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Post by Laura (Lori) on Jan 21, 2010 20:53:29 GMT -8
Wow! This is a great article - one of the best I've seen about Jordan - thanks for posting it, Gasp! Here's the whole thing: Malone beats odds to reach VancouverTexas speedskater wouldn't be denied after trading in his wheels for blades January 21, 2010 DENTON, Texas -- The Unicorn Lake neighborhood in a football-focused college town didn't have a flashy sports bar when Jordan Malone, his roller skates stirring up a fine dust, followed his mother's moped on the subdivision's streets some dozen years ago. He was 12, fighting dyslexia and asthma, on the day his mom, Peggy Aitken, bumped the moped into a curb and fell off. They'd decided that she would follow him while he skated on that day, trying to increase his times. She'd hurt her shoulder, but it wasn't that serious. Malone's resolve was. His coaches, teammates and family said that nobody defines "serious" quite like Malone, who won a spot on the five-man U.S. Olympic Short-Track Speedskating Team for the Vancouver Winter Games that open on Feb. 12. When Malone qualified for the team in September, most of his hometown was concentrating on football. University of North Texas coach Todd Dodge conducted his weekly radio show from the two-year-old PourHouse Sports Grill, just blocks from where Malone learned to skate. But on a misty January night, the lively bar showed taped short-track speedskating as more than 100 gathered in support of Denton's Olympian. "It's unique to have a hometown boy in the Winter Olympics," bar owner Rick Moore said. "We're in uncharted waters, or, I should say, on uncharted ice." Prominent in the crowd was Malone's grandmother, Mimi Aitken, congenial, excited and wearing a sweatshirt emblazoned with "Jordan Malone, USA." "I had it made in preparation four years ago," she said. "It's a storybook tale. Mind you, he wasn't born an athlete. He worked dreadfully hard every step of the way. He just knew he'd have to work harder and longer. He never looked for a handout." Dream delayedMalone's 2006 Olympic dream ended at the Trials, where he skated valiantly on a broken ankle -- just one in a series of injuries that he took in stride during a roller sports career that took him around the world and to the sport's summit. The former world inline champion switched to ice in 2004. The next year, he won a world bronze medal as a 5,000-meter relay member. Many of his supporters said that they admired the wiry, eager kid whom they recalled from a now-defunct Denton roller rink. They vowed to attend Malone watch parties at the PourHouse during the Vancouver Olympics. "This means the world to my son," said Peggy Aitken, who moved with her son from Colorado to Denton when Malone was 10 months old. "He broke his ankle a month before the 2006 Olympic Trials, had surgery three weeks before the Trials and still finished seventh." Malone's Olympic debut will reward him for his endurance. He has had almost every injury known to athletes in the course of the 20 years since he first put on a pair of skates at age 5. He will skate in the 500 and 1,500 meters and the 5,000-meter relay in Vancouver. Those closest to Malone, 25, said that he defies the notion that Texans who grow up far from frozen ponds can't cut it in the Winter Olympics. "I've never seen any of the Olympic sports live except for hockey," said Malone by phone from training in Salt Lake City. "I'm getting more excited about Vancouver every day. But at the same time, we're going through our normal routine. I think that when we're on the plane on the way to Vancouver is when I'll say, 'Holy crap, this is awesome.' " Long-time Denton businessman Frenchy Rheault, a Dallas Cowboys season-ticket holder, might have been among the few at the PourHouse who has steeped himself in Winter Games lore. But for those who had forgotten, or never knew, that Herschel Walker made the U.S. Olympic Bobsled Team for the 1992 Albertville Games, Malone has become the man of the hour. "Jordan will be going up against the world," Rheault said. "This is really special. I love the Olympics. I love short track." Against all oddsMalone's Grandma Mimi, who lives in the Denton County town of Sanger, about 