Tucker Fredricks, Shani Davis far back in the pack after first leg of long-track speedskating men’s 500 meters

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It doesn’t look as if a gold medal is in the United States’ long-track speedskating future in men’s 500 meters as medal hopefuls Shani Davis and Tucker Fredricks are well back in the pack after the first of two heats.

Mika Poutala of Finland leads with a time of 34.86 seconds. Fredricks is in 15th place with a time of 35.21 and Davis is in 18th at 35.45.

The men will race again later tonight and the skater with the lowest combined time wins the gold medal.

The top five:

1. Mika Poutala, Finland, 34.86 seconds

2. Tae-Bum Mo of South Korea, 34.92

3. Joji Kato of Japan, 34.93

4. Kang-Seok Lee of South Korea, 35.05

5. Jeremy Wotherspoon of Canada, 35.09

-- Houston Mitchell in Vancouver, Canada