Andrew Heo competes in last year’s U.S. Olympic Team Trials. He will be at Hamilton Community Center and Ice Arena on Wednesday for a Tour of Olympians event.
Photo courtesy of US Speed Skating
The sanctioning body for American speed skating is looking to grow the sport, and it is branching out to all parts of the country.
So US Speedskating is launching the second Tour of Olympians to promote speed skating and bring 2022 Olympians to USS clubs around the country. Columbus’ Full Throttle Speed Skating Team will be hosting a pair of this year’s Olympic athletes on Wednesday for a special “Skate with the Olympians” event at Hamilton Community Center and Ice Arena.
“It’s kind of a special thing that US Speed Skating started after the last Olympics,” Full Throttle coach Taylor Burdekin said. “After the end of the season, they go on tour with some of the clubs to help grow the sport and give back to the clubs a little bit. So we had applied to be a part of the tour and were selected as one of the clubs for the tour. We’re pretty excited because we are a new club. We’re looking forward to our skaters getting to meet some people who are accomplished in the sport. Hopefully, they will be inspired.”
In attendance Wednesday will be 2022 Olympians Austin Kleba (long track) and Andrew Heo (short track). The athletes will interact with fans, promote the sport of speed skating and participate in off and on-ice activities.
Heo finished seventh in the 1,000 meters in this year’s Winter Games in Beijing. He won the bronze medal as part of the 5,000m relay team and finished fourth in the 1,500m at last year’s World Championships.
Burdekin trained with Heo in Salt Lake City, Utah, before she returned to her hometown of Columbus a few years ago. Heo, 21, who is from the Philadelphia suburb of Warrington, Pennsylvania, still trains in Salt Lake City.
Kleba won the gold medal in the 500m at this year’s Four Continents Speed Skating Championships. The 22-year-old Campton Hills, Illinois, native finished 27th in the 500m at this year’s Olympics.
Heo and Kleba plan to stick around for a Thursday morning session to work with Full Throttle’s roughly 15 members.
The public is invited to attend Wednesday’s event to meet the athletes and have a chance to learn from the pros. No skating experience is necessary, and loaner skates will be available for free.
There will be a meet-and-greet with the athletes at 6:30 p.m., speed skating demonstration by the Olympians and local athletes at 7 p.m. and the Skate with the Olympians from 7:15 to 9 p.m. Those wishing to attend the event can find more information at fullthrottlesst.com or on the club’s Facebook page.
“Of course, it’s a great way to introduce people to the sport of speed skating because there’s not a lot of speed skating in Indiana,” Burdekin said. “We’ll play some games and do some speed skating activities, as well as let the people speed skate with the Olympians. Even if they’re not interested in becoming a speed skater, it’s an opportunity to meet people who have a high level of achievement.”
