(Photo by Bill Millios)
Cyclist Paul Wood scores U.S.'s first gold of Gamesby Colin Whited on September 6, 2009 Cyclist number 43 stood atop the podium and raised his arms in triumph. Paul Wood was golden once more. On Monday afternoon, outside Taipei City Hall, the six-time Deaflympian cemented his legendary status by winning the 1,000-meter sprint, his sixth gold medal and tenth medal overall for his career. "I'm ecstatic," Wood said afterwards. "There was so much pressure on me to win." The competition began at 9 a.m. with individual time qualifiers and a total of 34 cyclists. Five Americans participated: Nicholas Bannon, Trevor Kosa, Nicholaus Schreiber, David Snow, and Wood. The cut-off line was set at 14.159 seconds, meaning all of the Americans except Bannon, who ran a 16.049, had times fast enough to break into the top 16. Once the top 16 were determined, the cyclists were seeded from numbers one through 16 based on their qualifying time. They then were paired into single-elimination, head-to-head races.' Kosa, Snow and Wood won their races. Tenth-seeded Steve Touboul, of France, upset the seventh-seeded Schreiber, who finished second in the 1,000m sprint in the 2006 World Deaf Cycling Championship in San Francisco. Coming into the final stretch, Touboul suddenly swerved inwards when Schreiber attempted to pass him, prompting Schreiber to slow down. Schreiber tried to make up for lost ground, but ran out of pavement. Officials did not penalize Touboul because they determined that Schreiber had enough room to pass, regardless of Touboul's swerve. "It's one race, one sprint. It's basically do or die," Schreiber said after he was eliminated. "My one mistake cost me the race." U.S. Cycling coach Ralph Fernandez said he had high hopes for Schreiber. "I had very little doubt that he would medal. It was difficult to see his day cut short," he said. Schreiber's early exit left three Americans in the single-elimination quarterfinals. Snow led most of the way on the final stretch of his race, but was edged in the final 20 meters by Kirill Pestov of Russia. Wood dominated Evgeny Prokhorov of Russia, effortlessly pulling away past the finish line, prompting him to pat his quadriceps, sending a message that he was too strong for the Russian. A Czech Republic cyclist, Pavel Pastrnek, who was eliminated earlier in the competition, watched nearby. "I raced against [Wood] in Copenhagen," Pastrnek smiled. "I'm telling you, this man has another gear." Kosa, the 2001 and 2005 Deaflympic champion in the 1000m sprint, saw his aspirations of winning a third consecutive gold medal in the event vanish when he wiped out when making a sharp turn coming into the final stretch against Canadian Simon Gagnon-Brassard after a second re-start of their race. Gagnon-Brassard wiped out on the final turn of the original race. Union Cycliste Internationale rules state that each cyclist is allowed one re-start in the event of a mishap, which includes spills and wipeouts. Because of this, Kosa and Gagnon-Brassard lined up to race each other again. This time, on the same final turn, both cyclists took a spill, which meant the race restarted a second time. UCI regulations permit only two re-starts, meaning Kosa's second wipeout allowed Gagnon-Brassard to cross the finish line for the win. The rule is controversial, considering Gagnon-Brassard had two wipeouts to Kosa's one, but Kosa's second wipeout made the difference because it was solo, and Gagnon-Brassard's was not. Afterwards, Kosa said that making moves like that is very similar to gambling. "You have to do whatever it takes to put yourself in position to win, even though it sometimes doesn't work out the way you want it to. I don't like the rule, but it is what it is," he said. "He took a risk," Fernandez said of Kosa. "He decided not to play it safe and try to win the race on the down stretch. That's what can happen if you make aggressive turns." Kosa went on to easily win the consolation race, finishing the competition fifth overall. With Kosa and Snow out of the semifinals, the fate of America's continued dominance in the 1,000m sprint lay in Wood's hands — or legs. However, it wasn't a new position for him. Fernandez said he had no doubt Wood would win gold. "Paul has so much experience in these types of situations," he said. Wood was paired with the Frenchman Touboul — who was not yet born when Wood won his first medal — in the the best-of-three semifinals. Wood easily won two consecutive sprints, placing him in the finals against the Russian, Pestov, who also swept a physically drained Gagnon-Brassard. This meant Wood was guaranteed a 10th career Deaflympic medal. Still, Wood didn't come to Taipei for just any medal. "I compete to win gold," he said. In the first sprint, Wood turned into the final stretch and gained a lead so large Pestov surrendered and stopped pedaling with 25 meters left. Wood led the series 1-0. For the Pestov, it was do or die. "In these situations, you have to be prepared for anything. You have to know when to anticipate attacks and how to react to them," Wood said. The second sprint was much closer. With Pestov knowing that it was now or never, he gave it all he had in the home stretch, drawing even with Wood for a split second. Wood then swerved to the outside and pedaled as hard as he could. The gap between Wood and Pestov grew larger, and Wood raised his arms in jubilation. He was a Deaflympic champion once again. At the conclusion of the race, Wood grabbed the USA flag and hurried over to greet a crowd of American fans. He then embraced his wife, Christine, who was watching. When asked what made him so dominant, Wood said, "Today I was able to be really quick off the turns, which gave me enough momentum to make jumps down the final stretch at high speeds." Wood's gold medal marked the third straight Deaflympics, and sixth out of seven, in which an American has won the 1,000m sprint. The U.S. cycling team looks to add to its medal count in three more events — the time trial, road race and points race. Those events will take place Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, respectively.1,000M Speed Cycling from US Deaflympics on Vimeo. |
 (Photo by Bill Millios)
 (Photo by Bill Millios)
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