In the unpredictable world of 1000m speed skating, it was the luck of a tough heat more than any reflection on ability that saw Australian skater Lachlan Hay not progress to the quarter finals, despite his qualifying time.
In the unpredictable world of 1000m speed skating, it was the luck of a tough heat more than any reflection on ability that saw Australian skater Lachlan Hay not progress to the quarter finals, despite his qualifying time.
In a sport which is not time based with only the first two progressing, Hay, who scored an overseas best time of 1:26.132, would have progressed to the next round if had he been in heats 3, 4, 5 or 6. In fact, in heat 4, he would have beaten the other 4 competitors, the winner Jialing Han (CHN) coming in with a time of 1:26:479.
Instead, he was in heat 8 and despite his time, came in fourth, leaving Lachlan out in the cold at the Pacific Coliseum ice rink in downtown Vancouver.
Yet the 24 year old from Baulkham Hills was upbeat about his performance. “You could skate a world record and maybe still not progress. It’s just not a time based sport”.
But Hay had remained true to his game plan, staying with his heat competitors, finishing less than a second after heat winner Ho-Suk Lee (Korea) and within a fingers breadth of third place getter Yuzo Takamido (Japan).
“It was a fast race from the start, but it was a good skate. I was supposed to stay up there and I didn’t get dropped.”
Immediately he was thinking of his next Olympic experience, perhaps at Sochi.
“I can’t complain, I just have to wait another four years or so!”
First however, Hay is off to relax on a month’s holiday with his partner in Salt Lake City, but not before enjoying his remaining time at the Games.
“I haven’t really seen much, so I hope to go to long track, see the women’s halfpipe, anything I can get a ticket to!”
New Zealand skater Blake Skjellerup “did a Bradbury” in the heats – progressing from fourth place to second following the fall of Italian Nicola Rodigari and France’s Maxime Chataignier.
Eyes are still on the crowd favourite Apolo Anton Ohno, who began his heat in fourth and passed his competitors, moving to first place. Charles Hamlin of Canada is the fastest qualifier for the next round, followed by Yunfeng May of Chin and Ohno.
The final will be contested on Day 9 (Saturday 20 February).
Confirming that Lachlan Hay’s time in the 1000 metres at the Short Track last night of 1.26:132 beat the previous Olympic Record that was set by a Korean in Torino of 1.26.739.
It was just a shame that he drew such a fast heat last night where they all broke the previous Olympic record.
As a way of comparison, Steven Bradbury won his heat in Salt Lake City in a time of 1 m 30.95
Felicity Byrnes
AOC - Vancouver
