2018 Winter Olympics: Speed skaters' medal hopes melt on the ice

JR Celski: 'I gave it my best shot'

THE RACE for a medal in Olympic speed skating for men has gone ice cold.

The AAPI men's speed skaters JR Celski, Aaron Tran and Thomas Hong had early exits in their respective races.

For Celski, 27, it could be the Filipino/American's last chance for another Olympic medal after he finished last in the preliminaries for the 1,000-meter short track.

An hour later, the third-ranked U.S. men's team failed to qualify in the 5,000-meter relay.

“I’m disappointed,” Celski said. “To come out here and not be able to compete for a medal is really disappointing.”

A three-time Olympian, Celski is also a three-time medal winner after earning silver in the 5,000-meter relay in the 2014 Olympics in Sochi and bronze in both the relay and 1,500-meter individual event in Vancouver’s 2010 Winter Games. He was ranked 18th in the world for the 1,000-meter event entering the Olympics and seventh in the world for the 1,500 meters. But he failed to advance past the qualifying heats for either event.

“I gave it my best shot, and I just came up short,” he told the Seattle Times.

Aaron Tran, 21, also fell short of qualifying even though he did better than Celski, giving the U.S. hope in future Olympics. Tran has another chance when he headlines the American contingent in the 500-meter sprint event Feb. 22. Hong will also race in the 500.

The men's speed skating disappointing results were shared throughout the entire team. John-Henry Kruegger, considered America's best hope for a medal, did not qualify either.
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