Speedskating news

Mathman

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Joined

Jun 21, 2003

• Nov 22, 2003

• #1

A sign of the times.

"The U.S. short-track team pulled out of next week's World Cup event in South Korea after team member Apolo Anton Ohno received death threats via e-mail. Ohno won two medals at the Salt Lake Olympics, including a disputed gold over South Korea's Kim Dong-sung."

Mathman

 

windspirit

On the Ice

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Joined

Jul 26, 2003

• Nov 22, 2003

• #2

Fanaticism at its best.

More and more often I think that the professions that are always going to be very much in demand are: a psychiatrist, a psychologist, and all kind of therapists... It's kinda sad, if you think of it.

 

B

bleuchick

On the Ice

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Jul 27, 2003

• Nov 22, 2003

• #3

Mathman said:

A sign of the times.

"The U.S. short-track team pulled out of next week's World Cup event in South Korea after team member Apolo Anton Ohno received death threats via e-mail. Ohno won two medals at the Salt Lake Olympics, including a disputed gold over South Korea's Kim Dong-sung."

Mathman

Click to expand...

go figure...

as if the ISU does not have publicity problems in figure skating and now must deal with problems in speed skating.

 

Joesitz (RIP)

Joined

Jul 11, 2003

• Nov 23, 2003

• #4

Whatever happened to "It's not whether you win, it's how you play the game"?

Do you think Octavio will say anything about this?

Joe

 

Mathman

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Jun 21, 2003

• Nov 23, 2003

• #5

It's hard to know what to think. Maybe this is overreaction on the part of U.S. speedskating, unless they really think that the South Korean officials are unable to provide adequate security for all the athletes. There are maybe a billion people out there who have access to e-mail. If, say, one one-hundredth of one per cent of all the people in the world are crazy, that makes a hundred thousand lunatics who might send a message like that to an athlete.

Early in her career Michelle Kwan received a bunch of death threats from some skating fanatic in France. When Henry Aaron was chasing Babe Ruth's home run record, he got hate mail by the tens of thousands. Sometimes you just have to skate on.

Mathman

 

VIETgrlTerifa

Record Breaker

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Joined

Jul 26, 2003

• Nov 23, 2003

• #6

I think it maybe a bit overreaction by the U.S team too, but you never know...

I heard there are a lot of people in S. Korea who absolutely hate Apollo Anton Ohno...I remember during the Soccer World Cup last year in S. Korea where there were a lot of fans with signs and banners bashing Apollo Anton Ohno.

 

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Verbalgirl77

On the Ice

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Jul 26, 2003

• Nov 23, 2003

• #7

VIETgrlTerifa said:

I think it maybe a bit overreaction by the U.S team too, but you never know...

I heard there are a lot of people in S. Korea who absolutely hate Apollo Anton Ohno...I remember during the Soccer World Cup last year in S. Korea where there were a lot of fans with signs and banners bashing Apollo Anton Ohno.

Click to expand...

The whole situation is unbelieveably lame. Apollo beats their speedskating star in one race. That skater was also entered in 2 or 3 other races and ended up winning zero medals. So I guess they was Apollo's fault too?

Lame with a capital L.

 

VIETgrlTerifa

Record Breaker

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Jul 26, 2003

• Nov 23, 2003

• #8

I agree that the whole situation is weird and that the fans should get over it and move on.

However, I think a lot of them can't let go because the fans and apparently S. Korea Speed skating fed truly believe that the ISU basically took the gold medal off of Kim Dong-sung's neck just to give it the American superstar at the time Apollo Anton Ohno, and a lot of them think that if the roles were reversed, there was no way the ISU would have taken Ohno's gold medal away and reward it to Dong-sung on American soil....and I guess the fact that he didn't win any other medals at the other events kind of fueled the fire.

 

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Verbalgirl77

On the Ice

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Jul 26, 2003

• Nov 23, 2003

• #9

VIETgrlTerifa said:

I agree that the whole situation is weird and that the fans should get over it and move on.

However, I think a lot of them can't let go because the fans and apparently S. Korea Speed skating fed truly believe that the ISU basically took the gold medal off of Kim Dong-sung's neck just to give it the American superstar at the time Apollo Anton Ohno, and a lot of them think that if the roles were reversed, there was no way the ISU would have taken Ohno's gold medal away and reward it to Dong-sung on American soil....and I guess the fact that he didn't win any other medals at the other events kind of fueled the fire.

Click to expand...

To me, this is no different from the race where a South Korean skater tripped Apollo and caused the massive pileup that resulted in the last place Australian skater winning the gold medal. That sport is so insane and disqualifications happen all of the time. Kim Dong-sung had a terrible Olympics overall and had no one to blame but himself for failing to medal in ANY of his multiple events.

But, like you said, they need to get over it.

 

VIETgrlTerifa

Record Breaker

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Joined

Jul 26, 2003

• Nov 23, 2003

• #10

I remember that race where the Australian won...that whole race was crazy.

If one wants to make an arugment saying that being an Olympic Champion doesn't always mean you are the best needs to show a tape of that race as evidence.

 

Joesitz (RIP)

Joined

Jul 11, 2003

• Nov 24, 2003

• #11

And don't forget Monica Seles.

Joe

 

Spirit

On the Ice

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Jul 26, 2003

• Nov 24, 2003

• #12

I'm a really big fan of Monica Seles -- my favorite athlete in the world -- so I never forget her.

Regarding Apolo, he received thousands of death threats at the Olympics, enough to earn a 24-hour guard from Utah Highway Patrolmen and to be moved to a different hotel every night.

And all those people who hate Apolo because the Korean skater was (rightly) disqualified: they apparently don't want to remember that Apolo was disqualified in a later race when he bumped someone. The moment it happened, he acknowledged what he'd done, accepted the disqualification with a smile, and forgot about it.

Sure sounds like bias to me.

 

Mathman

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Jun 21, 2003

• Nov 24, 2003

• #13

Spirit, cool Monica site! You have some really great pictures of the rugged Colorado rock formations. I especially like the balanced rock in the last picture.

Mathman

 

Spirit

On the Ice

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Jul 26, 2003

• Nov 24, 2003

• #14

Thanks, Mathman!

I had about 3/4 of a day to spend in Colorado Springs, as the tennis match was that night in Denver and I was on a tight budget. I spent the day well, seeing as much as I could, but I learned a month later that the USFSA is headquartered there, along with their museum and hall of fame. That would have been a no-brainer. The U.S. Olympic Team headquarters and clothing store is there, too. I was right there, just a few miles from all of it, and I had no idea.

Ah, well. Something for next time.

 

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dizzydi

On the Ice

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Joined

Jul 28, 2003

• Nov 24, 2003

• #15

Threat.......

There is probably a lot more to the death threat than we know. Implying that it's an over-reaction is assuming quite a lot.

You know what happens when one "assumes"?

Dizzy

 

Mathman

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Jun 21, 2003

• Nov 25, 2003

• #16

Here's a happier report from South Korea, about pairs skaters Hartshorn and Sweiding joining the cast of "Magic on Ice" for a run in Seoul.

http://www.goldenskate.com/articles/2003/112403.shtml

MM

 

Last edited: Nov 25, 2003