Joey Cheek
3377567
204991116
2008-04-11T20:12:37Z
64.129.118.146
{{MedalTableTop}}
{{MedalSport|Men's [[speed skating]]}}
{{MedalOlympics}}
{{MedalBronze|[[2002 Winter Olympics|2002 Salt Lake City]]|1000 m}}
{{MedalGold|[[2006 Winter Olympics|2006 Turin]]|500 m}}
{{MedalSilver|[[2006 Winter Olympics|2006 Turin]]|1000 m}}
{{MedalBottom}}
'''William Joseph Cheek''' (born [[June 22]] [[1979]] in [[Greensboro, North Carolina|Greensboro]], [[North Carolina]]) is an [[United States|American]] [[Speed Skating|speed skater]] and former [[inline speed skating|inline speed skater]]. He specializes in the short and middle distances.
Cheek's breakthrough was in the [[2002 Winter Olympics]] in [[Salt Lake City]]. During that tournament he won the bronze medal in the 1,000 meters and he missed the podium in the 1,500 meters by 0.08 seconds.
In 2003 he won a bronze medal at the [[World Single Distance Championships]] in [[Berlin]] in the 1,000 and the 1,500 meter events. Both distances at that tournament were won by [[Netherlands|Dutch]] speed skater [[Erben Wennemars]]. In 2005, Cheek made the podium for the first time in the [[World Sprint Championships]], again behind Wennemars.
On [[January 22]], [[2006 in sports|2006]] in [[Heerenveen]], Joey Cheek fulfilled his potential when he became world sprint champion. On [[Aggregate score|aggregate]] he beat [[Dmitry Dorofeyev]] ([[Russia]]) and [[Jan Bos]] ([[the Netherlands|Netherlands]]).
At the [[2006 Winter Olympics]] in [[Turin]], Cheek won the men's 500-meter event in dominating style, recording a two-run total time of 1:09.76. That time was 0.65 seconds faster than runner-up [[Dorofeyev]], and Cheek was the only competitor to break the 35-second mark in the competition, doing so in both of his runs (34.82 and 34.94). Cheek's time in the first 500m race is an unofficial world record, for the fastest 500m ever at an ice rink at sea level. He went on to win silver in the 1,000 meter race, finishing just behind teammate [[Shani Davis]].
At a press conference after the Olympic 500 meter race, Cheek said that he decided to donate his USOC gold medal bonus ($25,000) to [[Right To Play]], an athlete-driven international humanitarian organization formed by former Olympic champion [[Johann Olav Koss]] of [[Norway]]. Joey challenged others to make similar pledges to Right To Play. He subsequently donated his prize money from the 1,000 meter race ($15,000) to the same organization.
Since his donation others have joined in and over $390,000 has been contributed to this cause [http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/sports/other_sports/13958107.htm]. Of particular note is the fact that he inspired [[Clara Hughes]] to donate $10,000 out of her own pocket (Canada does not give bonuses).
He was elected by his teammates to carry the US flag into the closing ceremonies. Near the end of [[NBC]]'s coverage of the closing ceremonies, commentator [[Bob Costas]] noted that Cheek's application to [[Harvard University]] had not been accepted and lobbied the Dean of Admissions to reconsider the decision.
Joey Cheek is attending [[Princeton University]] as a member of the class of 2011 (after also being accepted by Stanford and Yale, among other universities) [http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/torino/2006-05-15-joey-cheek_x.htm?POE=SPOISVA].
Joey Cheek is the co-founder and president of Team Darfur [http://www.TeamDarfur.org], an international coalition of athletes committed to raising awareness about and bringing an end to the crisis in Darfur, Sudan.
{{PersonalRecordsTop}}
{{PersonalRecordsSport| Men's [[speed skating]]}}
{{PersonalRecordsMiddle| 500 m | 34.66 |[[2001-12-19]]|[[Salt Lake City, Utah]] | }}
{{PersonalRecordsMiddle| 1000 m | 1:07.29 |[[2001-12-18]] |[[Salt Lake City, Utah]]|}}
{{PersonalRecordsMiddle| 1500 m | 1:44.98 |[[2004-12-21]] |[[Salt Lake City, Utah]] | }}
{{PersonalRecordsMiddle| 3000 m | 3:54.76 |[[1999-11-26]]|[[Calgary, Canada]] | }}
{{PersonalRecordsMiddle| 5000 m | 6:42.57 |[[1999-11-28]]|[[Calgary, Canada]] | }}
{{PersonalRecordsMiddle| 10000 m | 14:13.81 |[[2000-01-16]]|[[Calgary, Canada]] | }}
{{PersonalRecordsBottom}}
===External links===
*[http://www.fotos.desg.de/athletes.php?showAthletes=all&id=276 Photos of Joey Cheek]
*[http://www.nbcolympics.com/athletes/5056853/detail.html NBC Olympics Bio]
*[http://www.usolympicteam.com/26_713.htm Joey's U.S. Olympic Team bio]
*[http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5250135 NPR Interview with Melissa Block]
*[http://top10.wikia.com/wiki/Persons_of_the_Year_2006 Joey Cheek named among the Top 10 Persons of 2006]
*[http://www.marketamerica.com/index.cfm?action=services.cpNews&announceID=123 Joey Continues to use His Sponsors to Raise Money for Right to Play]
*[http://www.joeycheek.com Joey's Personal Website]
*[http://www.teamdarfur.org Team Darfur]
{{Footer Olympic Champions 500m Speed Skating Men}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheek, Joey}}
{{Persondata
|NAME=Cheek, Joey
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Cheek, William Joseph (full name)
|SHORT DESCRIPTION=Olympic skater
|DATE OF BIRTH=[[June 22]] [[1979]]
|PLACE OF BIRTH=[[Greensboro, North Carolina]], [[United States]]
|DATE OF DEATH=living
|PLACE OF DEATH=
}}
[[Category:American speed skaters]]
[[Category:Olympic bronze medalists for the United States]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States]]
[[Category:Olympic silver medalists for the United States]]
[[Category:People from Greensboro, North Carolina]]
[[Category:Speed skaters at the 2002 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:Speed skaters at the 2006 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:Winter Olympics medalists]]
[[Category:People from North Carolina]]
[[Category:1979 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[de:Joey Cheek]]
[[fr:Joey Cheek]]
[[nl:Joey Cheek]]
[[ja:ジョーイ・チーク]]
[[no:Joey Cheek]]
[[fi:Joey Cheek]]