U.S. Men’s short track relay team wins world title

The U.S. men's relay team, consisting of J.R. Celski, Apolo Ohno, Ryan Bedford and Jordan Malone tore up the ice at the 2009 ISU World Short Track Championships in Vienna, Austria. Facing off against strong teams from China, Japan, Germany and Italy, the men finished the event with a gold medal performance.

The relay topped off a great weekend of competition for Celski (Federal Way, WA) who won a gold medal in the men's 3000m super final and a bronze in the 1000m. His performance at his first senior-level world championships earned him a silver medal in the overall classification.

"What a thrill to watch him skate," said Guy Thibault, US Speedskating High Performance Director. "He's so exciting to watch. He could have won any race this weekend. All he needs is more experience and confidence. I think he got both this weekend."

Defending world champion Ohno (Seattle, WA) won a silver medal in the 1000m and finished fifth overall but was discouraged by the weekend's event.

"I would say it was probably a frustrating weekend for him," Thibault said. "He looked great--the best I've seen this season. He felt great --the best since 2003 according to him. He was just not lucky. There is still a lot to build on for next season so I expect him to come back very strong next year."

Another top skater, Jeff Simon (Las Vegas, NV) finished tenth in the final classification but crashed and injured his wrist. At press time, it was not known if Simon would be able to compete in next weekend's team championships in Heerenveen, Netherlands.

For the ladies, Katherine Reutter (Champaign, IL) ranked seventh in the final classification with Kimberly Derrick (Memphis, TN) in eighth and Jessica Smith (Melvindale, MI) in 15th.

"(Jessica's) still on the learning curve," Thibault said. "The results are not what she expected but 15th overall at your first worlds isn't bad at all."

Team USA travels to the Netherlands for the ISU World Short Track Team Championships on March 14-15, where the men will be defending their championship title.

Tags: 2009 World Short Track Championships, Apolo Anton Ohno, Jordan Malone, Ryan Bedford, USA Speed Skating