50 miles northwest of Dallas, said her grandson always has amazed her. When Malone suffered a partial tear of the ACL in his left knee in October, his grandmother barely flinched, though the last thing his family wanted was to have an injury cost him an Olympic berth again. "Mind you, he had a lot going against him," she said. "As a child, he was undersized. He had ADHD [attention deficit hyperactivity disorder], dyslexia and asthma. He overcame it all. He'd say, 'There's nothing wrong with me, Grandma.' " The knee injury might have presented Malone, 5-6 and 140 pounds, with a brutal flashback to the broken ankle that thwarted his 2006 bid. Instead, he got to work strengthening his hamstrings and doing everything possible to compensate for the sketchy ligament. "His knee doesn't seem to be a factor," U.S. short-track assistant coach Larry Daignault said. "He looks stronger than ever. He's amazing." Malone said that he expects no trouble with his knee. "Our sport isn't hockey," he said. "It isn't soccer. I take it one lap at a time. When you have 27 laps, and seven to go, you just tell yourself that this is just one lap." He brings a spark to the team, said Malone's Olympic teammate J.R. Celski of Federal Way, Wash. "Jordan is probably the most full-of-life person I've ever met," said Celski, who will room with Malone in Vancouver. "There's not a day that he doesn't make you laugh. Texas is not known for brewing Winter Olympic athletes. It's pretty cool." Malone said that some of inline racing's tactics apply to short track. He said the U.S. team, which includes five-time Olympic medalist Apolo Anton Ohno, wanted to train at the Vancouver Olympic venue. "They wanted $25,000 an hour," Malone said. "They didn't want us to do anything on it." But an ice surface no longer is foreign to Malone. His route home to Denton last year, when he got to spend April near the streets where his career began, went through Bulgaria, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands. "I always love getting home," he said. "I get to be lazy. When I'm away, I miss my barber and eating at Master Grill and Golden Fried Chicken. I can't find anything to match it."
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Post by mtnme on Jan 22, 2010 12:58:52 GMT -8
Old Photos... from Getty Jordan....with hair! Travis Jayner, Jordan, Izy and Anthony Lobello
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Post by Laura (Lori) on Jan 22, 2010 20:10:42 GMT -8
Another 'Pit Crew Rally' video: www.dallasnews.com/video/dallasnews/hp/index.html?nvid=412881&stryNice interview with Mom Peggy: "I've never done an Olympic rally before- 'cause I've never had an Olympic son before!" Grandma Mimi - "That's the kind of guy he is, Jordan collects people", after recounting a story where Jordan learned sign language to communicate with a hearing-impaired friend.
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Post by Laura (Lori) on Jan 23, 2010 15:26:12 GMT -8
Jordan Malone's Pit Crew is making a “Special Edition 2010 Pit Crew” LONG SLEEVE TSHIRT & HOODIE FOR ONLY THOSE THAT WILL BE ATTENDING THE OLYMPICS. The graphic will be the same front & back but they will have an addit'l graphic on the sleeve, and they will be royal blue instead of black. THE ORDERS HAVE TO BE PLACED ON MONDAY, so if you're interested, contact me at Lori@Rocker-U.net and I'll make sure they know you want one! Here's the original version of the shirt:
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Post by Laura (Lori) on Jan 27, 2010 8:27:15 GMT -8
Really great video about Jordan's journey from inline skater to Olympian: My Story
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Post by Laura (Lori) on Feb 5, 2010 9:59:28 GMT -8
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Post by Deleted on Feb 9, 2010 21:38:53 GMT -8
From the Dallas Morning News
Denton speedskater faces tough decision on attending opening ceremonies 5:04 PM Tue, Feb 09, 2010 | Permalink | Yahoo! Buzz Kate Hairopoulos/Reporter Bio | E-mail | News tips
Olympic speedskater Jordan Malone, of Denton, desperately wants to attend Friday's opening ceremonies of the Vancouver Games.
"It's going to be something to remember - not just for the two weeks, but forever," he said today.
