RICHMOND, British Columbia — Jennifer Rodriguez promised herself she would just relax and enjoy this Olympic experience.

She has been out walking in the city since she arrived in Vancouver. She marched in the opening ceremony. And she’s spending time with family and friends, even inviting them to tour the athletes’ quarters in the Olympic Village.

Associated Press

U.S. speedskater Jennifer Rodriguez takes part in a practice session ahead of the start of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics at the Richmond Olympic Oval on Feb. 9, in Vancouver, British Columbia.

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Those are things Rodriguez wouldn’t allow herself to do during her three previous Olympic appearances, which was the main reason the speed skater from Miami decided to retire from the sport after finishing without a medal in 2006 in Turin, Italy, withdrawing from her intense training regimen to spend more time with her family.

But Rodriguez, who won two bronze medals in Salt Lake City in 2002, realized she still had a passion for the sport, if not the way she approached it. She went back into training and earned a spot on this year’s U.S. team, knowing that a spot on the podium was a long shot, but also that this time was as much about the experience as the results.

Rodriguez, 33, was the top American finisher in the women’s 1,000 meters on Thursday at the Richmond Olympic Oval, placing seventh after a strong final lap in a heat that included decorated German sprinter and fellow four-time Olympian Anna Friesinger-Postma.

“Overall it was a really good race. I’m not disappointed. I skated well and I had a really good last lap,” Rodriguez said. “I’m just trying to keep it lighthearted and keep my attitude positive. It’s still fun to compete out there, and I’m happy that I was able to get the job done.”

Rodriguez said one goal in coming to Vancouver was to finish in the top 10 in multiple events, and Thursday’s result was a major improvement from her 20th-place showing in the 500 on Tuesday. Rodriguez still plans to skate in the 1,500, the 3,000 and as part of the team pursuit.

“There’s so many good girls out there. The competition is so stiff,” Rodriguez said. “I think if I skate the way I did today, I don’t know about a medal chance, but another top-10 finish I’m definitely capable of doing.”

Rodriguez also is happy to pass the torch to a promising group of youngsters on the U.S. team, which she hopes will return the American women to prominence. The U.S. was shut out of medals in Turin and has not won one yet in Vancouver.

She especially praised Heather Richardson, the 21-year-old from North Carolina who had the second-fastest first-lap time of the day on Thursday before fading to ninth place. Richardson also finished ninth in the 500 and will skate in the 1,500 (an event in which she is the current U.S. champion) on Sunday. Like Rodriguez, Richardson made the transition to speed skating from inline skating.

“I still am a competitor, and I still want to be on the podium,” Rodriguez said. “But I skated a good race and was happy with my race, and now I get to go chill with my family for a little while, which makes this so enjoyable.”

Canada wins third gold

Canada’s Christine Nesbitt had a subdued reaction for someone who just won their first Olympic gold medal in front of an arena packed with screaming hometown fans.

That’s because Nesbitt is notoriously critical of herself, and she admits that Thursday’s race wasn’t her best, even if it was good enough. She finished the last lap in 30.09 seconds, which was the second-fastest last lap of the day.

“I didn’t skate technically a great race for myself, so just looking purely at the race, it wasn’t pretty,” said Nesbitt, who won a silver medal in the team pursuit in Turin. “I’m relieved and I’m happy. I still can’t believe that I did that.”

Nesbitt edged out Annette Gerritsen for gold by 0.02 seconds, while Laurine van Riessen of the Netherlands took the bronze. The strong Dutch team placed three skaters in the top six overall.

Briefly…

A day after arriving in Vancouver, comedian Stephen Colbert, who is one of the primary sponsors of the U.S. speed skating team, did not attend the women’s session on Thursday. …Norway has 79 Olympic medals in speed skating, more than any other country, but only two of those have come in women’s races. Hege Bakko made a brief bid to be the first Norwegian women’s medalist since 1980 before her early time faded to 10th place. … Fifteen-year-old Miho Takagi of Japan, the youngest speed skater in Vancouver, made her Olympic debut and finished 35th.

TODD JORGENSON can be reached at 940-566-6871. His e-mail address is tjorgenson@dentonrc.com .