Italian Fabris has final say

TURIN -- Believe it or not, there was more than just a lot of American yakking going on at Oval Longotto yesterday. There was also a race to decide the pecking order in the men's 1,500- meter speedskating competition.

The winnah and new champeen is 24-year-old Italian Enrico Fabris.

''I think every athlete who wins a gold medal is surprised," he said through an interpreter. ''But I am skating fast, so I am not surprised about that."

Shani Davis, who finished .16 behind to pick up the silver, said there was a certain logic to Fabris's triumph. Davis pointed out that in four 1,500-meter races run in the last several weeks, all have been won by a man who either trains at that track or can claim the track as being in his hometown. That would include Fabris, who won a recent World Cup race at Oval Lingotto.

Fabris skated with Simon Kuipers of the Netherlands in the 17th pairing, four from the end. He posted a time of 1:45.97, which included a closing lap of 27.73, the best of the day. It was a time Davis and fellow American Chad Hedrick, who finished third, thought they could beat.

''I'm upset I couldn't take advantage of the opportunity of being in the last pair and really going for the gold," lamented Davis.

''The Italian put up a time that was pretty good, but I thought we'd be able to beat it," said Hedrick, who finished .25 behind Fabris. Hedrick was dismissive of his closing-lap time of 28.72. He also was dismissive of his bronze medal. ''Second, fourth, eighth, 50th, they're all the same to me," he declared.

Hedrick implied that he and Davis suffered in their showdown because of a desire to outdo the other, but Davis rejected the notion completely. He had something else on his mind -- a false start before his spin around the ice with Russian Aleksandr Kibalko. ''That bothered me," he said. ''I have no idea what that was all about. I really thought I was still. I was very careful after that. You only get one."

Fabris said he never expected to get the gold. ''Today it was tough to wait until the last pair to know who the winner was," he said. ''I was getting nervous, pair by pair."

Derek Parra, the defending champion in the event, wasn't expected to do anything, and he didn't, finishing 19th, more than 2 1/2 seconds behind the winner. Joey Cheek, who already has had a successful time here, finished ninth.