The problem: Malone skates in the 1,500 meters late afternoon Saturday, and the U.S. short-track speedskating coaches don't want their athletes to attend. For Apolo Anton Ohno, that's no problem. This is his third Olympics. For a first-timer like Malone, it's a hard event to pass up.
As of this afternoon, Malone said U.S. staff were checking on a way to allow the skaters to arrive later than the other athletes and leave earlier. Malone would like to keep it to a two-hour window. The ceremonies are a huge production, with the staging taking place hours beforehand. Long-track speedskater Chad Hedrick, of Spring, attended the 2006 opening ceremonies, Malone pointed out, and still won gold in the 5,000 meters the next day.
"I want to go," Malone said. "It's going to be a benefit to me; it's not going to be a hindrance. It's going to hype me up and give me Olympic spirit... But if they can't get me there later and get me out earlier, I can't."
Malone will also skate later in the Games in the 500 meters and 5,000 relay. The 1,500 is his best chance for an individual medal. (AP Photo)
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Post by Laura (Lori) on Feb 9, 2010 22:47:51 GMT -8
Wow, I never even thought about that, Gasp. I do remember hearing about it at the most recent Summer Games, but I don't remember which sport's athletes had the conflicts. I do hope they'll be able to work it out, 'cause the opening ceremonies are such a rich part of the experience and the memories that these athletes will take home with them...
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Post by Deleted on Feb 10, 2010 7:59:18 GMT -8
This is a cross-post and will be on Apolo's thread too. But this article explains why we ALL love Jordan so. The kids gets it. He just GETS IT. He understands it but he is not in awe of it. What is IT? Keep reading..... Other short-track skaters on Apolo Ohno: 'He's our Babe Ruth' As the Vancouver Winter Olympics are about to launch, U.S. short-track speedskaters admire all that Apolo Ohno has accomplished in his sport, and there's no hint of jealousy. Seattle Times staff columnist PREV of NEXT CAMERON SPENCER / GETTY IMAGES Federal Way native Apolo Anton Ohno has made short-track speedskating a marquee Olympic Games sport. Related Seattle physician Brian Krabak will do more than treat injuries at Winter Olympics VANCOUVER, B.C. — Before Apolo Anton Ohno, almost nobody watched short-track speedskating. The sport was too quirky. The difference between winning and losing, between gold and gone, was too whimsical. It was human hydro racing. The last skater standing won, or so it seemed. "It's the kind of sport where you have to prepare yourself and then hope that you're chosen by the gods," U.S. skater Jordan Malone said Tuesday. Sometimes, the guy who crosses the finish line first doesn't win. Sometimes skaters jump the starting gun and get away with it. Sometimes, if there is a major crash in front, the slowest skater can win. "It's very unpredictable and very dangerous," U.S. women's team member Allison Baver said. Again, human hydros. Before Ohno, short track was considered a stepchild sport. It was the place skaters went when they couldn't make it in long track. It was the Arena Football League to long track's NFL. It was frozen roller derby. Then the Seattle-area native took up the sport and started winning gold medals and made short-track speedskating quadrennially relevant. His athleticism legitimized short track. He was charismatic. He got a Nike contract. He was invited to Bill Clinton's salons. He became one of NBC's faces of the Winter Games. He was like nobody else his sport had ever seen. "He's our Babe Ruth. He's our heavy hitter," Malone said. "He's the face of our sport, both socially and performance-wise." Ohno dances with the stars on national television. Then he works out with his teammates as if he has never won a race, as if he still has everything to prove. He has won five Olympic medals, but he trains with the hunger of a newcomer. "He is hands down the best athlete this sport has ever brought to the table," said Baver, his former girlfriend. "And to train with an athlete like that every day is pretty cool. To win a gold medal, like he's done, and to keep going, with all the other opportunities outside of the sport that he has been offered, you have to have a passion. "He's never satisfied. He's always looking for more. Skating is something he absolutely loves, and I kind of look at him as like a Lance Armstrong. Lance Armstrong comes back because he loves it and that's it. And I know that the