Wotherspoon calls it quits with no regrets

VANCOUVER: Canada's Jeremy Wotherspoon, once the world's most dominant speedskater over 500m and 1,000m, said he had no regrets about ending his career without an Olympic gold medal.

Wotherspoon, whose four Olympic appearances were plagued by bad luck and injuries, finished a distant 14th in the 1,000m on Wednesday, his final race at the Olympics and one of the last of his career.

"Regrets? No not really," said the 33-year-old, three-time world champion over 500m whose only Olympic medal was a 500m silver at the 1998 Nagano Olympics.

"I feel there are things I could have done better in the past but that is the way it is," he said.

Wotherspoon, a household name in Canada, also failed to win a medal in the 500m in which he still holds the world record.

A pre-Games favorite, he had to settle for silver in Nagano and four years later in Salt Lake City his dream of 500m gold was again shattered when he crashed on the ice after only a few steps.

At the Turin 2006 Games the tall Canadian again disappointed with ninth and 11th place finishes over the 500 and 1,000, while in between Olympic flops he racked up a record for most World Cup victories by any skater.

"It felt good to go out and skate in front of such a crowd today, to show some appreciation," he said. "It was a bit emotional in my last Olympic race.

"I knew it would be hard to just go out and beat the world's best," he said.

Asked whether he would now hang up his skates, Wotherspoon said there may be one or two races left this year but that would be it.

"You can get a bit addicted to what it feels like to have a good race," he said. "But there is a moment where you must think about it.

"I am at that point where every race from now on will be leaving me wanting that feeling more."

Reuters

(China Daily 02/19/2010 page12)