2010 Memories, Day 9: Disastrous day for Denny Morrison
Credit to Author: Scott Brown| Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2020 14:30:53 +0000
Follow along as we look back at the moments that made headlines each day during the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Feb. 20, 2010: Canadian speed skater Denny Morrison arrived at the Vancouver Games as a triple-medal threat, but inexplicably fell well short of the podium in all three of his individual events.
In the first week of the Games, Morrison finished 18th in 5,000-metre, 13th in the 1,000, and then on Day 9 he finished disastrous ninth in his signature event, the 1,500.
Immediately following the race, the Chetwynd, B.C. native was described by The Vancouver Sun as a “forlorn figure gliding around the Richmond oval, a dark cloud hanging over his head, his face contorted in pain.”
Morrison had no answers as to what went wrong on the Richmond Olympic Oval, the same venue where he won two medals — silver in 1,000 and bronze in 1,500 — at the 2009 world championships.
“It goes back to the feeling that I don’t really know what it is that I’m not doing right or what I’m doing wrong,” the former world record holder in the 1,500 lamented at the time. “First two laps, great. Then, poof! It’s gone.”
Meanwhile, the host nation was also getting blanked at the Pacific Coliseum where short-track speed skaters Charles and Francois Hamelin swept the only non-medal positions in the five-man 1,000 metre final.
Canada had hoped for at least one medal, if not two, from the brothers.
“I thought I was at a good pace for the race,” a despondent Charles said. “But in the end, for the last two laps, I was just missing juice.”
Fret not, Canada. Better results were coming for our hard-luck skaters.
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