Q1: You said the other day that second is the same as coming in 50th, that the only thing that matters is gold. But you’re sitting there with a smile on your face after winning silver.

HEDRICK: Today I can honestly say that I went out there and left it all out there on the ice. After four events, this being my fifth, I could feel it start taking its toll on me, I didn’t feel that fresh. I took the last two days doing nothing but laying around, resting and trying to get energy, eating a lot of food and everything. I felt great at the beginning of the race, but eventually, with about 12, 15 laps to go I just sort of lost my edge there.

These guys, they skated a great race. But at the same time they’re skating in a few less events than I am. The 1000 meter and the 1,500 meter took a lot of snap out of my legs and I just didn’t feel like myself. But that’s part of the deal whenever you pick five different events and try to go for something spectacular, you end up sacrificing some time in different events. That’s something that I chose to do. Right before the New Year I added the 1000 to my list, but you know? I’m going to be back and we’re going to make another run for it in Vancouver.

Q2: When eventual bronze medalist Carl Verheijen started to close in on you, did you see him and start to pull away? Can you tell us about that point in the race?

HEDRICK: My whole goal was when I saw ... we have these big TV screens at the end of each straightaway so you can see when other skaters are coming and when they’re catching you. I saw Carl catching me and I looked at the lap board and he was catching three or four tenths here or there. Well, I decided that with six laps to go that the best way for me to do it, I had a little advantage on him, was just to rest and get my breath and let him catch me and hopefully with about two or three to go, as soon as he catches me he’ll think he has me. As soon as he catches me I did a sprint and I sprinted like one lap, I think I picked up seven or eight tenths in one lap. That was my strategy there, I think I was three seconds down with about six laps to go and I knew that Carl and I were just racing for the silver medal. I knew I had to use some type of strategy and start using my head.

Q3: You get to go home with a matching Olympic set, so to speak, how does that feel?

HEDRICK: You know, it’s a great feeling. You know I think I was the third Olympic athlete in the Winter Olympics from America to have three medals. I’m very happy with my accomplishments, but at the same time I felt that I left a lot of medals out there, I didn’t skate perfect. I let myself down a few times, but at the same time I held my head high. I worked really hard to come here and I was really proud to be a part of the U.S. Olympic Team, to represent my country and do what I love. I’m very lucky to come here and be able to skate every day for a living, that’s great.

Q4: When you look back at these Games, will you think that your accomplishments were somehow diminished because of the Shani Davis controversy?

HEDRICK: No, you guys think more about Shani than I do. That’s the truth. Shani and I are out there skating fast, we’re not worried about what each other’s doing. We might have done it for one race because there was this boiling point that you guys pushed on us. But we went out here and competed hard because that’s what we’ve been looking forward to doing and you guys haven’t seen the last of Shani and I. We’re going to be in Vancouver I’m sure, we’re going to be leading a new group of U.S. skaters in the Olympics in Vancouver. Everything’s going to be fine, we’re just competitors and that’s it. If we get along perfectly and we’re competing in the same race, neither of us want it bad enough in my opinion.

Q5: You said you feel as if you let yourself down. Obviously that wasn’t today since you said you gave it your all. When were you feeling that?

HEDRICK: Today was the first race where I didn’t win and I was like, you know, Bob de Jong skated a great race and I really went out there and tried hard. I’m sure you guys saw with three laps to go how much I wanted to do well. I really dug deep and I wasn’t going to lay down for anybody. I could have quit, with 10 to go I was tired with 12, 15 laps to go. I could have quit, but I didn’t. I was going to prove to everybody how big my heart is. You know, I feel that the 1500 meter was a measure of a let down for me. I tell you, that was a picture perfect race and I couldn’t have done any better. I probably could have done better in the 1000 as well. And of course we all know the story on the team pursuit. We had a good team, everybody tried their hardest, but it just didn’t win it for us.

Q6: Did you learn anything out here about how to handle this big of a competition, with so many people watching?

HEDRICK: The biggest thing I’m gonna learn is ... I have a story. Leroy Burrell the track star called me right before this Olympics started and he said, ‘hey man. There’s going to be a lot more cameras, there’s going to be a lot more people, but it’s just another race.’ He goes, ‘I trained four years for the 100-meter dash. And I got there and I was just amazed when I got there and I saw all the cameras and everything and it took me completely out of the game.’

When I got out here I wanted to be friendly to the media and everything, I tried to pretend it’s a normal race. But when there’s just 10 percent of you people at a normal World Cup, there’s a thousand people here for the Olympics and 100 people here to write something in our paper for the World Cup, it’s a little bit different. But its’ still ice speedskating, we don’t bring any new skaters for the Olympics. It’s the same skaters we’ve competed against all year and that’s basically what I learned. Just treat it like a World Cup.

Q7: I realize it’s still four years away, but do you think it’s likely in Vancouver that you would race fewer times?

HEDRICK: Eric Heiden is a freak of nature.  I think in order to be successful at multiple events, you’re going to have to look at the schedule before-hand and pick events. If I want to do the 1000 meter, I want to do the 1500 and the 5k and the 10k, then I’m going to have to ... I might have to drop one race so that I can effectively skate each race to the best of my ability. I feel like sometimes I went out there and I was 75 percent rather than going out there and really being ready for the race. Today I fought hard, but I wasn’t ready for the race.

Q8: What was your strategy going out there today? Were you looking at Bob de Jong’s time and adjusting your race?

HEDRICK: I wasn’t looking at Bob at all. In the 10k you go out there and feel your skates. You just go out there and feel your laps, in the first three laps you say, ‘hey, is this a speed I can continue for a total of 25 laps?’ I felt like it was. I didn’t have the energy I usually have at the end and I sort of faded away. I started getting fatigued with 12 or 15 laps to go. When you’re looking at the board and there’s 12 laps left, it’s not a good thing. But you know what?  I stuck it out, I did whatever I could to make the best of it, got in the position for a silver medal and on a bad day like I had today a silver medal is not bad. Of course I’m here to win and it’s tough to swallow, but at the same time I gave it my all.

Q9: In the press conference before the Olympics you were asked if one gold would make a successful Olympics and you said no, that 20 percent is not successful. Is that how you’re feeling?

HEDRICK: Yeah, I feel like I left a lot of races out there. I won my first one and then went oh for four. I’m a little upset. But it was a good experience. I gained a lot of experience as a speedskater and now when I leave here I’ll be a different skater. There’s still more skating for me out there and there’s still more goals for me to achieve and that just means that I’m not leaving the sport.

Q10: If you were so tired, where did you get your energy for three fast laps at the end?

HEDRICK: Right here (taps his chest). My heart’s bigger than everybody else out there. If other people would have felt like I did today, they wouldn’t have been on the podium. That was just me refusing to lose.