Denny Morrison Website

By PAUL FRIESEN, QMI Agency

Last Updated: February 17 2010, 10:14pm

Denny Morrison had an off night Wednesday, placing 13th in the men's speed skating 1,000 metres. (QMI AGENCY file photo)

RICHMOND, B.C. — That good karma surrounding Canada’s speed skating team evaporated in the men’s 1,000 metres Wednesday.

Denny Morrison of Fort St. John, B.C., the top medal contender on the men’s side, was bitterly disappointed in his 13th-place showing, calling it the most frustrating race of his career.

“I’m usually the kind of guy that performs well under pressure,” Morrison said. “That doesn’t include today.”

Skating in the second-last pairing, just ahead of defending Olympic champ and world record holder Shani Davis of the U.S., the 24-year-old Canadian crossed the line in 1:10.30, almost a second-and-a-half slower than his former training partner, who successfully defended his title.

“I’m happy for Shani,” Morrison said. “He deserves it. He was undefeated. I thought I could give him a run for his money, but I wasn’t close.”

The race caps a down year for Morrison, who won silver in the 1,000 at last spring’s world championship.

With just one bronze on the World Cup circuit this season, he never did find his 2009 form.

Following a 19th-place finish in Turin four years ago, he was expecting to contend for the podium, before a hometown crowd.

“Four years I spent getting myself psyched up, getting my confidence up, getting my technique perfected, my equipment honed. I don’t know,” he said. “The first thing you want to do is blame all the things on the outside. Really, I need to review my race and find out where I lost things. I’m the one who has to perform, and right now I just didn’t do it.”

Three other Canadians — Jeremy Wotherspoon, Kyle Parrott and Francois-Olivier Roberge — also finished well back.

But it was Morrison who was seen as the best bet to follow up the bronze medal won by Kristina Groves in the women’s 3,000.

Morrison will have a chance to redeem himself in the 1,500 Saturday.

“I’ve got to use it that way,” he said. “I’ve got to make it positive for myself. I’m going to have to throw out some anger here in a bit.”

Wotherspoon finished 14th in the final Olympic race of his distinguished career.

“I felt good to race here,” Wotherspoon, the crowd favourite said. “In Canada with a great crowd supporting us — it was a great way to cap off my Olympic career.”

paul.friesen@sunmedia.ca