SKATING FOR GOLD ON THIN ICE
The winter in Helsinki has been uncommonly mild. Not since 1830, in fact, has the temperature stayed above freezing so continuously, and early last week the ice was more like ice cream. This was considered to be something of a national emergency since Finland was due to host the ladies' world speed-skating championships—and how in the name of Hans Brinker could the girls skate without ice? Less than a week before the championships the Kallio outdoor ice rink was a gravel field on which little boys played soccer.
By Thursday, when the U.S. team arrived, a thin sheet of ice had formed on the rink, but that was hardly enough. "We tried to work out," said Dianne Holum, the top American skater, "but we kept sinking." Later, in the lobby of the Olympia Hotel, Dianne was discussing the dismal conditions with her teammates—Anne Henning and Leah Poulos—when she caught a glimpse on TV of the Apollo 14 astronauts walking on the moon. "Now there's where they ought to hold the world championship next winter," said Dianne. "The conditions couldn't be any worse up there than they are here."
At 19 Holum found herself the matriarch of this year's U.S. team. Poulos also is 19, but she has been competing internationally only two years to Holum's five. And they both are downright venerable next to little Annie Henning—blonde, blue-eyed and 15. By comparison, the Netherlands, the defending world champions, sent a mother of three in her 30s, and the Soviet team included one veteran twice as old as Annie. The Europeans could only shake their heads and wonder why these crazy Americans persisted in sending little girls to do a woman's job.
The Russians arrived in a rather cocky mood. Their veteran skaters—Nina Statkevich, Ludmila Titova and Tatiana Sidorova—had finished 1-2-3 in the European championships the previous weekend at Leningrad. All the same, they couldn't help watching the American girls. They noticed that Holum looked bigger and stronger than ever, and they were especially interested in getting a look at Anne Henning. Last November, Annie had electrified the icy little world of speed skating by doing 500 meters in 43.7 seconds at Inzell in the German Alps, her time only a tick off the world record set by Sidorova at Russia's high-altitude camp in Alma-Ata.
"Annie is the fastest skater in the world," said Coach Ed Rudolph of the U.S. "She'll prove it at Helsinki."
For once the American team seemed ready. All three girls had trained in Europe for at least a month last fall. Henning's clocking in the 500 was the most tangible evidence of their improvement, but Holum also increased her strength and ability under the guidance of Dutch Coach Yan Vloedgraven. Moreover, they spent the two weeks before the world championships training in Oslo instead of flying over from the U.S. at the last minute. By the time they arrived in Helsinki the girls had adjusted themselves to the eight-hour time difference between Helsinki and their home town of North-brook, Ill. (where they are near both Coach Rudolph and the only refrigerated, Olympic-size rink in the western hemisphere).
When the Finns got their first look at the Americans, they were surprised. Oh, sure, they looked cute and sweet, as usual, but they were so very young—and much stronger than the Finns had expected. Two days before the meet Rudolph took the girls to a Finnish seamstress. The idea was to fit them with one-piece, nylon knit, navy blue skating suits. These were introduced by the Norwegian men last season and now they are the latest fashion—as well as a mechanical aid to faster times. The one-piece suits supposedly reduce wind resistance to a minimum, they eliminate suspenders and the skaters don't have to worry about the tops of two-piece suits riding up their backs. But when the American girls tried on the suits, they busted a lot of seams. "I had been told," grumbled a seamstress, "that they were skinny."
On Saturday, when the meet was to begin, the weather turned cold enough for the ice to harden, more or less. The Finns had worked on it around the clock, laying straw and praying for a freeze. But conditions still were far from ideal when it became time for the first race. The drab apartment buildings surrounding the rink failed to keep a strong wind from blowing across the area, and the ice, said Holum, was "pretty dirty." Part of the blame was awarded to reporters, who insisted on trudging back and forth across the skating surface with muddy boots. In some spots the ice was so thin that the underlying gravel threatened, to poke through. Holland's Atje Keulen-Deelstra, last year's overall world champion, slipped at almost every stroke, broke the edge of her blades shortly after the start in one race and finally quit in disgust.
