Shani Davis on Ice, in Search for Olympic Gold in Vancouver

Shani Davis was the first African American to win an individual gold medal at a Winter Olympics game. He could have become famous after that, but Davis had different priorities, namely training for the 2010 Winter Olympics. The 27 year old speed skater will compete in four events in Vancouver, the 500, 1000, 1500, and 5,000 meter. Davis was originally scheduled to skate the 10,000 meter, but later withdrew.

For athletes who only compete on the grand stage every four years, many use medals to earn endorsement deals, and keep the Olympic light shinning on them. Shani Davis takes his medals, goes home, all while avoiding the bright lights. He's not antisocial, he's just extremely focused on his goals, and being in the spotlight, isn't his goal.

His avoidance has caused him to be misunderstood as evident in the many negative stories on the skater. One of the biggest stories occurred, when Davis opted out of the team race in the 2006 Olympics, denying teammate, Chad Hedrick, a chance at 5 medals. That incident left Davis with an image of an unpatriotic loner. If asked to compare Davis to an NFL player, many would name Terrell Owens the football player most like Davis, but in actuality, Davis is probably more similar to Peyton Manning, in his preparation, and training.

Davis takes notes on just about everything regarding his workout. "I usually just write down what I'm doing and how I felt. How I felt if I'm skating fast, compared to if I'm skating slow or if I'm tired. I can always go back and look as a reference and see what I was doing. It's pretty much my life on ice."

In a time when athletes often make the news for behaving badly, Shani Davis has come under fire for not being, a team player. Speed skating is an individual event, except for the three-man team event, and Shani Davis thinks of Shani Davis first, and what's wrong with that? When you see how this young man trains and prepares, how can you not admire his dedication. Davis is committed to his sport and refuses to let anything else, including the media, and fellow American skaters, take his focus off his job, of bringing home gold medals.

Shani Davis doesn't try, to be difficult, that would take too much energy, and his energy is needed on the ice, to power his skates across the finish line.

Sources:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/07/magazine/07Davis-t.html?pagewanted=5
http://www.vancouver2010.com/olympic-news/n/news/afp-news/speed-skating--gold-hungry-davis-'having-fun'_272584kF.html