Kearns, Day 10: Michelle Who?

There are certain things which are a given -- death, taxes, and for the past (now) five consecutive Olympic Winter Games, a speedskater will wind up being the country's first and only double medalist.

That is what happened Tuesday afternoon at the Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns.

The time has long since passed to ask whether or not this is a dream, for if this is a dream, then don't dare wake us up.

This is history. This is uncharted territory that the American long-track speedskating team is heading in. And, with three races remaining on the docket, the team can still go a bit farther than any U.S. speedskating squad in Olympic history has ever gone before.

Presented with pride and joy, the men's 1,500 meter results from a place bereft of scandal, where only speed and world records reign.

1. Derek Parra (USA) 1:43.95 WR, NR, OR (old WR: 1:45.20, Kyu-Hyuk Lee, KOR, 3/17/01, Calgary)

2. Jochem Uytdehaage (NED) 1:44.57

3. Adne Sondral (NOR) 1:45.26

4. Joe Cheek (USA) 1:45.34

5. Ids Postma (NED) 1:45.41

6. Nick Pearson (USA) 1:45.51

7. Jan Bos (NED) 1:45.63

8. Kyu-Hyuk Lee (KOR) 1:45.82

9. Rintje Ritsma (NED) 1:45.86

10. Yevgeny Lalenkov (RUS) 1:45.97

11. Dmitry Shepel (RUS) 1:45.98

12. Dustin Molicki (CAN) 1:46.00

13. Janne Hanninen (FIN) 1:46.04

14. J.P. Shilling (USA) 1:46.29

15. Hiroyuki Noake (JPN) 1:46.38

16. Sergey Tsybenko (KZN) 1:46.40

17. Kevin Marshall (CAN) 1:46.75

18. Steve Elm (CAN) - 1:46.99

19. Radik Bikchantayev (KZN) 1:47.04

20. Petter Andersen (NOR) 1:47.21

21. Jae-Bong Choi (KOR) 1:47.26

22. Aleksandr Kibalko (RUS) 1:47.63

23. Takaharu Nakajima (JPN) 1:47.64

24. Stefano Donagrandi (ITA) 1:47.72

25. Enrico Fabris (ITA) 1:47.83

26. Keiji Shirahata (JPN) 1:47.87

27. Vesa Rosendahl (FIN) 1:48.02

28. Philippe Marois (CAN) 1:48.13

29. Cedric Kuentz (FRA) 1:48.20

30. Zsolt Balo (HUN) 1:48.27

31. Roberto Sighel (ITA) 1:48.40

32. Risto Rosendahl (FIN) 1:48.57

33. Joon Moon (KOR) 1:48.58

34. Yusuke Imai (JPN) 1:48.76

35. Eskil Ervik (NOR) 1:49.24

36. Nikolay Ulyanin (KZN) 1:49.42

37. Vadim Sayutin (RUS) 1:49.45

38. Johan Rojler (SWE) 1:49.50

39. Vladimir Kostin (KZN) 1:49.57

40. Igor Makovetsky (BLS) 1:50.15

41. Jan Friesinger (GER) 1:50.26

42. Sang-Yeop Yeo (KOR) 1:50.70

43. Andrei Fomin (UKR) 1:51.02

44. Frank Dittrich (GER) 1:51.02

45. Yongbin Ma (CHN) 1:51.81

46. Guangbin Liu (CHN) 1:52.01

47. Aleksey Khatylyov (BLS) 1:52.87

48. Christian Breuer (GER) fall

For the percentage statisticians among you, that's seven medals in speedskating, which equals one-third of the total medal output for the home team, and 60 percent of its golds.

Parra becomes the country's only double medalist (a title he may have to share by this time Thursday) and the first Hispanic-American to win Winter Olympic gold.

He also exacted payback on Uytdehaage, who beat him out of gold on the 5,000 meters.

Fifteen pairs skated after the Dutchman was the first to break Lee's world record.

Parra was the only one to top it after he skated, although Sondral really, really tried to come close, injured shoulder and all.

The women's 1,500 meter pairings have been announced as this goes to press. There will be an ice preparation between the 10th and 11th pairs.

1. Sjepelnikova (alone -- what's up with these first pairs which aren't.

2. Zhang - Katarzina Wojcicka (POL)

3. Gao - Oltean

4. Ilonda Luse (LAT) - Nicola Mayr (ITA)

5. Elena Myagkich (UKR) - Jaksjina

6. Gavrilova - Krisztina Egyed (HUN)

7. Andrea Jakab (ROM) - Poepina

8. Eun-Bi Bak (KOR) - Obara

9. Varvara Barisjeva (RUS) - Emese Hunyady (AUT)

10. Chris Witty (USA) - Kristina Groves (CAN)

11. Marianne Timmer (NED - defending Olympic champion) - Choi

12. Cindy Overland (CAN) - Yayoi Nagaoka (JPN)

13. Amy Sannes (USA) - Chihara Simionato(ITA)

14. Becky Sundstrom (USA) - Tatiana Trapeznikova (RUS)

15. Li Song (CHN) - Tonny de Jong (NED)

16. Renate Groenewold (NED) - Marion Wohlrab (GER)

17. Anni Friesinger (GER - defending World Single Distance champ) - Aki Tonoike (JPN)

18. Annamarie Thomas (NED) - Claudia Pechstein (GER)

19. Sabine Volker (GER) - Maki Tabata (JPN)

20. Cindy Klassen (CAN) - Jennifer Rodriguez (USA)

Talk about controlling one's destiny...

What Others Are Saying (just the skaters themselves this time):

Parra: "Just winning the gold is fantastic. But to be the first Mexican-American, that is something beyond myself. If I could challenge any kids -- it doesn't matter if they're Mexican or Asian, or black or white ... to reach their dreams. That's more important than anything else."

On his future employment at the Home Depot in Kearns, just a little over a mile from the UOO: "Maybe I'll move to lumber now."

On his wife and their newborn baby, born right before the national Olympic trials in late December: "Right now I don't know where I'm at emotionally. I mean, seeing my family here, my wife here. It's hard to explain. You give up so much hoping for a moment like this and it happens."