MILAN (AP) — Casey Dawson withdrew from the men’s 10,000 meters in speedskating at the Milan Cortina Olympics on Friday, hours before the race, leaving the event without its only American entrant.
U.S. Speedskating said Dawson wanted to focus instead on the team pursuit, which holds quarterfinals on Sunday, and the individual 1,500 meters next Thursday. Dawson finished eighth in the 5,000 meters last weekend.
U.S. coach Gabe Girard said the decision “does not come as a surprise and always was a part of the options coming” for the Winter Games.
The United States hasn’t won an Olympic gold in the 10,000 since Eric Heiden did so as part of his five victories at the 1980 Lake Placid Games. The country’s last medal at speedskating’s longest distance was Chad Hedrick’s silver at the 2006 Turin Olympics.
Among the contenders Friday were Sander Eitrem, the Norwegian who won the 5,000 in an Olympic-record time in Milan, and Davide Giotto, the Italian who set the 10,000 world record of 12 minutes, 25.69 seconds in January 2025 and claimed a bronze in the event at the 2022 Beijing Games.
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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
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