Unknown Speedskater Steps To Fore Rodriguez Stuns Everyone With Fourth-Place Finish
Germany swept the medals in the Olympic 3,000-meter speedskating Wednesday, but perhaps the most resounding impact was made by one of the least-regarded competitors.
Miami’s Jennifer Rodriguez, the first Hispanic-American athlete to compete in the Winter Olympics, offered a performance so unexpected even she called it “the biggest shock of my life.”
While Gunda Niemann-Stirnemann redeemed herself from a poor Olympic performance four years ago to win the gold medal, Rodriguez finished fourth and actually held the Olympic record for about 20 minutes until all three medalists topped it.
Her finish in 4 minutes, 11.64 seconds was more than 4 seconds better than her previous best.
“I came in praying I would have a top-16 placement,” Rodriguez, 21, said. “I was actually very, very nervous about getting top 16. Top four? I could never have expected that in my wildest dreams. It’s something totally unbelievable for me.”
Rodriguez has lately made a habit of producing astonishing results. Born and raised in South Miami, Rodriguez tried speedskating for the first time 14 months ago. She considered it sweet victory in January that she made the Olympic speedskating team.
Rodriguez’s Cuban-born father, Emilio, and Boston-bred mother, Barbara, traveled here from Miami and waved American flags in a corner of M-Wave rink. If Emilio’s red, white and blue USA jacket didn’t give away his identity, the navy blue hat that read “JENNY’S DAD” offered a substantial clue.
Emilio paused several times to wipe the tears from his eyes with a tissue as he talked about his daughter’s race.
“I was just in awe,” he said. “I’m videotaping the race and I keep hearing times, I keep hearing that she’s going to set a new Olympic record. I’m saying, these people must be looking at the wrong clock. All of a sudden the crowd’s going crazy and the camera is going like this” - and he gestures to show the lens bobbing up and down with his excitement. “Before I know it, it’s all over and I’m just like: Pinch me!”
Rodriguez finished 4.35 seconds behind Niemann-Stirnemann, who finally put her misfortune in the ‘94 Games behind her. Back then, Niemann-Stirnemann had not lost a 3,000-meter race in three years and was an overwhelming favorite. She fell, however, just 450 meters into the race.
Claudia Pechstein (4:08.47) won the silver and Anna Friesinger (4:09.44) took the bronze. The German trio embraced on the medal stand.
Rodriguez wasn’t up there with them, but she didn’t seem even remotely disappointed to have barely missed a medal.
“I didn’t care what place I ended up in today,” she said. “I was like: I just did an awesome race.”
Rodriguez shared a long and tearful embrace with her parents afterward. For the first time in about 24 hours, she felt relief and happiness rather than tension and fright.
“The only thing different about this race was I was so incredibly nervous you have no idea,” she said. “Last night and this morning, I have just been crying and crying. It finally hit me that I am in the Olympics, and that is something I’ve worked for my entire life.”
For years, Emilio tried to convince his daughter to take up cycling, since that was an Olympic sport and he wanted her to have a chance to go to the Games. But for 16 years, Jennifer devoted most of her time to inline skating, a sport in which she became a world champion but that isn’t in the Olympics.
Her boyfriend, U.S. speedskater KC Boutiette, helped convince her to make the switch from inline skating to skating on ice. A former inline skater himself, he made the 1994 Olympic speedskating team after only a few months in the sport. He competes today in the men’s 1,500 meters.