Davis Finishes World Cup Season Undefeated in the 1000m

HEERENVEEN, Netherlands (March 14, 2010) The 2009-2010 Essent ISU World Cup Final concluded today as Shani Davis (Chicago, IL) won the 1000m distance with a time of 1:08.89, capping off an undefeated season at that distance and taking the top Overall spot in the 1000m World Cup rankings. 

Davis was the only skater to break the 1:09 mark today. Trevor Marsicano (Ballston Spa, NY) skated his best race of the season finishing seventh in the 1000m with an impressive time of 1:09.72, landing him at 13th in Overall World Cup rankings in the 1000m.

In today’s Team Pursuit event, Team USA - Ryan Bedford (Midland, MI), Davis and Jonathan Kuck (Champaign, IL) -  were paired with Canada in the first pair. The team started the race out with one of the fastest laps ever skated in a Team Pursuit (25.4), but it proved to be too much. While Team USA had a commanding lead on the Canadians, they just could not hold onto the pace.  Team USA took Bronze today behind Norway and Canada, respectively, and finished the season ranked fourth in Overall World Cup Team Pursuit standings.

The U.S. women had a strong day with four skaters finishing in the top 14 in the Ladies 1000m. Jennifer Rodriguez (Miami, FL) finished sixth, Heather Richardson (High Point, NC) was ninth, Rebekah Bradford (Apple Valley, MN) was 12th, and Elli Ochowicz (Palo Alto, CA) finished 14th.  In Overall rankings, Richardson finished the season in ninth place, followed closely by Rodriguez in 11th place, Ochowicz at 18th, and Bradford at 22nd. This weekend’s World Cup final was a very solid showing for the U.S. women’s team and a great sign of things to come.

"I'm very pleased with how the team finished today. As for most of them it was their last race of the season. They all raced very aggressively and with determination and the results reflect that effort,"  said US Speedskating National Sprint Coach Ryan Shimabukuro.

For complete World Cup results and rankings, please visit www.usspeedskating.org.