In the men’s 500-meters, which is skated twice, Joey Cheek (Greensboro, NC) finished seventh overall after an impressive second race. According to U.S. Speedskating national coach, Ryan Shimabukuro, Cheek “made some mistakes in his first 500-meters but managed to attack aggressively in the second race giving him a strong finish.”

Cheek finished seventh in his first 500-meters race in 36.15. His second race garnered him a sixth place finish in 36.04.

Teammate Kip Carpenter (Brookfield, Wis.) finished on Cheek’s heels with an eighth place finish overall.

Carpenter endured a panic moment during his first race when his pair partner, Finland’s Pekka Koskela, fell on the first turn and Carpenter had to literally jump over Koskela to get through the turn. Carpenter was allowed a reskate, which he skated to an impressive 36.26 finish, landing him in ninth place. Topping off his first two races, Carpenter stormed to an eighth place finish in his third race, finishing in 36.06.

2002 Olympic gold medallist in the 500-meters, Casey FitzRandolph (Verona, Wis.), still recovering from an energy-draining virus that has affected him since last month’s World Cup in Holland, finished 20th overall. FitzRandolph’s first race netted him a 22nd place finish in 36.98. FitzRandolph bettered his second race finishing in 36.81 to a 20th place finish. FitzRandolph had to spend an extra 15 minutes trying to keep warm while the event staff repaired a hole in the ice that was created when Koskela fell. In efforts to recover, FitzRandolph was pulled from Saturday’s 1000-meters race.

In the ladies’ 3000-meters, Canada’s Cindy Klassen won the World Championship title in 4:10.37. Catherine Raney (Elm Grove, Wis.) finished 14th in 4:20.33. Maria Lamb (River Falls, Wis.) finished 19th in 4:25.19.

The World Championships Single Distances continues Saturday. Cheek and Nick Pearson (Lake Placid, NY) will compete in the 1000-meters. The 5000-meters World Champion Chad Hedrick (Spring, Tex.) and KC Boutiette (Tacoma, Wash.) will compete in the 10,000-meters. On the ladies’ side, Chris Witty (West Allis, Wis.), Elli Ochowicz (Waukesha, Wis.) and Jennifer Rodriguez (Miami, Fla.) will compete for the 500-meters title.

Results; (for more detailed information, please visit http://events.horses.nl/skating/2004-2005/inzell/)

Ladies’ 3000-meters:

C. Klassen CAN 4:10.37; 2. C. Pechstein GER 4:10.89; 3. K. Groves CAN 4:11.97; 4. D. Anschutz GER 4:13.90; 5. C. Hughes CAN 4:14.69; 6. M. Tabata JPN 4:16.83

Americans: 14. C. Raney 4:20.33; 19. M. Lamb 4:25.19

Men’s 500-meters (first race)

J. Kato JPN 35.57; 2. H. Shimizu JPN 35.75; 3. J. Wotherspoon CAN 35.87; 4. D. Lobkov RUS 35.90; 5. Y. Oikawa JPN 35.93; 6. F. Yu CHN 36.09

Americans: 7. J. Cheek 36.15; 9. K. Carpenter (reskated alone) 36.26; 22. C. FitzRandolph 36.98

Men’s 500-meters (second race):

J. Kato JPN 35.45; 2. H. Shimizu JPN 35.71; 3. F. Yu CHN 35.79; 4. J. Wotherspoon CAN 35.83; 5. Y. Oikawa JPN 35.85; 6. J. Cheek USA 36.04

Americans: 8. K. Carpenter (was third race) 36.06; 20. C. FitzRandolph 36.81

Men’s 500-meters Overall:

J. Kato JPN 71.020 points; 2. H. Shimizu JPN 71.460; 3. J. Wotherspoon CAN 71.700; 4. Y. Oikawa JPN 71.780; 5. F. Yu CHN 71.880; 6. D. Lobkov RUS 72.040

Americans: 7. J. Cheek 72.190; 8. K. Carpenter 72.320; 20. C. FitzRandolph 73.790

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USS expresses its sincere appreciation to its gold medal sponsors (ADT, Qwest), silver medal sponsor (Nike) and bronze medal sponsors (Dow, TOSH-IHC, Jet Set Sports, DMT, Hilton Salt Lake Center) for their generous support.