Turned out, he scorched the field.

But because Cheek initially viewed the wrong skater's time on the board, it took him a moment to appreciate that he had just put together such an amazing race at the Oval Lingotto - a "race of a lifetime," he eventually called it - that all the Salt Lake City resident needed was a decent effort in the second race to claim the gold medal.

"I just had to be close," he said, "and I'd still win."

He did far more than stay close, though, scorching the field yet again and then announcing in a post-race press conference that he will donate his $25,000 gold-medal bonus from the U.S. Olympic Committee to a charitable organization to help children displaced from the war-torn Darfur region of Sudan in Africa.

"For me the Olympics have been the greatest blessing," he said. "If I retired yesterday, I have gotten everything in the world from speedskating and from competing in the Olympics. So to walk away with the gold medal is just amazing, and the best way to say thanks I can think of is to try to help somebody else."

Cheek said he also will ask his sponsors - primarily Nike, Oakley and the speedskating team's sponsors, ADT and Qwest - to match his donations to Right to Play, an organization of athletes recognized by the International Olympic Committee that seeks to use sports as a way to help children in the most troubled parts of the world.

The organization's president is former speedskating gold-medalist Johann Olav Koss of Norway, whom Cheek regards as his "absolute inspiration," and with whom Cheek shared coffee in the days before his race to discuss his plan for springing the news to reporters if he won gold.

"I have learned how news cycles work," he said. "I've learned there's a gold medalist tonight, and tomorrow there's another gold medalist. So I can either take the time and gush about how wonderful I feel, or I could really do something productive."

Besides, there were plenty of others to gush about him.

Silver medalist Dmitry Dorofeyev of Russia confessed he watched the final pairing of the night knowing that "only a miracle" would keep Cheek from beating him out for the gold. Canada's Jeremy Wotherspoon, disappointed in his own ninth-place finish, said Cheek would have had to "screw up bad" to blow it.

Instead, Cheek barely slowed in his second race, finishing in 34.94 seconds after clocking 34.82 - that was 0.42 seconds faster than Dorofeyev, which might as well have been a mile in this sport - in the first.

"I feel blessed," he said. "I'm still kind of shocked. I can't believe I skated that fast. Those are the two best races I ever skated, and I really wasn't trying to put any pressure on myself. I was trying to be relaxed and enjoy the process and enjoy the event and I skated two fantastic races. I'm thrilled."

The victory give the American men two gold medals in two speedskating races so far, and the chance for an historic sweep. It also made up for disappointing performances by Cheek's training mates at the Utah Olympic Oval, defending gold medalist Casey FitzRandolph and defending bronze medalist Kip Carpenter.

FitzRandolph slipped shortly after the start of his first race and was doomed from there to a 12th place finish, while Carpenter false-started in his first race, then reacted slowly off the line and later had to ease up to give Korea's Lee the right of way while changing lanes down the backstretch. FitzRandolph and Carpenter also reside in Salt Lake City.

Lee won the bronze, but Carpenter finished 26th, one spot behind another Salt Lake City skater, Tucker Fredericks.

Meanwhile, Cheek was able to add his gold to the bronze he won in the 1,000 meters four years ago at the Salt Lake Games, and he still has the 1,000 to skate later this week, with plans to donate any reward money from that race, as well. Not bad, for somebody who feared he might have jinxed himself when he discussed his donation plans with Koss, then visited the Right to Play office set up in the athletes village before the race.

"A little risky, don't you think?" he said. "I was a little concerned about it, too."

But in the end, the aspiring Ivy League economist and potential politician - the 26-year-old has applied to a number of elite schools, and joked whether any will accept him after Harvard declined - wanted his "miraculous" victory and 15 minutes of fame to stand for something more than just athletic triumph.

"I had no idea it would come together like it did," he said.