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Joey Cheek's gold medal is the second for the U.S. in speedskating in Turin.
TURIN, Italy (AP) -- Negotiating four slippery turns with ease, Joey Cheek skated the two best races of his career Monday and came away an Olympic winner.
His victory in the men's 500 meters -- a furious sprint -- gave the United States its second speedskating gold medal of the Turin Games, adding to the one Chad Hedrick won in the 5,000 meters Saturday.
It was also the second straight 500 victory by an American in as many Olympics. Casey FitzRandolph won at Salt Lake City, but this time nearly fell in his first race and finished 12th.
"He not only won, he blew everybody away," FitzRandolph said.
Cheek skated 1¼ laps in 34.94 seconds, giving him a combined time of 1 minute, 9.76 seconds. He was the only one to break 35 seconds on the slow Turin ice -- and he did it in both races.
"I was focused, relaxed and I enjoyed it," he said.
Dmitry Dorofeyev of Russia won the silver in 1:10.41 and Lee Kang Seok of South Korea earned a bronze in 1:10.43.
In a sport usually decided by hundredths of a second, Cheek won by a commanding 0.65 seconds.
"It's miraculous," he said. "I'm kind of shocked that I skated that fast."
Cheek skated smoothly, never bobbling or falling. The 26-year-old former inline skater from Greensboro, N.C., had greatly improved his form coming into the Olympics, winning the world sprint championships last month.
"I knew I was in great shape, but there's so many amazing skaters here," he said. "I screwed up so many times over the years, but I've always tried to learn from what I did wrong."
By finishing his first race nearly a half-second ahead of everyone, Cheek left little suspense about the outcome.
"He's incredible," teammate Kip Carpenter said. "He is by far the best skater out there today. In my opinion, he's the only guy who brought his 'A' game to this competition. It's great for our sport, it's great for speedskating in the U.S."
Cheek already knew what it was like to win a medal, taking bronze in the 1,000 at Salt Lake City.
This time, he picked up a U.S. flag for his victory lap and teared up as he circled the oval to the cheers of the predominantly Dutch crowd.
Waiting to take the top spot on the podium, he closed his blue eyes and rubbed his stubbled face. Then he hopped up to accept his bouquet of flowers and flashed a wide grin.
"I had no idea it would come together like it did," he said.
Cheek's easygoing nature makes him popular among the other American skaters and his Dutch and Japanese rivals.
"He works harder than anyone," teammate Tucker Fredricks said. "Everything he gets, he deserves. He puts so much into each training session, he takes nothing for granted."
Afterward, Cheek said he would donate his $25,000 bonus from the U.S. Olympic Committee to Right to Play, an organization of former Olympic, Paralympic and professional athletes worldwide who support using sport for development, health and peace.
Right to Play is operated by Johann Olav Koss, the Norwegian who won three golds at the 1994 Lillehammer Games and inspired Cheek to take up speedskating.
After competing in the 1,000 and 1,500, Cheek will retire and attend college to study economics.
Cheek was the only American in medal contention.
Fredricks was 25th and Carpenter, the bronze medalist in Salt Lake City, was 26th.
World record holder Joji Kato of Japan disappointed as well, finishing sixth.
Jeremy Wotherspoon of Canada was ninth, four years after he caught his skate and crashed to the ice as the heavy favorite for gold.
Japan's Hiroyasu Shimizu, the 1998 gold medalist and 2002 silver medalist, was 18th.
The 500 winner is based on the cumulative time from two races, a format that began in 1998. This was the first time both races were scheduled the same day because of the addition of team pursuit
