"I just didn't feel fresh," Hedrick said later.

But then, with Verheijen on the verge of coming all the way back from a huge deficit and passing Hedrick with only a few laps remaining in the 25-lap race at the Oval Lingotto, the 28-year-old Salt Lake City resident dug down and found a way to put on a huge burst of speed to bury his rival for good and clinch a silver medal to accompany the gold and bronze he had already won.

"I can honestly say I went out there and left it all on the ice," Hedrick said.

The Netherlands' Bob de Jong won the gold medal by skating 13:01.57 in an early pairing, and Hedrick never came close to challenging his time.

But Hedrick clearly was happier to settle for silver in 13:05.40 than he had been to accept bronze behind teammate Shani Davis in the 1,500 earlier in the week. Rather than stalk the finish area with a disgusted look on his face, Hedrick smiled and waved cherrily to fans, and even gave de Jong a congratulatory hug.

"I really went out there and tried hard," he said. "I really dug deep, and I wasn't going to lay down for anybody. I could have quit, with 10 to go. I was tired with 12, 15 laps to go, and I could have quit. But I didn't. I was going to prove to everybody how big my heart is."

Pretty big, it looked like.

He and Verheijen have traded the world record in the 10,000 in recent months - Hedrick owns it at the moment - and the Dutchman had fought nearly all the way back from nearly a five-second deficit while Hedrick faded from his hard early pace. But Hedrick knew from his view of the arena video screen that Verheijen was coming, and conceived a sound strategy.

"I decided with six laps to go that the best way for me to do it . . . was just to rest, get my breath, and let him catch me with hopefully two or three to go," Hedrick said. "And then as soon as he catches me, he'll think that he has me. And as soon as he caught me, I did a sprint."

Game over.

Even as exhausted as he was, Hedrick rocketed away in the space of barely one turn of the track with about 2- laps remaining, and Verheijen never had a chance, finishing in 13:08.80 for the bronze.

"I've never seen anything like this, on the ice," said Bart Schouten, Hedrick's coach.

Verheijen seemed suprised, too, though he had kind words for Hedrick.

"I am happy that while he was racing, he was thinking of me and of my race and not about his own," he said. "He is an excellent sportsman, he skates at a very high level and I have respect for that. He has an attitude with the media that we are not used to having. He brings something American, something new in this sport."

The race concluded a tumultuous two weeks for Hedrick, who came into the Turin Games encouraging speculation that he could win five gold medals but became embroiled in a controversy with Davis and failed to medal in the 1,000 and the team pursuit.

He found himself answering question after question about his rivalry with Davis, and never granted him much respect after Davis declined to skate the team pursuit with him. Davis skipped that race in order to focus on his individual races, but the decision ruined Hedrick's medal chances in the event and led Hedrick to insinuate that Davis was not a team player.

The episode provided the most salacious soap opera of the Olympics, yet even after his 10,000, Hedrick said he "would not do anything differently" if he had a second chance, and offered backhanded compliments to the skaters who beat him by emphasizing that he'd become fatigued skating so many races that his rivals did not.

"That's part of the deal when you pick five events and go for something spectacular," he said.

He probably will do things differently in four years, he said, when he plans to go for gold again at the 2010 Vancouver Games. Hedrick will be 32 years old then, but believes he has a lot to learn about his sport - he switched to the ice from inline skating just four years ago - and stands a chance at even greater heights, although he would rather compete in just three or four events.

"I'm very happy with my performance," he said. "But at the same time, I feel like I left a lot of medals out there, and didn't skate perfect. I let myself down a few times, but at the same time, I have to hold my head high. I worked really hard to come here, and I was really proud to be part of the U.S. Olympic team, and proud to represent my country and do what I love."