Winter Olympics

Shani Davis Qualifies for Fifth Winter Olympic Games

Another Chicagoan is heading to the PyeongChang Olympics, as speedskater Shani Davis has qualified for his fifth appearance in the Games.

Davis, who became the first black athlete to win an individual gold medal in a Winter Olympics in the 2006 Games in Torino, finished in second place in the 1000 meter race at the Olympic Trials in Wisconsin to nail down a spot on the U.S. speedskating team.

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"(I) just wanted to get back there and be in the Olympic moment and get back to my best skating and go out and fight one more time," Davis said. "I still feel like a big kid at heart, so I just try to enjoy the moment as much as I can." 

The 2018 Games will mark the fourth time that Davis has competed in the Olympics, as he left the Games prior to his race in 2002. 

Davis finished in eighth in the race at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi after winning gold in the distance in the previous two Olympics, and will be looking to earn his fifth Olympic medal as he heads to South Korea.

Joey Mantia won Wednesday’s time trial with a time of 1:09.15, and Mitch Whitmore finished in third with a time of 1:09.31. 

Note: The original headline for this story incorrectly stated that Davis qualified for his fourth Olympics. The story and headline have been corrected to state that 2018 is the FIFTH Olympics he has qualified for, but the fourth in which he has competed. 

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