only reason Apolo is skating at these Olympic Games is because he loves it." Ohno's star is transcendent. He is charismatic enough that he could give it all up and begin a career in Hollywood. Instead he has come to Vancouver to compete for more hardware and to keep the light shining on his sport. "He inspires dreams," Malone said. "He brings dreamers up to a new level." So forget the medals. Ohno, 27, who has been racing since he was 14, practically gave birth to his sport. He gave people a reason to watch it and skaters a reason to compete in it. "We're really trying to take advantage of the opportunities that have been given us," Malone said. "To have a superstar in our sport, well, he's the reason I got into speedskating. To see a guy who came from in-line skating, just like me, then to see what he's accomplished, it's inspiring. He inspired me and J.R. (Celski). It's what inspired most of the guys on the team. He's the reason we are all here." Ohno is the reason NBC will be watching when the first event, the 1,500 meters, begins on Saturday night. And he is part of the reason Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert and "Colbert Nation" have raised money for the sport. "Believe me, nobody on our team is jealous of him," Malone said. "Nobody is sitting around asking, 'Why is he getting all this attention? Why does he have all this money? Why does he have all these endorsements?' We see how hard he works. We see all the time he puts in. "When a guy's your idol, like Apolo is, you wait for the shiny gloss coating to wear off. You wait to find a weakness, but it doesn't happen. He's just an amazing dude. We get to train with him every day, and it's not intimidating to us. It's not like he's trying to put his thumb on us. It's just that he leads, and we try to follow." Apolo Ohno shines the light on his quirky sport, and the other short-track skaters warm themselves in his glow
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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2010 10:21:39 GMT -8
LMAO Jordan. We knew you would figure this out!
Denton Speedskater finds way to walk in opening ceremonies 1:19 AM Thu, Feb 11, 2010 | Permalink | Yahoo! Buzz Kate Hairopoulos/Reporter Bio | E-mail | News tips
It wasn't easy, and his short-track coaches were against it, but Denton speedskater Jordan Malone has found a way to walk in the Vancouver Olympics opening ceremonies on Friday.
The experience was so special to Malone that he went to the U.S. Olympic Committee to explore his options. He will be able to take a late bus in to the ceremonies and an early bus out, which makes him feel comfortable about his night out the day before he begins competition, according to Malone's mother, Peggy Aitken.
Malone skates in the 1,500 meters, the first of his three events here, late Saturday afternoon.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 12, 2010 7:40:34 GMT -8
Nice article on Jordan. From Denton Record-Chronicle: Speed racer: Olympic Glory within reach for Denton’s Malone 07:53 AM CST on Friday, February 12, 2010 By Todd Jorgenson / Sports Editor Sheets of ice the size of hockey rinks cause many Texans to cower in fear. Jordan Malone takes to it without hesitation, gliding around on skates amid heavy traffic at almost 30 mph. The 25-year-old Denton native has always been something of a self-proclaimed “oddball” since he began a career in short track speed skating more than six years ago. This weekend, however, Malone’s pursuit of this most unusual of Texas sports will pay off with a spot on the U.S. Olympic team in Vancouver. “Getting into speed skating, I wanted to do something that would sort of set me apart from everybody else,” Malone said. “I wanted to be different, and make more of a difference for it.” The opening ceremonies for the 2010 Winter Games will be tonight. Malone’s first day of competition is slated for Saturday, when he will skate in the 1,500-meter event — the longest of three individual distances in short track. Malone was born and raised in Denton, where he grew up as an inline skater. He began competing in races for the first time at age 5, and five years later started racing internationally. So Malone’s love of skating always has come naturally. But it wasn’t until after graduating from Denton High School that Malone seriously contemplated the move from inline to short track, primarily to pursue his Olympic dream. He still is the only person to compete in world championships both in inline skating and short track. He won an inline world title in 2003. Malone had only competed in short