I think Bryant Gumbel was saying "If we as blacks get the chance to compete, we will do well. Here's an example that just happened today.
TORINO (AP) -- Shani Davis knew what he was doing. Davis became the first black to win an individual gold medal in Winter Olympic history Saturday, capturing the men's 1000m speed skating race. Joey Cheek made it a 1-2 American finish, adding a silver to his victory in the 500m.
Men's 1000m
Full Results
DAVIS 1:08.89
CHEEK 1:09.16
WENNEMARS 1:09.32
Erben Wennemars of the Netherlands captured the bronze.
Chad Hedrick, skating the weakest of his individual events, put up an early time that stood until Davis bested it in the 19th of 21 pairs with a clocking of 1 minute, 8.89 seconds.
Four other skaters passed Hedrick as well, leaving the Texan in sixth place - still an impressive showing considering he was skating the 1000m for only the seventh time in his career.
Davis came under scrutiny for skipping the team pursuit - especially when the Hedrick-led squad was knocked out in the quarterfinals, doomed by a slow skater who might not have been on the ice if Davis was available.
But Davis, world record holder in the 1000m, wanted to focus on his signature event. It certainly paid off.
After crossing the line and spotting his time, the first guy to break 1:09 on the slow Torino ice, Davis thrust his right fist in the air. As he coasted along the back straightaway, he raised both arms toward the roof of the Olympic oval, then put his hands on his head in obvious relief.
There were still two more pairs to go - four skaters, all capable of knocking him out.
Cheek went in the next group and came the closest, fading a bit at the end for a time of 1:09.16. Five days earlier, he dominated the shortest race on the schedule and donated his $25,000 bonus to a charity run by speed skating icon Johann Olav Koss.
This time, he'll hand over a $15,000 check to Koss. Dutch stars Wennemars and Jan Bos went in the final pair, but neither caught the Americans. Wennemars grabbed the bronze in 1:09.32, with Bos another tenth of a second behind, but only good enough for fifth.
Davis and Hedrick were the most intriguing figures on the ice.
Davis has dominated the 1000m on the World Cup circuit and skated the fastest time ever last November in Salt Lake. Hedrick is dominant at the longer distances, but decided to skate the 1000m at Torino in hopes of challenging Eric Heiden's record of five gold medals at one Winter Olympics.
Hedrick passed the first test with a dominating win in the 5000m, but his hopes of picking up a medal in team pursuit were essentially dashed when Davis decided not to skate. The U.S. was upset by the Italians in the quarterfinals, even though Hedrick was clearly the strongest skater on the ice.
NBC ImageAmerican Shani Davis won his first Olympic medal with a victory in the men's 1000m on Day 8.
Asked after the 1000m if he was happy for Davis, Hedrick replied pointedly:
"I'm happy for Joey."
Davis showed no immediate emotion after the last two skaters failed to beat his time. He was cooling down in the warmup lane, skating slowly with his arms behind his back.
Finally, he smiled and waved to the crowd. As he came to the other end of the rink, Davis found Wennemars waiting. The two rivals gave each other a big hug in front of the orange-clad, predominantly Dutch crowd, prompting the biggest cheer of the night.
Davis then donned a Chicago White Sox cap - a tribute to his hometown, specifically the South Side. He grew up there always wanting to skate, shrugging off friends who wondered why a black kid growing up in the city of Michael Jordan and Da Bears would want to don a tight-fitting suit and compete with a bunch of white dudes.
That wouldn't be last time he bucked the norm.
Davis and his mother, Cherie, have engaged in a long-running feud with U.S. Speedskating - even refusing to allow his biography to be displayed on the group's web site. Davis seemed to be doing his own thing in Torino, avoiding the media and the rest of the team.
"I think I've seen him a couple of times on the other side of the rink in the last week, week and a half," American teammate Casey FitzRandolph said.
Before the 1000m, there was even talk Davis would skip the mandatory news conference for medalists - even if he won. His agents scurried into action, hoping to cut off a public relations nightmare.
Davis said he's got a businesslike relationship with Hedrick - nothing more, nothing less.
"I haven't really witnessed any drama," Davis said. "We stay at the same duplex. He's on the top floor. I'm on the first floor. I mind my business and he minds his business."
Vonetta Flowers became the first African-American to win Winter Olympics gold at the Salt Lake Games four years ago. She was a pusher on the two-woman bobsled team, someone who helps get the machine going and hops along for the ride.
Davis won this gold entirely on his own.
"It showed that all the hard work and all the sacrifice paid off," he said. "Kids in general, if you put your mind to it and you believe it, you can achieve it.
"You cannot give up - even if the road is a tough road."
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