Shani Davis
USABiography of Shani Davis
Shani Davis, an American speed skater, was born on August 13, 1982, in Chicago, Illinois, USA. His father, Reginald Shuck, chose his son's name from the Swahili dictionary. In fact, 'Shani' is a combination of the words 'light' and 'heavy'.
At the age of two, Davis started roller skating and quickly achieved impressive results. His mother, Cheri Davis, worked for Fred Benjamin, whose son was an elite-level speed skater. Fred suggested that six-year-old Shani enroll in the Robert Crown Center in Evanston. Within two months of training, Davis won regional competitions in his age group, earning admiration from both his friends and competitors.
By the age of 16, he received an invitation to Lake Placid to participate in a young speed skater development program. After a year of training, Shani decided to remain committed to his Olympic dream and moved to Marquette, Michigan, to continue his training. His determination helped Davis become a gold medalist in two Olympics - in 2006 and 2010.
At the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, he competed in the 500, 1000, 1500, and 5000-meter races. He successfully defended his title in the men's 1000-meter race with a time of 1 minute 8.94 seconds and also won a silver medal in the 1500-meter race, finishing behind Dutch skater Mark Tuitert.
Shani Davis is a five-time world champion in individual distances, a champion in sprint racing, and a two-time world champion in long-distance classic all-around. At the 2005 World Championships, he won bronze in short track relay, and at the 2009 World Championships in Moscow, he became the champion in sprint all-around. Davis has set eight world records, three of which, as of March 9, 2009, remain unbroken. With a height of 188 cm, Shani is the tallest American speed skater. Currently, he trains at the US Olympic Training Center in West Allis, Wisconsin.
Davis's great-grandmother was Mod Lambert Green, who was the sister of Winifred Lambert Anderson, the grandmother of politician Kurt Anderson.
