Fabris beats powerful Americans in 1,500

TURIN, Italy, Feb. 21 (UPI) -- Enrico Fabris surprised the powerful American contingent Tuesday and won the Olympic 1,500-meter speed skating event.

Americans Shani Davis, Chad Hedrick and Joey Cheek have all won speed skating gold medals at these Olympics and they were all in this race. Defending 1,500-meter Olympic champion Derek Parra from the United States was competing as well.

Fabris defeated them all with a time of 1 minute, 45.97 seconds.

Davis got a leg up in his rivalry with Hedrick by winning the silver while Hedrick took the bronze. Cheek was ninth and Parra 19th.

Fabris was the bronze medal winner in the 3,000-meter race earlier in the Turin Olympics, an event won by Hedrick. Cheek then captured the 500 and Davis edged Cheek in the 1,000.

The United States men have six speed skating medals in five events with only the 10,000-meter race remaining on the program. That will be skated on Friday.

Hedrick and Davis have not been on speaking terms since Hedrick criticized Davis for not taking part in the team pursuit race, an event in which the Americans failed to get past the quarterfinals.