with an injury but is near the top of the world rankings at multiple distances.

Ohno, the most-decorated Winter Olympian with eight medals, became a mainstream celebrity by winning Dancing With the Stars. Retired from skating, Ohno is now working the Games for NBC.

This is the first of a probable four events Celski will skate as the top American here. Winner of the Olympic trials at all three distances (500, 1000 and 1,500 meters, where he won bronze in 2010), Celski should be a lock to be named to the 5000-meter relay, an event that produced a U.S. bronze medal in Vancouver.

Ahn figures to be just one of a host of challengers for medals in Sochi that include members of a perennially strong Korea team and Canadian brothers Charles and Francois Hamelin. That doesn’t even include the usual drama of a sport characterized by pack-style racing on an ice sheet.

For the next 11 days, Celski will embark on a marathon of sprints that could just as easily be disastrous as triumphant. Short track’s tight corners, close quarters and high speeds make for great theater, as well as an appreciation for how thin the line is between winning and losing—making consistent winners like Ohno as much a mystery as a marvel.

Celski, ranked in the world’s top 10 in the 1000 and 1500 meters and No. 13 in the 500, knows how capricious the sport can be. He has experienced first-hand the worst and the best.

Five months before the 2010 Olympics, Celski suffered a horrifying and near-fatal injury. He fell during the 500, the final race of the Olympic trials. His skate blade punctured his leg, causing a six-inch deep gouge. It sliced through his quad muscle, just missing his femoral artery, and took dozens of stitches to heal. He thought his Olympic run was over. But he moved to the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs for full-time, nearly round-the-clock rehab, making it to the 2010 start line.

In the 2010 Games’ 1500-meter final, Celski was in fifth place when 2006 silver medalist Lee Ho-Suk collided with teammate Sung Si-Bak on the final turn of the race. Celski and Ohno somehow managed to avoid the wreck, and Ohno wound up with silver and Celski bronze. More drama came in the 1000, when Celski was disqualified for knocking down Francois Hamelin.

After the Olympics, burned out from the comeback and sick of the skater’s life, Celski quit.

He had been racing since he was little, showing such promise that he moved away from his tight-knit family in Federal Way, Washington, at age 14 to train in California with Wilma Boomstra, former Dutch skater and renowned coach.

His retirement lasted about a year. He had been accepted to Cal-Berkeley, but he asked for a deferment. Celski had become enamored of Seattle’s hip-hop scene and wound up co-producing and helping film a documentary called The Otherside, which made the roster at last spring’s Seattle International Film Festival.

Before the project, Celski didn’t know much about holding a camera or filming. But he did know what could resonate with people—the film features then-little-known duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, who won multiple Grammys this year

Celski said he connected with Macklemore’s lyrics while recovering from his skating injury. The film was released for live streaming last week.

Celski said his accident, time away and subsequent return to skating have rejuvenated him. He’s eager to skate, to train, to compete. And to return to skating’s biggest stage, whether he makes a bigger name for himself or not in Sochi.

Meri-Jo Borzilleri covered four Olympic Games for the Colorado Springs Gazette and the Seattle Times.