U.S. Short Track Championships at the Hardee's Iceplex in Chesterfield

Live webcast from St Louis - 2008 U.S. Nationals via US Speedskating - Go to Results and then Broadcast/Webcast
Results after 2 races (1500m and 500m)and the 9 laps.
Men
1 - Ohno, Apolo 2140.0
2 - Celski, J.R. 1552.0
3 - Simon, Jeffrey 1384.0
4 - Jayner, Travis 1166.0
5 - Malone, Jordan 1091.0
6 - Bedford, Ryan 1027.0
7 - Lobello, Anthony 617.0

Ladies
1 - Derrick, Kimberly 2200.0
2 - Reutter, Katherine 1710.0
3 - Dudek, Alyson 1283.0
4 - Garcia, Maria 1212.0
5 - Smith, Jessica 1107.0
6 - Baver, Allison 1094.0
10 - Labourdette, Vicky 363.0

In the news...
That's speedskating
St-Louis Today- December 21
CHESTERFIELD — Drama surrounded defending champions Apolo Anton Ohno and Katherine Reutter on Saturday in the U.S. Short Track Championships at Hardee's Iceplex. Ohno finished third in the men's 500 meters — the second time around. Referees stopped the first attempt at the race on the third of 4½ laps with Ohno about to pass Jordan Malone for first place. Ohno stumbled and fell, causing J.R. Celski and Travis Jayner to fall into the boards as well. Confusion ensued before the restart, while referees determined whether Ohno should be disqualified. After being allowed to race, Ohno took the lead on the first lap and held it until the end of the final turn, when his skate clipped one of the blocks used to determine the inside boundary of the track. He fell again, taking Malone with him. Jayner skated around the sprawled pair and won the race in 43.958 seconds. Malone crossed just before Ohno.

"The second race sucked because I was five feet from winning another gold," said Ohno. "But like I said, the goal was top 3 in each race."

OHNO CRASHES OUT
CHESTERFIELD, Mo. - Edmonton Sun - December 21
A late crash by Apolo Anton Ohno allowed Travis Jayner to win the 500-metre final yesterday at the U.S. Short Track Speedskating Championship.
The wild finish completed a confusing race that the referee ordered to run over again.
Kimberly Derrick captured a smoothly run women's final.
Ohno was in the lead when he tripped over a block coming out of the final turn of the last lap and took Jordan Malone to the ice. Jayner won in 43.958 seconds and Malone recovered to take second in 44.498. He was followed by Ohno and J.R. Celski.

U.S. Short Track Championships offer a chance to look ahead to 2010 Vancouver Olynpics
Kathleen Nelson -St-Louis Post - December 21
[...] With the U.S. Short Track Championships in town just 14 months before the 2010 Games in Vancouver, the temptation to look into the crystal ball is irresistible for Bob Crowley, executive director of U.S. Speedskating

."We have the Olympic team right here," he said, surveying the lobby of Hardee's
Iceplex. "We just don't know who they are.[...]

U.S. Speedskating has lofty goals for Vancouver. The record medal count for a U.S. speed skating team is 11, in 2002. Crowley said the governing body had worked with the U.S. Olympic Committee in setting a goal for 2010 but wouldn't be specific, other than, "we're going to be aggressive."Ohno was more expansive.

"In 2002, the results on paper were phenomenal," he said. "For Vancouver, they're shooting for that and beyond. All of our coaches want us on top of the podium for each event. There's a lot of extra push."