Exciting Races for Short Track Speedskaters

It was a wild ride at the 2010 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Short Track Speedskating in Marquette, MI. Wednesday's events included the Men's and Ladies 1500m and 500m, and four separate skaters topped the podium at the conclusion of the races. With many false starts, falls and surprise endings, adrenaline was flowing at the Berry Events Center.

In the Ladies 1500m, two-time national champion Katherine Reutter (Champaign, IL) won the event with a time of 2:24.184, finishing just ahead of two-time Olympian Allison Baver (Sinking Spring, PA). This was Baver's first week back in competitive skating after breaking her leg at a world cup event in February. Olympian Kimberly Derrick (Memphis, TN) took the third place spot with Jessica Smith (Melvindale, MI), Lana Gehring (Glenview, IL) and Alyson Dudek (Hales Corners, WI) rounding out the top six.

J.R. Celski (Federal Way, WA), made it look easy as he won the Men's 1500m, crossing the finish line with a time of 2:22.834, while two-time Olympian Apolo Anton Ohno (Seattle, WA) and Jordan Malone (Denton, TX) fought for the second-place spot. In a close finish, Ohno's blade crossed the line first, leaving Malone in third. Travis Jayner (Midland, MI), Simon Cho (Laurel, MD), Ryan Leveille (Atlanta, GA) and Eddy Alvarez (Miami, FL) took up the remaining four positions in the 1500m A Final.

During the Ladies 500m event, Reutter tripped over a block and fell, leaving Dudek, Derrick and Gehring in the battle for first. Dudek, who won the 4-Lap Time Trial on Tuesday evening, made a repeat performance as she crossed the finish line first with a time of 44.541. Gehring and Derrick ended in second and third respectively.

But it was the surprise ending in the Men's 500m that left everyone talking. Ohno, Simon, Celski and Cho made up the group skating for the podium in the final event of the day. Simon fell after tangling with Apolo, Celski was disqualified for impeding and Cho ended up in first place with his first national title. Ohno took second while Simon finished in third.

Skaters take a break from competition tomorrow but return to the ice on Friday for the Men's and Ladies 1000m and the second Men's and Ladies 1500m. After two days of competition, Celski, Ohno and Malone top the scores for overall points. On the Ladies side, it's Reutter, Dudek and Derrick leading in the overall points.