track for two years when he narrowly missed qualifying for the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy. An injury prior to qualifying, plus some bad racing luck at the U.S. Olympic trials, cost him a spot on the team. Through the disappointment, Malone turned his attention to Vancouver, and a shot at redemption. “They say that it takes 10 years to make an Olympic athlete, but I could have made the team after two,” he said. “I’m coming into this Games being a veteran of everything but the Olympics. This is my time to prove what I could have done.” Specifically, Malone said he was elated after earning his Olympic berth by racing well at the U.S. Olympic trials in September in Marquette, Mich. There, he finished third overall. “People go, ‘What happened?’ You say, ‘It doesn’t matter. I’m going for 2010,’” Malone said. “I’m able to put my head high now. I had my head low before.” Injuries are common in short track, and Malone has had more than his share — knees, head, ankles, you name it — which have interrupted his training. But he has bounced back each time, and said that despite being banged up late last year, he is skating faster than ever in preparation for his Olympic debut. “My philosophy is that you have to be lying down to be stepped on,” he said. “I’m the kind of guy who makes not just the best out of the dark situations, but I actually come out stronger. Adversity reveals character. I’ve always done better after a serious injury.” Malone also has battled asthma and dyslexia since early childhood. His resiliency and work ethic have inspired some of his teammates, who were glad to see Malone make the Olympic team after barely missing it in 2006. “Jordan’s been through more than I think anyone else, at least in terms of injuries, than anyone I’ve ever known,” said short-track skater Travis Jayner, who also will make his Olympic debut in Vancouver. “He’s awesome at being able to deal with the stress on his body and being able to come back mentally and physically stronger than ever. In that sense, he’s second to none.” Malone still visits Denton occasionally, but he lives in Salt Lake City, where he trains full time with his teammates and coaches, including U.S. national team coach Jae Su Chun. Still, he has been impressed with the outpouring of support from local well-wishers eager not only to cheer him on in Vancouver, but to learn more about the sport of short track. “I get e-mails from old elementary school teachers and people I haven’t seen in forever,” Malone said. “It’s been really cool.” Malone will have a captive audience back home, and also at the Pacific Coliseum (the Olympic venue that short track will share with figure skating), where family and friends will watch him compete in person. He’s active on Twitter and busy updating his Web site, www.jordanmalone.com, for those interested. In all, Malone will skate three events in Vancouver. Following the 1,500 meters, he will begin preliminary heats in the 500 next week, and will skate as part of the U.S. team in the 5,000 relay on the final weekend. Malone knows that earning a medal will require his best race in each event, but he has experienced success on the international level before. He has earned multiple individual medals on the short track World Cup circuit since 2007, most recently a silver last year in the 1,000 meters in Sofia, Bulgaria. He is the only U.S. short-track skater to compete in each of the last five World Championship events. Malone’s confidence stems not only from his own success in World Cup events but that of the U.S. team as a whole, which has improved since winning three medals in 2006. Apolo Anton Ohno won a gold and bronze medal individually, and led the U.S. to bronze in the relay. Ohno returns as the poster boy for the five-man American team this year, but Malone said the gap between Ohno and other skaters on the team has narrowed significantly. That has led to a sense of camaraderie heading to Vancouver, but also a sense that the Americans can take medals away from traditional powerhouses in the sport such as South Korea and Canada. “Before, it was always just Apolo, and we were just trying to get a medal. This time, we’re going for that relay gold. I think people are expecting more of themselves than ever before,” Malone said. “It’s a good thing, but at the same time, if we don’t win gold, we’re going to be broken-hearted. We definitely are more confident than ever before.” The sprint-based sport of short track is one of the most unpredictable — and therefore spectator-friendly — events in the Olympics, which began offering