8 of 12 events are done and the US has No medals. The last time the US was shutout was 1984.
But in 1984 it was not a surprise as they had no legit contenders. This year they had many contenders, including Hansen.
Here is a theory as to why the USis doing so poorly which sounds more plausible than the speed suit.
http://www.jsonline.com/sports/olympics/dan-jansen-says-suits-not-only-reason-for-speed skating-failure-b99205686z1-245569271.html?ipad=y
Before the decision was made to switch suits, Dan Jansen said it was premature to lay the blame solely on the Mach 39. Two other sources with close ties to U.S. Speedskating told the Journal Sentinel other factors were at play, too.
The national team is based in Salt Lake City and trains at altitude almost exclusively. Jansen and others wonder why the team didn't spend more time in Milwaukee, considering the Olympics are being held at sea level. The Pettit National Ice Center bid for the U.S. Olympic trials, but they were awarded to the Utah Olympic Oval, which also hosted a fall World Cup.
So there was very little training and no competitions at the Pettit — which more closely simulates the ice conditions in Sochi — in the months leading up to the Olympics.
Asked if he thought the team should have spent more time in Milwaukee, Jansen said, "I absolutely think so."
Why would that make a difference?
The Olympic Oval ice is considered the cleanest and fastest in the world and skaters who train there become accustomed to getting a lot of glide out of each push. Slower "working ice" in Milwaukee — and Sochi — requires a different technique, tempo and effort.
"If you always skate on perfect ice without resistance, you skate a certain way," Jansen said. "You'll be a lot longer (with each stride). You'll use the ice. The ice can carry you and this ice will not carry you. So you've got to adjust for that.
"If they trained in Milwaukee they would get used to that condition and how to skate on ice that doesn't carry you through the race."
Jansen pointed to Shani Davis' race in the 1,000 meters as an example. Davis finished eighth and afterward was dumbfounded by his slow lap time.
"Shani floated into his turn. Twice," Jansen said. "But again, I know why. His best part is the turn and he was setting up a perfect turn and he skated a good turn. But on this ice you can't float. You've got to keep the tempo up because you're not going to glide like you will in Salt Lake City."
The Dutch train at sea level their entire lives.
One source close to the U.S. team said the aerobic benefit of training at altitude and the speeds attained by the skaters on fast ice didn't outweigh the benefit of preparing for slow ice by training on it. And statistics certainly seem to back up that claim.
Over the past five years, U.S. skaters have won 56 medals in 128 World Cup races at altitude tracks (44%) and 104 medals in 398 races at sea-level tracks (26%).
"They skate night and day different at sea level," the source wrote in an email.
Though the long-track team won four medals at the 2010 Vancouver Games, Chad Hedrick was the only medalist who had trained in Salt Lake City. And so far in Sochi, only one athlete who trains at altitude, Canada's Denny Morrison, has won a medal. Morrison took silver in the 1,000 meters.
But national sprint coach Ryan Shimabukuro said he didn't think the altitude-sea level theory had anything to do with his skaters' dismal performances.
"The ice is the same for everybody," Shimabukuro said. "Our team has produced on sea-level tracks and altitude tracks all over the world this year."
Said Jansen, "The coaches are not going to say it's their programs. And I'm not saying it's the coaches' programs because I think they've worked in the past. I don't know what it is. I'm just saying it's too early for this buzz (about the suit) to be happening."
If it does turn out to be the suit that was behind the disappointing performances, it would be unfortunate for athletes who have trained their entire lives for this moment only to have their chances diminished by something completely out of their control.
"I guess if it turns out to not just be me, that's harder to swallow than, 'OK, I placed 26th because it was my fault,'" Fredricks said. "It's a little different."
Said Hedrick, who won three medals at the 2006 Turin Games and two more in 2010 in Vancouver, "How tough is it to be training your whole life and then have your race decided by apparel? That would be depressing. You sort of want to know you have an equal field with your competition."
Perhaps the answers will come out only after the Games, when U.S. Speedskating does a thorough evaluation of what went wrong.
