Davis wins in second straight Olympics

RICHMOND, British Columbia, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- American Shani Davis, utilizing his combination of power and grace, won the men's 1,000-meter speed skating race Wednesday for the second straight Olympics.

Davis skated in the final pair at the Richmond Oval and he knew as he stepped on the ice that he had to turn in a time better than 1:09.12. That was the mark recorded by Tae-Bum Mo of South Korea, who 48 hours earlier had won the gold medal over 500 meters.

Davis was a third of a second behind Mo's split time after 200 meters and still a quarter of a second behind at 600 meters.

The American star, however, turned in one of the smooth, tight turns for which he is known and powered down the final stretch to win in a time of 1:08.94.

That was .05 of a second slower than his winning time in Turin four years ago, but he became the first skater to repeat as Olympic champion in a distance that has been contested since 1976.

American Chad Hedrick wound up with the bronze, the fourth medal of his Olympic career.

Hedrick won a gold, silver and bronze in Turin. His four medals have come in four different distances.

Davis will be at it again Sunday in the 1,500-meter race.