short-track medals in 1992 in Albertville, France. The longest individual races run just over two minutes, and crashes are frequent as skaters jostle for position around tight turns. “That’s part of life. We’re not in a sport where the fastest guy wins,” Malone said. “We’re in a sport where fate has a really big part in it. There’s no predictability in short track, so we just have to be as prepared as we can be, and let the cards fall where they may.” In sports such as short track, reaching the Olympics is the pinnacle. Malone knows that all of the physical preparation and racing experience he’s had thus far can’t entirely prepare him for the size of the crowd and the intangible level of pressure he will face beginning on Saturday. He realizes that mental and psychological fortitude is almost as critical as actual racing technique, speed and strategy. “I haven’t stepped on the ice for my first race, so I can’t say how that’s going to be,” Malone said. “Nobody appreciates this game more than me. Nobody’s been through what I’ve been through, and I’m ready to prove who I am and what I’m about and where I’m from.” Denton native Jordan Malone will compete at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Each short track session will be aired live on NBC — locally KXAS-TV (Channel 5). Saturday Men’s 1,500-meter heats, finals 7 p.m. Wednesday Men’s relay semifinals 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 24 Men’s 500-meter heats 7:45 p.m. Friday, Feb. 26 Men’s 500-meter finals 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 26 Men’s relay finals 9:45 p.m.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 12, 2010 12:11:17 GMT -8
Another great story about Jordan:
\http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/021210dnspomalone.3f1fba5.html
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Post by Deleted on Feb 12, 2010 15:09:00 GMT -8
A NEW FAN....LOL! (cross posting to KR's thread)
- Short track speed skaing is like the NASCAR of winter sports. There's lots of turning left and everyone seems to be waiting for a big wreck. With our local athlete Jordan Malone competing in the games, I'll be photographing lots of short track. It's a new sport to me, and so far it's not disappointed. The one crash I've seen so far (at a practice yesterday) was pretty impressive (see attached photo). That's the USA's Katherine Reutter signaling that she was OK after losing control and slamming into the padded wall at the Killarney Center ... er, make that Centre.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 14, 2010 12:29:55 GMT -8
Nice overall review on Jordan last night, and his career from the Houston Chronicle, Chad Hedrick's hometown.
By the way Jordan, remember DQ stands for DON'T QUIT. We have no doubt you won't. I'll be in my seat on 2/24 to cheer you on in the 500!
Commentary Skater Malone is never down, out for too long By JEROME SOLOMON Copyright 2010 Houston Chronicle Feb. 14, 2010, 12:53AM . Doug Benc Getty Images Jordan Malone, right, finished third place at the U.S. Short Track Speedskating Championships. In the Olympics, Apolo Anton Ohno, left, won a silver, but Malone finished with a DQ.
Share Print Share Del.icio.usDiggTwitterYahoo! BuzzFacebookStumbleUponResources Inline speedskating in Spring, vancouver,speedskating,sports,Olympics, You can inline skate in the same rink where Olympic gold medalist Chad Hedrick did growing up. Video by Chris Elliott. Feb. 12, 2010.Figure skating in Houston, Olympics,sports,figure skating,vancouver,skating, A visit to the rink provides an Olympic moment. Video by Chris Elliott. Feb. 10, 2009.Skiing in College Station, sports,Olympics,houston,houston sports,Ski,vancouver,chronicle sports,chron.com, A ski trip is close for Houstonians thanks to Mount Aggie in College Station. Video by Chris Elliott. Feb. 9, 2010.Hockey in Houston, houston sports,sports,chronicle sports,vancouver,hockey,houston,chron.com,Olympics, Lace up the skates: Hockey is another Winter Olympic sport you can do in the Houston area. Video by Chris Elliott. Feb. 8, 2010.Curling in Houston, sports,houston,winter olympics,houston sports,curling,Olympics,chron.com,vancouver,chronicle sports, In the spirit of the Winter Olympics, Anna-Megan Raley gets curling lessons at Houston's only venue for the sport. Video by Chris Elliott. Feb. 7, 2010.Fast ice at the Olympics, Olympics,vancouver olympics,2010,sports,chad hedrick,speedskating,vancouver, Chad Hedrick heads to Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Olympics to capture gold. Video: Smiley Pool Edit: Jeremy Carter. Feb. 6, 2010.
