Slashed speedskater races Olympic clock

November 4, 4:15 PMOlympics ExaminerMeri-Jo Borzilleri

Previous Next

Comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Olympics Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

With 100 days left in the countdown toward Vancouver, U.S. athletes are ramping up preparations for the 2010 Games.

Short-track speedskater J.R. Celski has made his first Olympic team, but for him, the next 100 days will be vastly different than most of his teammates. After nearly a lifetime of preparation, he’s racing the clock.

Going into the season, he expected his biggest challenge to be stepping from the lengthy shadow of childhood idol Apolo Ohno. But he was wrong.

But the Federal Way, Wash. speedskater sliced open his leg on the final day of Olympic trials in September. The six-inch gash cut his quad muscle through to the bone. After surgery, and under the watchful eye of five-time Olympic champion Eric Heiden, now an orthopedic surgeon, Celski, 19, is hoping to heal and get back in shape for the Games.

This weekend, Celski will be in Montreal for the World Cup. But he’ll be a spectator.
Read about Celski’s plan and timetable for the comeback one doctor says would be something “close to a miracle.”