Sophomore Goes for the Gold

Last Sunday, 1998 Olympian Dan Weinstein '03 captured a gold medal as part of the U.S. Men's 5000-meter Relay Team at the Short Track Speed Skating World Championships in Chonju, South Korea. It was the U.S.'s first relay gold in 25 years, when the U.S. won the inaugural 1976 championships in Champaign, Illinois.

Along with teammates Apolo Anton Ohno (Seattle, WA), Ron Biondo (Broadview Heights, Ohio), and Rusty Smith (Sunset Beach, Calif.), Weinstein grabbed the 5000-meter relay final in a time of seven minutes 15.885 seconds.

Taking control of the race from early on, the American team outpaced the favored Canadians as well as China and Italy. The U.S. opponents got tangled up, and the Americans were able to break away from the pack early on.

"The relay gold was not expected," Weinstein said. "Canada has won almost every World Cup relay this year, and when they got tangled in traffic during the race, we capitalized."

Weinstein, who also skated the individual races for the U.S. team, finished 12th overall in the 1000-meter distance. He was disqualified in the quarterfinals. However, he finished 12th overall in the final standings.

"I got called for 'impeding'-basically a bad pass," Weinstein said. "It was too bad considering I crossed the line first in that quarter-final."

Weinstein started out the season slowly, gradually building up to a World Cup Victory. He claimed the 1000m at the final world cup stop in Austria, making the disqualification that much more disappointing.

"I don't think I skated to my potential this year," Weinstein said. "Hopefully I'll get to the final at the Olympics next year.

However, the sophomore is not going to spend his time looking back. He's planning to compete on the World Cup circuit in the fall, and race at the Olympic Trials in December. A top six finish would land him a position on the American relay team, and a finish in the top three would qualify him for individual racing events in Salt Lake City.

Weinstein will resume training for next year's season shortly.

"I'm not changing much from what I've done in the past," Weinstein said. "What I've done has worked for me."

Weinstein captured three individual medals at the World Championships last year.

"Now, I just have to train hard this summer and see where I am in the fall."