Olympic champion gives his winnings to charity
Published: February 15, 2006
The Olympic flame burns brightly above an old soccer stadium in the middle of town, but it is a mere symbol of the true spirit of these Games. The real Olympic flame was ablaze in a small interview room inside the speedskating oval Monday night.
It was there that a bright young American named Joey Cheek headed off the self-gratifying blather typically coaxed from an Olympic champion and used his moment of personal glory for the betterment of our planet.
Aware that his literal 15 minutes of fame were ticking, Cheek said: “I understand how news cycles work. I could gab about how wonderful I feel, or I could use it for something productive.”
Then he said he was donating the $25,000 he will receive from the United States Olympic Committee for winning the gold medal in the men’s 500 meters to a charity called Right To Play, which helps disadvantaged children throughout the world. The charity is run by Norwegian speedskating legend Johan Olav Koss, the man who won three gold medals in 1994 in Lillehammer and in so doing inspired the then 14-year-old Cheek to take up the sport.
Cheek said he would make a similar donation if he wins the 1,000 meters. And he will encourage the sponsors who support his modest lifestyle to match the donation. He wants the money to go to children in distressed areas of Chad and Sudan.
“I’ve got the microphone to put some kids on the path I’ve been blessed with,” Cheek said. “The best way to say thank you is to help someone else. It’s empowering to think about someone other than yourself.”
On what a lot of people would consider the most important morning of his life, Cheek did not use it to get into whatever mental zone athletes of his caliber try to achieve before an event of such magnitude. Instead, he hung out at the charity’s office inside the Olympic village. And he planned what he would say at the news conference in case he won.
“A little risky, don’t you think?” he said. “I just wanted to be prepared if the stars aligned.”
Cheek then went out and blew the field away, just destroyed it. He was so far ahead by the end of the first round that a gold medal was virtually assured if he just stayed upright for the second race.
“I don’t know how I skated that fast,” Cheek said. “I’m grateful I did.”
Soon enough, a lot of hungry children will be grateful, too. And in case you somehow think that Cheek was just grandstanding, you should’ve seen the reaction he received from Wisconsin’s own Casey FitzRandolph after Cheek won gold. If all-time good guy FitzRandolph - the Olympic record-holder in the 500 who finished 12th Monday - can vouch for Cheek, then that should be good enough for anyone.
“You’ve got certain guys you root for,” FitzRandolph said, “and Joey’s one of them.”
Contrast Cheek’s act of selflessness with the mini-controversy surrounding the Americans, who would have a chance to sweep all the long-track events if Shani Davis were to skate in team pursuit. But enough about that. For the moment, Cheek is one of these Games’ better stories, the on-ice embodiment of the Olympic ethos.
And don’t get Cheek wrong. He loves what he does.
“But honestly, it’s a pretty ridiculous thing,” he said. “I skate around the ice in tights. If you keep it in perspective, it’s not that big a deal.”
So after the 1,000, he’s done with the Olympics. At 26, Cheek wants to go to college, study economics and maybe one day get into politics. To hear him speak, you get the impression you’re listening to the 2032 president, but he’s probably too smart for that. Harvard has already turned him down, but that’s Harvard’s loss.
“I’m not sure who’s going to let me in,” Cheek said.
Someone will now.
Typical of speedskating’s Wisconsin-centric culture, Cheek has spent time in Milwaukee. The native of Greensboro, N.C., who like many of the new-wave skaters grew up on in-line skates, was in and out of the Pettit Center in the late 1990s before the movement headed west. His car was even stolen in our fair town.
“An old Buick Rivera,” said his beaming mom.
Before leaving, Cheek added one more plank to his platform by saying a Right To Play trip was in his future and invited the assembled media along.
“If anyone wants to go to Africa with me,” he said, “I’ll be happy to have them. . . on their own dime, of course.”
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