Davis, Shani (1982-…), was a dominant American speed skater in the early 2000’s and 2010’s. He became the first African American to win an individual gold medal at the Winter Olympic Games. Davis won the 1,000-meter speed-skating race at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. He also finished second in the 1,500-meter race and seventh in the 5,000-meter race. Davis also won the 1,000-meter race at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, Canada. He was the first skater to win the event in two consecutive Olympic competitions. Davis also won the silver medal in the 1,500-meter race in 2010. At the 2018 Winter Olympics at Pyeongchang, South Korea, Davis finished 7th in the 1,000-meter race and 19th in the 1,500-meter race. Davis retired from competitive speedskating in 2019.
Davis set world records in both the 1,000-meter and 1,500-meter races. He also won the World Allround Speeding Championship in 2005 and 2006. The Allround Championships are made up of the combined results for races at 500 meters, 1,500 meters, 5,000 meters, and 10,000 meters. Davis had placed second in the World Allround Championships in 2004. In 2009, Davis won the World Sprint Championship, consisting of two races each at 500 and 1,000 meters. Davis thus joined American skater Eric Heiden as the only male skater to win both the Allround and World Sprint championships.
Davis was also a successful short track skater. Short track races are held on an oval track about 111 meters (364 feet) around. Speed-skating tracks, often called long-track skating, are 3331/3 to 400 meters (2641/2 to 437 yards) around. Davis made the 2002 United States Olympic team in short-track skating and finished first in the 2001 and 2002 U.S. junior short-track championships.
Davis was born on Aug. 13, 1982, in Chicago. He began skating at the age of 6. After ending his competitive career, Davis began coaching young speedskaters.
