Bedford an OlympianBy Dan Chalk
Friday, January 1, 2010
www.ourmidland.com/articles/2010/01/07/local_news/2324505.txtAP Photo/Steve C. Wilson United States' Ryan Bedford skates to a first-place finish in the men's 10,000-meter event at the US Olympic speedskating trials at the Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns, Utah, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2009. Ryan Bedford's dream has come true.
After years of competing around the world in short track and long track speed skating, after falls and major injuries and setbacks, the former Midlander has accomplished his lifelong goal.
It took everything he had on Wednesday afternoon, but Bedford is now an Olympian.
Bedford, 23, won the grueling 10,000-meter (10-kilometer) race Wednesday afternoon at the U.S. Speedskating Championships in Salt Lake City, Utah, securing the second and final berth in that event for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, in February.
Bedford won Wednesday's 25-lap race at the Utah Olympic Oval in a personal-best 13 minutes, 20.46 seconds, edging out Trevor Marsicano (13:21.06) by only six-tenths of a second in an 11-man race.
"I'm just excited," a fatigued Bedford said by phone from Salt Lake City. "I didn't know if I was going to be able to make it. I didn't know if would be able to pull it out or not. I wasn't really expecting it."
Bedford, who grew up in Midland and trained with the Midland Speed Skating Club, joins two-time Olympic medalist Shani Davis in the 10,000-meter event for the U.S. team.
"Shani and I have been good friends for a long time," Bedford said. "I've always looked up to Shani. It's kind of an honor to be skating with him, just us two in that event."
Marsicano had already qualified for the Olympic team in three other events and had won the 5,000-meter race on Sunday, in which Bedford took fourth.
Bedford admitted it was daunting to go against Marsicano again.
"I was kind of (thinking), 'This could be it, it could be over right here,'" Bedford said. "But I skated a really good race, the best race I've ever skated."
And one of the most exhausting. Bedford noted that the 10,000 -- the final event of the U.S. Championships -- takes a severe toll on skaters.
"Thirteen minutes is a long time to be skating," he said. "To skate that distance, you have to be a different (kind of) skater. It's definitely the most hated distance there is."
Bedford said he picked up his pace with about 10 laps left, and eventually overtook Marsicano. It was a two-man race at that point, as the next skater behind Marsicano was more than nine minutes off the pace.
"I knew with five laps to go, I was ahead of him by a couple of seconds," Bedford said.
But in the final 400-meter lap of the race, that lead nearly evaporated, as Bedford felt his energy draining.
"The last lap was the worst," he said. "I planned my race almost perfectly, but just one lap short (of the finish). My legs shut down. I was on the verge of losing the lead, but I held on for it.
"I couldn't skate. That was it. I was done. I almost fell (about) three times on the last lap."
But as he crossed the finish line, Bedford looked up at the scoreboard and knew that he was headed for the Olympics.
"You look at the scoreboard and see the (number) "1" next to your name -- I didn't have to see my time, I knew," he said.
Bedford put his hands on his knees and skated once more around the track, then skated over to embrace his parents, Phil and Beth Bedford, and his coach, Olympic medalist Derek Parra.
"Derek Parra had the biggest smile on his face. ... Everybody was giving me hugs and high fives," Bedford said.
Bedford's achievement is all the more remarkable considering that it came almost five years to the date after he shattered his kneecap while skating in Colorado Springs on Dec. 31, 2004. He was out of skating for a couple of months and had a difficult time transitioning back into it.
Bedford also has been cut a few times by skate blades and has had other skating injuries over the years.
"That's all part of it," he said. "You have to suffer a bit to get the bigger reward in the end. It all pays off, you know."
Bedford will continue to train in Salt Lake City, where U.S. Speedskating is headquartered. He and the rest of the U.S. Olympic team will leave for Vancouver on Feb. 2.
The Olympic Games are from Feb. 12-28, and Bedford's 10,000 race will be on Feb. 23 at 2 p.m. Eastern Time at the Richmond Olympic Oval, just south of Vancouver.
Bedford has already skated twice at the Richmond Oval: He was part of the U.S. bronze medal-winning team in team pursuit at the World Single Distance Championships last March, and he and other skaters trained at Richmond in July and August to get used to the facility.
The U.S. long track Olympic team consists of nine men and nine women.
Bedford credited the Midland Speed Skating Club for helping to launch his career, which began to take off with his national junior short track championships in 2005 and 2006, followed by berths on numerous National, World Cup and World Teams in both short track and long track in the past three years.
"The Midland Speed Skating Club has been so influential in my skating career," he said. "They've done everything they could possibly do for me at any time."
Bedford comes back to Midland when he has time and skates with the MSSC skaters.
"It's just great to go back and see the kids," he said. "They all know me and they all want autographs. It was the same way when I was a kid. I had skaters I looked up to, like Alex Izykowski (a 2006 Olympic medalist from Bay City)."
MSSC President Gary d**e said the club is excited for Bedford.
"We've been looking forward to the day when we can get another skater in the Olympics," said d**e, who is also president of the Michigan Speedskating Association. "We're thrilled for him. He's always hung in there and persevered and kept plugging away. With all the years he's put in, he certainly deserves it."
Another MSSC member, Travis Jayner, is on the 2010 U.S. Olympic short track team. Jayner, a friend of Bedford's who grew up in Canada and has dual U.S. and Canadian citizenship, joined the MSSC in 2004.
And another skater from Midland, Craig Kressler, competed in long track speed skating at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, N.Y.
Midland's Dick Blasy Sr. qualified for the 1968 U.S. Olympic squad, but was not chosen for the team due to an injury.