Joey Cheek

William Joseph Cheek (born June 22 1979 in Greensboro, North Carolina) is an American speed skater and former inline speed skater. He specializes in the short and middle distances.

Accomplishments

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 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 Heerenveen, Joey Cheek fulfilled his potential when he became world sprint champion. On aggregate he beat Dmitry Dorofeyev of Russia and Jan Bos of The 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.

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 planned to attend the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in support of athletes on Team Darfur. His visa was revoked by the Chinese embassy hours before he intended to leave for China. [ [http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/blog/fourth_place_medal/post/Chi?urn=oly,98718 Yahoo Sports] ]

Personal life

Joey Cheek picked up speed skating after meeting and watching neighborhood friend, Bryan Anderson skate around the neighborhood training for Nationals. Joey Cheek attended James B. Dudley High School in Greensboro, North Carolina and is currently attending Princeton University as a member of the class of 2011 where he studies economics and Chinese. [ [http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/torino/2006-05-15-joey-cheek_x.htm?POE=SPOISVA USA Today] ] On Tuesday, August 12, 2008, Cheek appeared on The Colbert Report and discussed Sino-Sudanese relations. [ [http://www.comedycentral.com/colbertreport/videos.jhtml?videoId=179195 Videom] ]

Philanthropy

Joey Cheek is the co-founder and president of Team Darfur, an international coalition of athletes committed to raising awareness about and bringing an end to the crisis in Darfur, Sudan.

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 Duluth Superior Sports] ] Dead link|date=August 2008. 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).

References

* [http://iviesinchina.com/a-voice-for-the-silent/ Ivies in China Feature: A Voice for the Silent (Joey Cheek)]

External links

* [http://www.joeycheek.com/ Official site]
* [http://www.teamdarfur.org/ Team Darfur]
*cite web |url=http://www.nbcolympics.com/athletes/5056853/detail.html |title= NBC Olympics Bio |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20061114215853/http://www.nbcolympics.com/athletes/5056853/detail.html |archivedate=2006-11-14
* [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.fotos.desg.de/desgphoto/gallery/index.php?p=athlet&showAthletes=all&id=276 Photos of Joey Cheek]

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=