In this week’s cover story, “Blade runner,” you will meet a young man from Chicago who has his eyes on gold medals. Making the introduction to speedskater Shani Davis we have the seasoned Tribune Olympic writer, Philip Hersh, who covered his first games in 1980.
Note that Phil is not called a “sportswriter” here. That error was corrected in an earlier draft by Dan McGrath, the Tribune’s associate managing editor for sports.
“Phil isn’t a sportswriter; he’s a truly fine writer who happens to write about sports,” explained McGrath, who is a fine writer himself. “He brings great knowledge, energy and skill to his work, but what sets him apart is his passion.”
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Phil has been following Shani Davis for a long while, finally meeting him at an Evanston Speedskating Club party a year ago and recently seeing him train in Calgary and compete in Milwaukee.
Phil knew early on that Shani Davis was special. “Chicago has not had an Olympic athlete of this prominence for decades,” he explains. “He has a chance to be the greatest U.S. speedskater since Eric Heiden.”
And, to find out what he means, you’ll have to read the story.
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