Casey Dawson Withdraws From Olympic 10,000m, Focuses on Team Pursuit

U.S. Speed Skater Casey Dawson Shifts Focus at Milan Cortina Olympics

MILAN (AP) — Casey Dawson withdrew from the men’s 10,000 meters in speedskating at the Milan Cortina Olympics on Friday, hours before the race, leaving the event without its only American entrant.

U.S. Speedskating said Dawson wants to concentrate his efforts on the team pursuit, which begins with quarterfinals on Sunday, and the individual 1,500 meters next Thursday. Dawson finished eighth in the 5,000 meters last weekend.

The decision, according to U.S. Coach Gabe Girard, “does not come as a surprise and always was a part of the options coming” for the Winter Games.

Dawson, the American record holder in all three of the longer distances, had qualified as the sole U.S. Competitor for the 10,000m event. His withdrawal means no American athlete will participate in that race.

The United States hasn’t won an Olympic gold in the 10,000m since Eric Heiden’s dominant performance at the 1980 Lake Placid Games, where he secured one of his five victories. The country’s last medal in the event was a silver won by Chad Hedrick at the 2006 Turin Olympics.

Dawson’s focus now turns to the team pursuit, where he skates alongside Emery Lehman and Ethan Cepuran. The U.S. Men’s team pursuit trio has achieved considerable success in recent years, earning three world records, five consecutive World Cup season titles, an Olympic bronze medal, and a world championship gold over the past five seasons. They entered the Milan Cortina Games on a six-race win streak.

Over the past year, Dawson has demonstrated significant improvement in his individual races, breaking three national records in the 5000m, and one apiece in the 3000m and 10,000m since January 27, 2025. In the 10,000m, he shaved almost 10 seconds off the 20-year-old mark previously held by Chad Hedrick.

At the second World Cup event this season, Dawson achieved his first individual World Cup podium finish, winning gold in the 5000m by a mere 0.02 seconds.

Among the athletes competing in Friday’s 10,000m race are Sander Eitrem of Norway, who won the 5,000m in an Olympic-record time in Milan, and Davide Giotto of Italy, who set the 10,000m world record of 12 minutes, 25.69 seconds in January 2025 and earned a bronze medal in the event at the 2022 Beijing Games.

The men’s 10,000m race is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. E.T. In Milan. Dawson will next compete with his team pursuit teammates in the qualifying round on Sunday, February 15th. The men’s 1500m will take place on Thursday, February 19th.