•BLOGS AND MORE •Blogging all things Olympics •TV-lovers' guide to the games •Complete coverage of Vancouver 2010 VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Next to Jordan Malone's name on the results sheet of the men's 1,500-meter short-track race were the two letters skaters dread: DQ.
And like that, his best hope for winning an individual medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics was gone.
Disappointed, but not dejected, Malone, a Denton native, handled the miserable end to his first race as an Olympian with Texas-style grace.
“It is what it is,” Malone said.
What it is is short-track speedskating, a sport in which the margin for error is thinner than the 1.1-millimeter blade on which the competitors glide around the ice.
Malone's night came to a quick and bitter end; teammates Apolo Anton Ohno and J.R. Celski finished second and third, respectively.
Two skaters crashed in the final turn to help Ohno, who tied a record for an American with his sixth medal in the Winter Olympics. That's short track.
“You can't say that isn't the reason we've fallen in love with the sport; it is that you really don't have that 100 percent control,” Malone said before the competition Saturday. “You just have to prepare yourself and let it be chosen by the gods, the short-track gods.”
The short-track gods don't have to do much. The essence of short-track speedskating is that a skater can be out of a race in an instant.
They might as well have the skaters play Operation while circling the tiny 364-foot track at 25 to 30 mph. Buzz.
After four long years of working toward this opportunity — an opportunity he was unable to seize in 2006 after suffering a broken ankle just before the Olympic trials — Malone was disqualified for a collision with a couple of laps to go in the second heat at Pacific Coliseum.
Coyly staying behind the pack through most of the race, Malone went to work with four laps remaining. He moved up from sixth to third, then collided with Japan's Jumpei Yoshizawa. Race officials decided Malone impeded Yoshizawa's progress, and though the Texan finished third — good enough to advance to the next round — he was disqualified.
Next up, the 500 Malone has to wait 10 days before he competes in the 500.
“When you're knocked down, you can only be stepped on if you stay lying down,” he said.
Malone will get up from this and compete. He always has. He has been knocked down — and out — many times, but never stepped on. Operated on, though, for sure.
He has been getting injured through a slew of falls, mishaps and other accidents since he took up skating when he was 5.
Like Ohno, Malone got his start in inline skating. While his mother was begging him to go to baseball practice, all he wanted to do was skate.
When he went to France as a 10-year-old for his first international competition and won, he dropped Little League baseball and flag football and became almost glued to the skates.
“At 5-6, 140, my football career wasn't looking too bright,” he said.
Football players don't suffer as many injuries as Malone has skating. He has broken 16 bones, and he has four titanium plates and 16 screws in his face from a nasty inline crash in 2002. (He switched to short track in 2004.)
“I've had tons of injuries that make you think you're done,” Malone said. “For a second it makes you think, ‘Why am I doing this to myself?' But then you're like, ‘Naaaw.'
“You do it because you love it.”
Physical train wreck It seems there always has been something going on physically with Malone. He has been in and out of enough hospitals that he's starting to make early reservations for his stays.
Malone, 25, was a long shot to compete at this year's Olympics. Not because of talent — he earned his spot on the team — but because he has a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.
He did that wrestling around in a sumo suit at a teammate's birthday party last October. Surgery is set for March, when Malone plans to move to Michigan to attend Northern Michigan University.
Nothing could keep him from living this dream, he said.
He hopes to do something special that will inspire youngsters to follow in his skates.
A few days before the Games, Malone described how excited he was the first time he walked into Pacific Coliseum.
He panned the arena with his video camera and said out loud, “It doesn't get any better than this. Wow, this is it … now don't choke.”
