Natick's Hallisey not one to take shortcuts

Caroline Hallisey knew how long the short track to Olympus can be. She'd gone that route in 1998, when she was still in high school, then again in 2002, when she was America's top female hope at Salt Lake City. The question was whether she wanted to go around in circles -- fast, tight, edge-of-your-blade circles -- for a third time.

''There were multiple times last year when I was asking myself. 'Is this worth it? Should I do this?' " confesses the Natick native.

Did she want to get herself back into world-class shape? Argue with coaches over training techniques? Cram herself into a coach seat for trips to China and South Korea for World Cups? Live in a dorm, even a Hilton-style dorm, in Colorado Springs?

''I had to weigh out a lot," Hallisey says. ''Even this season I contemplated it, whether I thought I could reach the level I want to be at."

But when the US Olympic short-track speedskating trials began yesterday afternoon in Marquette, Mich., the 25-year-old Hallisey was back at the starting line with her helmet on, cruising through the time trial to set herself up for the rest of the meet.

''I love the sport," says Hallisey, who's been doing it since her toddling days, when her parents put her in a pair of altered figure skates and dragged her around the ice at the Skating Club of Boston. ''That's something that will stick with me forever."

If Hallisey makes her third Olympic team (the top five from the four-day trials get tickets to Turin), odds are that it'll be on the relay, since Allison Baver and teen ace Hyo Jung Kim figure to skate in the three individual events. But in this slip-'n'-slide sport, where favorites go crashing into the wall, winners get disqualified in mid-victory lap, and no-hopers end up with gold medals, there's no reason Hallisey can't end up on top of the heap when the points are tallied Friday night.

Look at Steven Bradbury, the long shot Australian who was so far behind the pack in the Olympic 1,000-meter final in Salt Lake that he appeared to be in the next race. A three-man crash literally left him the last man standing and put him atop the podium.

''The unpredictability of our sport keeps people coming back," Hallisey says. ''There's always that chance that they might get in the final."

Short-track happens. That's what the helmet-heads say with an amused shrug whenever things get surreal. Apolo Anton Ohno was leading that 1,000 final when he was wiped out. He ended up getting his gold medal four days later in the 1,500 when Korean rival Kim Dong Sung was DQ'd for interference. Short-track happens.

It happened to Hallisey at the last trials in Utah, where she was in first place in the standings when her legs went out from under her in the 1,000 and she slammed into a wall, cracking her helmet, knocking herself cold for 40 seconds, and ending up in the hospital with a mild concussion. But she got back in the mix, survived another fall later in the week, and ended up making the Olympic team in two events plus the relay.

If Hallisey makes it again, it'll have as much to do with savvy as speed. No other winter sport puts such a premium on timing and space, on the judicious boldness to make the right move at precisely the right time. Especially at the Olympic trials, where even the best skaters sometimes freak out from the pressure.

That's what happened to Ohno two quadrennia ago at Lake Placid, where he came in as national champion at 15 and ended up dead last. When the five rings are on the line, knees can get a little wobbly.

''It's going to help having the experience, having skated so much," Hallisey figures. ''Knowing how things are run, having done time trials, having raced should make it better."

The trick to the trials is making the team while also nailing down starting spots in the 500, 1,000, and 1,500. In 1998, Hallisey never got to skate for a medal -- her one appearance was in the relay semifinals. In 2002, she qualified for two individual events and made the 500 final.

This time, she'll have to beat either Baver or Kim, who finished third and fourth in the overall World Cup standings this fall, to get a starting spot. Even making the relay will be tougher than in the past, since the squad has been trimmed from six to five. With Amy Peterson coming back to try for her sixth team, it'll be a tight squeeze.

Hallisey knew what the odds were when she decided to take her Olympic shot after spending last season training on her own and bypassing the Cup circuit.

''Last year was as close as I came to going cold turkey," she says. ''I did only three competitions and two were club meets."

If she wanted to get to Turin, Hallisey knew she had to get back with the national team. Her résumé earned her readmission, and when two skaters declined their World Cup places, she found herself back on the plane to Asia. Hallisey could have opted to train instead, as Peterson did, but there were upsides to knocking helmets with the Chinese and Koreans again. There was also the chance that if Hallisey didn't compete, the Americans might not qualify for the Olympic relay.

''The relay was relying on having someone there that's done it," she said. ''We would have had two girls there that had never skated an international relay before and that would have hurt our chances a lot."

Hallisey skated four meets in four countries in eight weeks and the Yanks qualified for the relay; they should contend for a medal in Turin.

''If we keep the team we've had, barring anything short-track happening, we could easily be on the podium at the Olympics," Hallisey reckons.

Kim, the 17-year-old wonderchild, plus Baver, Hallisey, and Kristen Biondo, who got the job done last month, would make for a fine quartet. All they have to do is make the team. Kim and Baver, Hallisey figures, shouldn't have a problem.

''Their confidence and skating ability has them at a point where they should be able to cruise right through," she says.

Hallisey, still revving up to cruising speed, will be in the chase for the final three spots. If it comes down to savvy, to composure, to pedigree, she should have an edge over the young'uns, some of whom were still on double-runners when Hallisey was in Nagano eight years ago.

''My nerves probably will be down a lot, compared to some of the other girls," she says.

If Hallisey manages to stay out of the hospital this week, she'll be ahead of where she was four years ago. What she learned about this ice lottery, even before Salt Lake, was that it's not over even after it's over, what with postrace disqualifications. All she has to be is the last woman standing. At Olympus, that means immortality. Ask Mr. Bradbury.

''World Cup is huge, but everyone is vying for that gold medal," Caroline Hallisey says. ''You may be a two-time world champion, but you'll be known as an Olympic gold medalist first."