Shani Davis

Shani Davis is now the first speed skater to win two consecutive gold medals in the 1,000 race. While not a badass of the day, he's interesting enough to earn a post.

• Davis started on roller skates when he was 2. He started ice skating at age 6. His mother, Cherie Davis, worked for an attorney with a speed skating son who recommended that Davis try speed skating.
• When he was very young (around 10), Davis and his mother moved from the south side of Chicago to the North side so he could be close to a speed skating ice rink.
• Davis is an African-American athlete in an all white world. His mother, a single mom, has earned a reputation for being overprotective and overly aggressive.
• When Davis' mother mentioned Michael Phelps’s mother, another single mother of a world-class athlete, she said, “she talks about all they had to go through. I have to laugh. She has no idea.”
• Davis said of his mother, "Some of the best things in my life have happened to me because I listened to my mother. And some of the worst things in my life have happened to me because I listened to my mother."
• In the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy, he won a gold in the 1,000 meters and a silver in the 1,500.
• Davis was accused of making the 2006 team because his teammate Apolo Ohno eased up in a race. An arbitrator determined discredited that claim but Davis was still pissed about it.
• Davis is primarily a long track speed skater, but also trains as a short track racer. He is known as one of the best turners in the sport (he doesn't lose speed going into turns), which he credits to his short track experience.
• Davis does not train or travel with the US team or use the same coaches. He gets along great with everyone from other countries. Speed skating is an individual sport and Davis thrives on the competition. He does not want to give anything away.
• Davis is barely known in the US, but is a huge star in the Netherlands, where speed skating is the country's most popular sport.
• Stephen Colbert made a big push to support the US speed skating team. Davis called Colbert a "jerk," possibly in response to Colbert's skit that was satirical against Canadians. (Colbert and Davis have since reconciled, and all is right in the world.)
• Davis relies on a panel of coaches rather than one single coach. He looks at them almost like consultants to address specific issues.
• He is 6-foot-2 and 185 pounds, which is large for long track and a giant for short track.
• Davis' website has a flash intro page and everything. He's even got a logo.