Retiring
Let me be clear, Shani Davis is NOT RETIRING!
However after his success at US nationals this year, he is retiring his beloved Marchese custom boots that have seen him through 8 & 1/2 seasons. They are simply worn out.
These skates have won Olympic gold & silver, two world allaround championships, broken world records 5 times, taken 4 single distance world championships & 23 world cup wins. Add into that the astounding amount of hard work an elite athlete like Shani puts in; the endless laps, accels, starts, etc.
If these skates could talk, what would they say?
Elite skaters will often kill a pair of blades per year, so boots are the true & lasting connection to the ice. Shani now has a new, dark purple pair of Marcheses in hand. He and Paul Marchese were lacing them up & mounting blades on them for the first time after Nationals ended. (update, he broke them in a week, so back to his old skates!)
I don’t think I have ever read an accurate depiction of the Shani I have gotten to know over the years. He is a complex fellow, who has been through a lot in his life & stellar career.
You cannot describe him in a sentence, or a sound bite, or even a brief interview. It’s one reason I have never tried.
But I will say something I have never seen written about him; Shani is a true master of this extremely complex sport. If there is a speedskating PHD, he has it.
There are many athletes who could never manage their own equipment, training schedules, psychological preparation, discipline, and ways to be at peace with the challenges speedskating throws at you.
Shani knows the pieces of the speedskating puzzle thoroughly, and his understanding of technique, both his own & others, is very deep. It is one of the reasons he has been so successful for so long, no matter where he is living & training.
I ran into him & Apolo at an ice cream shop last summer (Hatch family chocolates, for you Salt Lake Locals); and the conversation turned to certain aspects of elite technique, and very quickly they were speaking at a level light years beyond my own understanding.
I might have felt “the force” a few times, but these two are Jedi.
Filed under: on the road
Look up Professional in the speed skating dictionary and there you will find a Picture of Shani
He is a KIND man and a gift to the speedskating tribe.
We love Shani.
Omigosh WHERE IS THAT STORE??
I must go there.
Very cool description of Shani Andrew, thanks.
8 1/2 years for a set of boots! Incredible. Then again, now that I think of it, I know a few short track skaters who’ve been using (and swearing by) the same boots for many years.
I like how you desribe the deep understanding of speed skating that Shani posseses. It makes me think about, or try to think about, the things that I don’t nor probably ever will know about.
It’s nice to fantasize about everything I could know though… and it’s good to read about it all on your site.
ss boots by end of year inside source
Nice one, about Shani; as a true skating professional going his own way he I can only compare him to Eric Heiden. Even more so since he has just become the first skater since Heiden to win both the allround and the sprint world championship - great achievement!!!
You really nailed that feeling - “I might have felt “the force” a few times, but these two are Jedi.” It’s true in every field. Once or twice I’d swear that I was absorbing some small element of competence just from being in the presence of giants.