Sport
Sochi Winter Olympics 2014: Shani Davis on verge of making history
U.S. speed skater Shani Davis. PHOTO/Alexei Filippov/AP
Shani Davis is in the final preparations for a run at Olympic history.
At age 31, he’ll be competing in his third Winter Games at this resort city of Sochi along the Black Sea. Already a 2-time champion in the 1,000 meters, Davis can become the first male speedskater to pull off a three-peat in the same event.
He wants the gold. Badly.
Yet it won’t ruin his life if he doesn’t get it.
“It still really hasn’t hit me that it’s the Olympics,” Davis said during a lengthy chat in the mixed zone after his brief workout. “I’m still just on autopilot, man.”
“You train really hard. You try really hard to win,” Davis said. “If you win, great. If you don’t, you tried your best. You really can’t beat yourself up about it. There are so many people that train all their lives to win something or even just to get here, and a lot of people come away empty-handed. I’ll say it again: I’m very blessed to have the things that I have.”
What he has is impressive.
