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6日付けダラスNEWSのジョーダンマローンの記事の抜粋。

2005年、インラインから転身してわずか1年余り。めきめきと才能を開花させ、いざオリンピックの代表に。。。が、代表選考会(トライアル)の1ヶ月前の夏合宿で足首を負傷。何とかトライアルには滑れるようになったけど、結果は8位(代表枠5)、トリノの夢は潰えた。しかし、大きな失望をバネに、4年後の今年いよいよ同じ局面を迎えた。怪我さえなければ、チームメイトのアポロと、2010年オリンピックでのメダル獲得最有力候補で、各国に驚異を与える存在となるでしょう。

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/stories/070709dnspomalone.2f9db2f.html

Denton speedskater's Olympic dream lives on
10:50 PM CDT on Monday, July 6, 2009
By KATE HAIROPOULOS / The Dallas Morning News
khairopoulos@dallasnews.com

The moment Jordan Malone's dreams of the 2006 Turin Games died, after he'd
skated at the U.S. Olympic short-track speedskating trials on a broken right
ankle, he headed straight for his No. 1 teammate in the stands.

The Denton kid wrapped his mother, Peggy Aitken, in an embrace. Nothing had
to be said. This was already clear:

Heckuva try.

Love you.

This won't be the end.

Almost four years later, Malone's improbable story has continued. From Sept.
8-12 at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Marquette, Mich., Malone will try again,
this time for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, Feb. 12-28.

Jae Su Chun, the national short-track coach, predicts Malone, 25, will "make
the podium" in Canada.

A 5-6, 140-pound double-shot of 5-Hour Energy, Malone doesn't have the soul
patch or five Olympic medals that have made U.S. teammate Apolo Anton Ohno
famous. But after all kinds of crashes along the way, his resilience and
spirit keep him moving forward.

"This has become my passion," Malone said. "I live every day just to get on
the ice, and every day, it's what can I do today?"

Injury free

If Vancouver is to be a reality, Malone must remain healthy.

Racing on ice at 25 mph on 1.1-millimeter blades and with Malone's track
record, that's not a given.

When he was a world-champion inline skater in the summer of 2002, Malone
plowed his face into a timing box on the track in Switzerland, requiring CPR
after he stopped breathing. He still has four titanium pieces in his rebuilt
jaw.

His list of breaks and bruises is extensive, including the ankle injury
during training in California a month before the 2006 trials. Malone had
surgery to remove shattered bone and competed days after being back on
skates.

"You really can't have regrets. You can't leave anything to question,"
Malone said. "So I just did everything I possibly could. ... I didn't let
myself be that disappointed. I'm a spiritual guy, and everything happens for
a reason."

He finished eighth in spite of the injury, but only the top five made the
team.

In the past year or so, Malone has broken his foot, undergone surgery to
remove a bone spur from the joint in his hip and had nasal reconstructive
surgery to improve his breathing.

As the trials approach, Malone, who trains at the U.S. Speedskating
headquarters in Kearns, Utah, said he finds himself being more careful.

Chun said Malone has a better chance to remain healthy because his ice
technique has improved from earlier in his career, when he still had a lot
of inline tendencies. Malone switched to ice only a year before the 2006
Olympics, surprising everyone with his rapid ascent to the national team and
world medals.

Chun has tried to pull Malone back in training in hopes of saving the body,
but that's not a given.

"I want to run myself into the ground with training so I'm just ready," for
the trials, Malone said. "Let's just do it already."

Life's soundtrack

Whether his body holds up may be at question, but Malone's energetic
attitude rarely falters.

He believes life needs a soundtrack, and he lives like it.

He's collected several iPods with music to be used in different situations:
in the shower, in the car, for traveling and for training.

"Life would be boring without music," said Malone, whose teammates call him
"Headphone Malone" ? among other nicknames ? because he always has them on.
"Can you imagine society without music?"

Malone keeps his teammates loose in practice by being a bit of a goofball.
He likes to chat, about anything ? taking care of his skates' blades, his
dog "Oly" (short for Olympics), his three roommates, his passion for
paintball.

Then there's the thrill that comes with speedskating.

"There's something satisfying about whacking the crap out of a golf ball,
right?" he said. "It's that sensation that keeps people playing golf.
Skating, it's more than going around in circles. It's the pressure on your
legs, the body position, the wind in your hair ... it's this feeling you're
searching for every time you're on ice. Feeling perfect on the ice."

It's not just the injuries that have made getting that feeling a challenge.

Malone has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, something his mother
said will always be a part of him. Because of banned substance regulations,
he takes only an herb to try to control it, and skating has always helped.

Malone also had to overcome dyslexia and asthma.

After Malone found inline skating, he'd train in empty church and hospital
parking lots and half-built subdivisions. Aitken got a mo-ped to ride
along ? just to make sure Malone didn't get hurt.

"We've been a team his whole life," said Aitken, who has owned a business
for 20-years and sells Microsoft software.

Road to Vancouver

Speedskaters produced 10 of 25 American medals in Turin, and Ohno found
broad fame when he won Dancing with the Stars in 2007. But Olympic
speedskating isn't always a glamorous gig.

The poor economy hasn't skipped over the Olympic movement. Malone said his
funding from U.S. Speedskating has dropped dramatically, and he and his
teammates have struggled as corporations pull back.

Malone did independently find a new sponsor ? an area Coca-Cola bottler ?
after meeting him at a Dallas Stars game.

His grandmother is planning a fundraiser for him July 19 at her RV park in
Sanger. Aitken said he hopes to stir up support at Denton-area sports bars
after Malone officially makes the team at the trials ? that is, of course,
if all goes well this time.

Aitken treasures how her son responded in one of his biggest disappointments
four years ago. She said she thinks he'll respond the same way after one of
his greatest successes.

"Sometimes it's the I-did-it times," Aitken said. "I get the biggest,
tightest hug, and then off he goes."

End.
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