Nevertheless, some 2,000 Finns paid $1.20 each to stand in that numbing Arctic wind and watch the girls sizzle around the rink. Unlike American ice skating, in which a group of skaters compete in the same race, international speed skating is raced in pairs, with the clock being each racer's real opponent. In two days there are four events: 500 meters, 1,000 meters, 1,500 meters and 3,000 meters. Traditionally, the Americans get wiped out at the longer distances by the stronger, more mature Dutch and Russians, but they usually manage to hold their own in the sprints. Before last weekend, and not counting the first championship way back in 1936, American women had won only one gold medal ever.
This year there were supposed to be 12 competing countries, but East Germany backed out at the last minute. So 11 nations sent women to Helsinki—or, more precisely, 10 nations sent women and you-know-who sent little girls clutching things like a stuffed Snoopy dog (Holum) and an old Christmas tree ornament (Henning) for luck. When the meet began, the Americans drew a good deal of attention. The girls had been on local TV and the newspapers had been full of stories about them—none of them understood by anyone from the U.S. because to them the Finnish language was about as decipherable as Magyar.
Early in the first event, the 500, the top Soviet sprinter, Titova, took the lead with a brisk clocking of 45.8 seconds. She looked unbeatable when Holum whirled around the ice in a disappointing 48.3. "I was really lousy," Holum complained, "but I just couldn't get my footing on that dirty ice."
In the 11th starting position came Annie Henning. Many of the knowledgeable fans timed her, and as she swept across the finish line they burst into cheers. She had gone past Titova with a 44.6. One more Russian, Tatiana Averina, was still on deck, but all she could do was 46.4—good for third place behind Henning and Titova.
"How old is she?" Titova immediately asked Rudolph in English.
"Annie is 15," he said.
"Does she go to college?"
"No," said Rudolph. "She's at high school, second year."
"Very good," murmured the Russian, shaking her head. "Very good."
The newly elected Miss Finland, a former skater, glided up to Annie and presented her with a gold medal. But the medal ceremony lasted so long that Annie had no time to warm up for the next event—the 1,500. Skating in the first position, she finished 22nd, more than 10 seconds slower than Statkevich, the eventual winner. But Holum skated beautifully and won third place behind Statkevich and Holland's Stien Kaiser. It was the first time an American had ever won a medal in a world championship 1,500. The day's only disappointment for the Americans was Poulos, far back in the field in both events.
On Sunday the ice wasn't any better, so the Americans cut down on their warming-up time. "The more we warmed up, the duller our skates got," said Holum, "so we just forgot about it." The first event was the 1,000 meters, and Stien Kaiser of the Netherlands seemed a sure winner. Her time of 1:33.7 resisted the assault of the top Soviet girls, including Statkevich, who had a 1:34.0. Henning failed to come close, so that left America's hopes up to Holum. Skating in the eighth pair, she stole away Kaiser's victory with a 1:33.0 clocking and won a gold medal to go with her bronze.
The fourth and final race, the 3,000, was predictably weak for the Americans. The best Holum could manage was ninth place, Henning was last and Poulos, after finishing 27th in the 1,000, failed to qualify. Two Dutch girls, Kaiser and Ans Schut, finished 1-2. In the overall standings, Russia's Statkevich won the world championship followed by Kaiser, Titova and Holum. Only 118/1,000 of a point kept Holum from winning the bronze medal.
"I was thrilled at winning the gold," said Dianne when it was all over, "but I am disappointed that my 500 was so bad. If I had only skated a fraction better I could have been third overall. I kinda blew it."
Well, not exactly. With two gold medals and a bronze, the Americans made one of their strongest overall showings in world competition. This week they should continue to do well in the world sprint championships at Inzell. And after that they can start thinking seriously about the big one—the Olympic Games next winter in Sapporo. Holum smiled her best little-girl smile when Sapporo was mentioned. "That's a whole year off," she said, "but I think we're improving, don't you?"
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Perky Anne Henning, only 15, was last in experience but first in the 500-meter sprint
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Dianne Holum won a gold and a bronze.