Davis, Hedrick move to end 'soap opera'

Pair, still frosty, shake hands on medal stand, claim feud is over

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Shani Davis and Chad Hedrick were fine during medal ceremoies. Perhaps because Enrico Fabris was between them.

TURIN, Italy - Shani Davis and Chad Hedrick finally shook hands Wednesday, accepted their medals and insisted they’re ready to move on from the “soap opera.”

The feuding, not-feuding American speedskaters said far too much has been made of their personal rivalry at the Turin Games. But they stopped short of saying they settled anything with a handshake during the ceremony a day after both won medals at the men’s 1,500 meters.

“I did my best, but fell a little short,” Davis said of his silver. “To me, that’s more important than the handshake.”

While it wasn’t the frosty spat of the night before, it wasn’t exactly a love-fest, either.

“Let me tell you, we’ve never been buddies,” Hedrick said. “We’ve been acquaintances but it’s never been more than that. So for people to think there’s a big problem, it was crazy.”

Hedrick, the 5,000 meter gold medalist, settled for bronze in the 1,500 Tuesday after he and Davis became so absorbed with each other that Italy’s Enrico Fabris slipped through to win the gold. Davis stormed out of a contentious press conference afterward, saying he was still upset Hedrick didn’t shake his hand after Davis won the 1,000 last Saturday.

“It started to become a soap opera in there, so I decided to leave,” Davis said.

Hedrick countered he felt betrayed by Davis when his teammate elected to sit out the team pursuit relay last week so that he could concentrate on his individual events. Hedrick, who still has one race left in Turin, hopes the conciliatory move will enable him to focus on Friday’s 10,000 meters.

“I’ve got a 10K to worry about,” Hedrick said. “He’s got two medals in his pocket so he’s done great. He’s competed at an awesome level and I hope to go and finish it for our team.”

The Americans were civil Wednesday night, smiling when they walked on stage with Fabris at Medals Plaza. Davis clapped lightly when Hedrick was introduced and seemed receptive to his rival’s handshake.

The two had not spoken to clear the air, though Davis seemed to leave the door open to the prospect after the Olympics.

“Whatever happens, happens,” Davis said. “I’m open to anything. It’s just too bad that things got blown out of proportion the way they did. It shows that we’re not perfect as human beings. None of us are perfect.”

Davis even said he’s pulling Hedrick to win the 10,000.

“I’m still rooting for him,” Davis said. “He is an American.”

The Associated Press