Athletes rarely get second chances. Normally they can hold on to their moment of glory only briefly before someone younger, stronger and faster grabs it away. But last week at the speed-skating oval in Albertville, several leading contestants had a chance to relive events from the Calgary Olympics four years ago. Some hoped to repeat their success; others sought to redeem their failures.
The races took place under conditions far different from those in Calgary's stunning indoor oval, which is every speed skater's picture of paradise. In Albertville, days of driving rain that left the ice bumpy alternated with sunny ones that left it slushy. World records? Personal bests? This track was about survival, not records, and woe to the skater unable to block out the noise of the TGV supertrain from Lyons rushing by on tracks 600 ft. from the north curve.
First to survive was German librarian Gunda Niemann, who had finished seventh in the event at Calgary. Niemann carries not a teddy bear but a judo doll to each competition, and it brought her luck. She shot from the starting line faster than countrywoman Heike Warnicke and won the 3,000 m going away by a comfortable three seconds. Back in the pack, but victorious in a different sort of race, with no finish line, was American Mary Docter. She caused a pre- Olympic sensation with the admission that she was battling an addiction to drugs and alcohol. Docter finished clear-eyed, 15th and slightly disappointed. "In 1988 I didn't train hardly at all, and I finished 19th," she said.
Finishing anywhere but first would have been a disappointment for sprinter Bonnie Blair, who captivated audiences in 1988 with her killer starts and unabashed tears of joy on the medal stand after her 500-m victory. After that she struggled and ranked only fifth overall at last year's world championships. "I just didn't feel comfortable on my skates," Blair said. By Albertville, she had regained form and confidence, though, and seemed once again invulnerable.
At least that is how her principal rival, a Chinese pixie with a Peter Pan haircut, saw it. Ye Qiaobo had expected to challenge Blair in Calgary but had tested positive for steroids and was sent home in disgrace. Ye was banned for 15 months and vilified in the Chinese press for bringing disgrace on her family and country. Aggrieved, Ye tried to point out that it was not she but the team doctor who was the culprit. "I hate him very much," she said. The hate turned to vindication when team officials admitted that it was he, not she, who was responsible.
Encouraged by hundreds of fan letters, Ye decided to give her sport another try. "I am a little flower that must open," she said, unfolding her fingers like petals. Ye spent endless hours in front of a VCR, trying to learn the secret of Blair's near flawless technique, and in the process developed an awe of her rival's abilities. Skating three pairs ahead of Bonnie, Ye got off to her trademark slow start in the 500. Then on the backstretch as she accelerated, Ye claims she was obstructed on the lane changeover by the Soviet skater against whom she was paired. Ye nonetheless finished strongly, and her clocking of 40.51 was flashing in first place on the electronic timer when Blair set the toe of her left blade into the ice 10 minutes later.