Humboldt Speed Skater Qualifies for Olympics

Six weeks after being carried off the Calgary Oval ice on a stretcher William Dutton returned to race for a spot on the Canadian Olympic team. His first race was a personal best of 34.66 seconds but it was only fast enough to tie him for sixth in a competition to become one of four Canadians eligible to be named to skate the 500 in Sochi.

Skating in the third last group Dutton finished the second in 34.71 slower than race one but fast enough to move him into first place in combined times with four skaters left to race. One of them was speed skating legend and world record holder Jeremy Wotherspoon. 

Wotherspoon had a 34.59 in race one. His opponent in race two was Muncef Ouardi who had clocked a 34.65 earlier. When they Wotherspoon and Ouardi hit the finish line Dutton was still on top of the leader board and assured of at least a Bronze medal and he was eligible for a spot in the 500.

"I was watching from the inside of the track and I knew I was on the podium when they crossed the line" said Dutton. "I let out the biggest cheer of my life" he added. In the end, he finished second in the second race beaten only by the Gold medallist Jamie Gregg.

Dutton chose to train in Norway this year under American coach and Olympic medallist Peter Mueller with team CBA. Returning to Calgary Dutton placed second in the fall world cup trials and it looked like a promising start to the season. Then he hit the ice in the first 1000 of the season and suffered a cut on his right leg that required 12 stitches and kept him out of racing for two weeks.

"I knew that if I skated two solid races I would be one of the top four" said Dutton. The competition for the a spot on the Canadian team is intense and the difference of hundredths or even thousandths of a second can be the difference between making the Canadian team or staying home.

Racing begins at 6 pm Monday for the spots in the 1000 at Sochi.