updated 9:54 a.m. ET Feb. 22, 2006

TURIN, Italy - Any doubt about whether Shani Davis and Chad Hedrick really don’t like each other is gone. They don’t.

All that talk about simply being two fierce competitors was a smoke screen that got blown away by an ornery exchange after their final Olympic race together.

While Italy’s Enrico Fabris delighted the home crowd by winning a gold medal in the 1,500 Wednesday, Davis settled for silver and Hedrick the bronze.

Then things got interesting.

Davis and Hedrick sat at opposite ends of the podium during their post-race news conference, the distance between them a metaphor for their chilly relationship.

Hedrick snubbed his rival after Davis’ victory in the 1,000 last week, going so far as to congratulate silver medalist Joey Cheek — but not the American winner. Hedrick was more conciliatory this time, shaking hands and congratulating his teammate, but it was too little, too late to soothe Davis.

“I’ll be honest with you,” said Davis, the first black athlete in Winter Olympic history to win an individual gold medal. “Sure, Chad and I are fighting for the same thing. But it would have been kind of nice after I won the 1,000 if he would have been a good teammate and shook my hand, just like I shook his hand — or hugged him — after he won the 5,000.”

With that, Davis stormed from the room, mumbling on his way out, “Shakes my hand when I lose. Typical Chad.”

Hedrick sat grinning in stunned amazement, then got in the last word.

Slide show   Emotional Moments Feb. 26: See photos of athletes' highs and lows from Sunday.

He said he was upset that Davis wouldn’t take part in the team pursuit last week because he wanted to focus on his individual races. A Hedrick-led trio was upset by the Italians in the quarterfinals, but the result may have been different with Davis on the team.

“We’re all part of Team USA,” Hedrick said. “We had a great opportunity to win the team pursuit. I felt betrayed in a way. Not only did he not participate, he wouldn’t even discuss it with me as a leader of the team. I thought we passed up a medal.”

Earlier, the rivals traded shots during an uncomfortable 30 minutes together in a stifling hot interview room.

Asked about his future in the sport, Hedrick said he wants to continue, but also plans to get into acting.

Davis replied, “I love the sport of speedskating, regardless of the people who are not long-term stayers at the hotel of speedskating.

“I’m not a phony person. There’s no way I’ll ever be a Hollywood actor,” Davis said before quickly adding, “Not knocking Chad.”

Touche, Shani.

Slide show   Pictures of the Day Check out Sunday's best Olympic images.

Davis even seemed to resent Hedrick’s reference to Michael Jordan, Davis’ hero.

“We’re competitors, we come out here and we race each other, we want to beat everybody out there, and if it don’t feel that way, we’re never going to win,” Hedrick said. “Michael Jordan doesn’t go onto the court unless he’s confident that he’s going to win, and he can do everything to win.”

Davis replied, “Being from Chicago, I’m a big Michael Jordan fan. But I’ve never seen him act in an unprofessional manner when it came to losing.”

Ouch.

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