Zen and the Art of Speedskating

Chad got to hang his name on the wall of records at the Utah Olympic oval. They brought out a lift, and Chad was hoisted up to add his name and 1500m record time to the wall of honor.

In other observation of the world cup, in the words of some of the best US skaters, the German & Chinese women “skate like dudes!”. One of the Chinese female sprinters looks BIGGER THAN ME!! In both height and muscle. Of course that is both flattering and unflattering to say… But they seem very different than the American, Canadian, & Japanese skaters, who do beat them often, but somehow seem more like women in stance, style, & body language.

I don’t think they “Skate like dudes” because of chemical assistance, although that was certainly true in the past. It’s more likely that the Germans & Chinese follow a completely different, mega-power based approach to skating… They must lift 5 times a week!!! Even more importantly, I bet their sport philosophy idealizes a different kind of athlete, a big, strong, monster power athlete as the “ideal skater”. I bet the Canadians & Americans gravitate to individuals who display “technical feel” for the ice, and the Japanese idealize & promote skaters who are “Cheetah’s” of natural fast twitch aptitude.

Heck, in the USA, long track speedskating is so small, we gladly accept ANY people! Cheetahs, Wildebeest, Rhinos and Giraffes, if you are alive, come on out and skate!!!

(all of this said, German superstar Anni Friesinger is HOT, a beautiful woman in every respect, the pictures linked here do not do her justice, but she still skates with the power of a Dude)

I also got to hang out with some cool Dutch fans. They knew rising star Ireene Wust, and came from the same small town she does. I felt quite comfortable in this friendly ocean of orange.

Here is the unique body position of Norwegian Peter Andersen, the Dutch joke that he practically “licks the ice” as he skates, as his unique personal body geometry brings his shoulders very low. I love watching this 10 year veteran of the world cup attack races. The crucial thing to notice is that even though his shoulders are weirdly low, his extension is tremendous and his hips are perfect in their position. Everyone has an individual style, but there are elements of technique that remain essential. Andersen exhibits a whole lotta style and a ton of essential.

Also at today’s world cup the men’s 500m and 5k world records both fell…. Both incredible races… Sven Kramers last 2 laps of his 5k were 28.8 and 28.1. That is like a runner popping off two 4 minute miles at the end of a marathon… wow. Chad was pissed his 5k WR was gone. I am sure it will be more fuel in his psychological fires, that man is a total competitor.

Here is a photo I took just before Joji Kato’s 500m world record, He is paired with good guy, and Zen 10 interviewee Joey Cheek. There are many layers of “seeing” here. The skaters are focusing down the track, gathering a lifetime of training & focus into this race, the crowd is focusing on them, the television camera is focusing on Joey’s fast feet, and through that lens, televisions throughout the world see this race, & skaters will see this race captured on tape, over and over, and finally, there is me and my camera, capturing this image & the ideas swirling about it, all leading to the final viewer, you and your computer screen.

30.3 seconds after this pic was shot, 20 year old Joji Kato became the new 500m world record holder. Wanna see it? Download a .zip file here that uncompresses to a realplayer video from Dutch TV. A skater told me that once Joji’s blades were damaged on a plane trip to a race in Herenveen, so he borrowed a pair from a team-mate that were waaay too short. He has such a feel for the ice, he skated one practice on them, & won the next day anyway!

Joey is such a class act, he realized what just happened, and congratulates Joji. If you want a larger version of this pic for your desktop, click on it. Just don’t sell it… or if you do, send me some $!!!

ok, its 11:15am, and now I have to go watch the final day of racing…

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