Malone laughed when he told that story.
He didn't choke Saturday.
He just got short-tracked!
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2010 7:27:54 GMT -8
Interesting article on ST "secrets" but nice PR for Jordan, the business man at the end! Secrets can be worth fighting over, even in friendly competition By Michael Traikos, Canwest News ServiceFebruary 16, 2010 The spirit of the Olympics might be about bringing the world's best athletes together for a peaceful, friendly and healthy competition. But at its core, the Games are still about winning gold medals for yourself and your country. Secrets are guarded. Rivalries exist. And if there is an edge to be gained, an athlete will likely take it. In short track speed skating -- a sport in which photo finishes are often required to determine who wins the race -- that means doing anything possible to shave even a hundredth of a second off a skater's lap time. Perhaps that's why a Chinese official was caught filming the Korean women's team as they practised at the Pacific Coliseum two days ago. It seemed like an innocuous act. But when Korean head coach Choi Guang-Bok hurled bottles of water at the cameraman and shouted for him to stop, some jokingly referred to it as an Asian skate-gate. "I think it's much ado about nothing. We smile and continue with our business," China's assistant coach, Paul Marchese, told Agence France-Presse. "There's just a very, very strong rivalry between China and South Korea." That China would try to spy on the Koreans is not surprising. The two countries took eight of the 12 women's short track speed skating medals at the 2006 Olympics in Turin. And they are expected to battle for the gold in the 500-metre final today. Unlike the NFL, in which Bill Belichick's New England Patriots were fined in 2007 for videotaping the sideline signals of New York Jets coaches, cameras are allowed in short track speed skating practices. They are, however, frowned upon. "I know when Apolo [Anton Ohno] skates, he does not want anybody seeing him skate or seeing what he is doing," Jordan Malone said of his U.S. teammate. "And coach Jae Su Chun has actually told us that if it were up to him, he would hang a black curtain around the rink." To the naked eye, short track speed skating seems a lot like a track meet on ice. Skaters race around a tiny oval at 50 km/h. Whoever crosses the finish line first is declared the winner. Unlike football, there are no sideline signals to steal that might tip off an opposing team. But that does not mean there is nothing worth stealing. Malone knows this more than most. For the past three years, the 25-year-old has been manufacturing short track speed skating equipment out of his garage in Salt Lake City, Utah.
"It's a pretty decent science," Malone said. "If you think there's a lot of science that goes into building a bicycle better or making a luge technically better, you'd be amazed at what goes into the curvature of the skate blade.
"I know that when I was starting, I really wanted to get a hold of Lee Jung-Su's skates, who was the Olympic champion in 2006. I never got to gauge a pair of his skates, but he was comfortable enough with me that I was able to look at him and get an idea of what looked around and what looked flat."
A flat skate blade helps a skater glide faster in a straightaway, but makes cornering difficult. A round blade does the opposite. Determining the curvature that fits a skater's stride, style and body type can take years of trial and error. Once they finally find it, they tend to guard it like a PIN.
"Apolo likes to keep his [curvature] pretty private," Malone said. "He doesn't want to let anybody try it out or skate on it. He thinks it's the best, so he wants to keep it for himself. I know that [long track speed skater] Shani Davis won't let anybody touch his skates. We're really good friends. But he still won't show me. He thinks they're the best numbers in the world."
Malone, who shares information like some fans trade Olympic pins, tends to laugh at that level of secrecy.
He originally outfitted just himself and his American teammates. But when skaters from other countries asked if they could also buy his one-of-a-kind products, which are superior to anything else in the market, he saw no problem with helping out the competition.
"I think the advantage of the U.S. is in our spirit and our heart," said Malone. "I think that's what makes us a great performing country. It's not in the technology. It's what we have underneath."www.vancouversun.com/sports/2010wintergames/Secrets+worth+fighting+over+even+friendly+competition/2569642/story.html
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