After starting the weekend without holding an individual world record, American speedskater Shani Davis finished it owning his two favorite races.Davis set a world record for the second straight day when he won the 1,000 meters on Saturday in the speedskating World Cup, solidifying his place as the fastest mid-distance skater in the sport entering next weekend's world championships.
"Now I have both of my world records back," Davis said.
Davis also won the 1,500 on Friday in world record time and knew he had a shot at the 1,000 on Saturday at the Utah Olympic Oval, one of the fastest tracks in the world. But he didn't know he would be trying to take the record away from American teammate Trevor Marsicano.
Marsicano, a 19-year-old from Ballston Spa, N.Y., became the first skater to go faster than 1:07 with a 1:06.88 — more than 2 seconds faster than his personal best — early in the 1,000 pairings on Saturday.
"I didn't know what to think. I was scared," Davis said. "He didn't skate 1:07 ever. He went straight to 1:06. I knew I had a lot of work to do."
Davis let Marsicano enjoy his time at the top for about 20 minutes, then set the new world record with a time of 1:06.42 — 0.46 seconds faster.
Davis knew he had the record as he glided around the ice in front of the U.S. fans, who had barely stopped cheering Marsicano's mark.
"I had it for a short matter of time. I'm the first guy to go under 1:07. I'm still very happy with it," Marsicano said. "It feels great. It's just a big confidence builder for me knowing I can be right there with these guys next week."
Marsicano nearly crashed on his final lap, but dropped his hand to regain his balance and pushed his way through the rest of the race. He saw he had the record, but knew Davis was still scheduled to go in the final pairing.
Marsicano finished second to Davis for the second day in a row. He also knocked almost 3 seconds off his time in the 1,500 on Friday.
In the women's 500 meters, China's Wang Beixing upset Jenny Wolf of Germany, winning with a time of 37.25. Wolf was 0.14 seconds behind and failed to win the 500 for just the third time in the World Cup season. Canada's Kristina Groves wrapped up the World Cup title in the 1,500 by winning Saturday with a time of 1:54.08.
Sven Kramer of the Netherlands, the top distance skater in the world, won the 5,000 in 6:06.64. Havard Bokko of Norway was second (6:09.94), followed by Carl Verheijen of the Netherlands (6:13.17).
Marsicano finished the weekend with another personal best in the 5,000 by more than 8 seconds, finishing in 6:16.56.
Saturday was the end of the World Cup season. The skaters head to Vancouver next week for the world championships.
"Next week is the real test because it's going to be on the same ice the 2010 Olympics are going to be on and it's going to be slow ice," Davis said.
