Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Sunday Morning

Speed Skating Crash

Aired February 17, 2002 - 09:08   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN ANCHOR: And it's the night Canadian fans have been waiting for. I'll say. Olympic figure skaters Jamie Sale and David Pelletier will get their gold medals in the ceremony tonight, after the figure skating scandal that rocked these Olympic games.

Another Olympic moment getting much attention this morning, a speed skating crash that cost an American gold. CNN's Rusty Dornin is joining us live from Salt Lake City with more on this. Rusty, tell us all about it.

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jeanne, we had first heard after the IOC announced that the Canadian team would get the gold, that it would happen sometime on Thursday after women's figure skating, which is the final figure skating event in the Olympics.

Then there was a sudden change yesterday. It was announced that they would receive it tonight. So, it looks like both pairs of gold medal winners will be there. The Russians are also going to be on hand. Both anthems apparently will also be played at the ceremony, although they are not saying which anthem will be played first.

Now, David Pelletier and Jamie Sale, of course now, have to give up their silver medal. There will be nothing in the record book on talking about who actually - there will be no silver medal winner in that event for this particular Olympics. They're not saying where that silver medal is going.

Now that that scandal is taken care of, another drama unfolds. Last night, during the men's speed skating 1,000 meters, Apolo Anton Ohno said he was skating the best race of his life, when one of the Chinese skaters came up on the outside, careened on the inside and crashed. It turns out the Australian skater, Stephen Bradbury, who was dead last, crossed the finish line, got the gold medal, and Ohno ended up struggling forward and pushing his left skate over the finish line to get the silver medal.

So apparently he did get a gash in his inner thigh from that crash. You can see him spinning around, and all three of them hit the boards. But it was pretty amazing that Ohno was able to get up and push his skate across the line.

Apparently he's taking it very well. You know, he had hopes of getting four gold medals in the speed skating events. He has a gash in his inner thigh and did have to be taken up to the medal ceremony in a wheelchair, but still has high hopes that he can compete in the three other events.

The interesting thing too is, Stephen Bradbury is the very first Australian to win a gold medal for Australia in the Winter Olympics. So apparently he couldn't believe that it had happened, but of course, he's happy to have it. Jeanne.

MESERVE: I'm sure. Rusty Dornin, thanks so much for joining us.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com