12/21/24
December 31, 2005
Chad Hedricks Breaks 10000 Meter Speedskating World Record : Kearns, Utah U.S. Long Track Speedskating Championships, Chad Hendricks, the talkative Texan, who likes to predict his own World Records, shatters the old record by 3 seconds. He is the only American Skater qualified for five events at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy. He has his sights set on Eric Heiden's 5 Gold Medal Olympic Speedskating performance in 1980.
posted by skydivedad to other at 10:39 PM - 5 comments
This piece is almost two months old, but it's got a sub-head you don't see every day: "American known to show up for practice drunk." And I love the hard line put down by his coach:
"One time he showed up late this year because he'd been drinking and I told him, 'If you go drink, you get here on time.'"
posted by Amateur at 08:54 AM on January 02, 2006
Is alcohol a performance enhancing drug?
posted by grabofsky74 at 09:28 AM on January 02, 2006
Only in competition, and not in speedskating even then: "Alcohol (ethanol) is prohibited in-Competition only, in the following sports ... Aeronautic, Archery, Automobile, Billiards, Boules, Karate, Modern Pentathlon for disciplines involving shooting, Motorcycling, Skiiing." That's an odd list. Aside from the driving sports, there isn't much consistency here. If it's prohibited in archery and in shooting during the pentathlon, then why not in shooting period? And if it's prohibited in skiing, why not in the bobsleigh? On the plus side it looks like JJ is allowed to be drunk most of the time for the next three years.
posted by Amateur at 10:47 AM on January 02, 2006
And if it's prohibited in skiing, why not in the bobsleigh? I couldn't begin to tell you; however, I do know that the famous torchlight parades at the mountain where I work (which involve skiing down a mountain in the dark while carrying a couple of lit road flares) are usually preceded by ingesting some Torchlight Fuel. Maybe it just dulls the inevitable pain.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 07:42 PM on January 02, 2006
Very Impressive accomplishment, especially in the grueling 10000.