Although Ryan Shimabukuro never won the gold medal he'd always dreamed of, the former Moanalua High student experienced a golden moment as the head coach of the U.S. speedskating team.

Shimabukuro, who competed in the Olympic Trials in 1994 and 1998, coached Joey Cheek to a gold medal Monday in the men's 500-meter event at the Lingotto Oval in Turin, Italy. Cheek will race again in the 1,000 today.

"Obviously, I felt a sense of pride. I had a stake in that gold medal," Shimabukuro, 32, said. "It meant a lot to me when Joey thanked me after the race. He just said, 'Ryan, I want you to know how much I appreciate your work and I wanted to thank you.' "

Shimabukuro became the coach after the 2002 Salt Lake Games. The coach then, Mike Crowe, is the managing director for long track speedskating and is Shimabukuro's boss.

Shimabukuro left Hawai'i during his sophomore year at Moanalua to pursue his Olympic dreams. He finished at Waukesha North High School in Milwaukee. His parents also moved there.

In 1994, he finished 10th in the 1,000 meters at the Olympic Trials. In 1998, he finished sixth, missing out on one of the top four qualifying spots by a second.

"I knew at that point I was done," Shimabukuro said.

He coached the Junior National Team from 1998 to 2002 and later was elevated to U.S. head coach, a position in which he received the full support of the team.

Shimabukuro said that on the Monday before the Olympics, he gathered his athletes for an emotional speech.

"I basically told them how important being at the Olympics was," he said. "It was a lifelong dream of mine, and I never got that chance. I got that second chance being a coach. I wanted to thank them and just let them know they were a big reason for that."