The U.S. long track speed skating team trials at Milwaukee’s Pettit National Ice Center was a full-circle moment for Mitch Whitmore.
Whitmore, who qualified in the 1,000 and 500 meter races, has been to the Olympics twice now. But he’s never competed for a spot on Team USA on the very ice he grew up skating on. For the first time in 20 years, the trials were at the Pettit, just 15 minutes from his home in Waukesha.
"I loved it. I was really pushing for the trials to be here just because I knew there would be a good turnout, which it’s been sold out I think every day," Whitmore said after the trials concluded in early January. "Just such a rich history of speed skating in the area and, growing up here, of course I want to race at a home track. I’ve lived in Salt Lake City the past six years, but this is still home to me, so I was really psyched to have a big competition here."
The Waukesha native’s story started at the Pettit 19 years ago, when his parent signed him up for three for $15 dollar lessons to keep their nine-year-old busy during the wintertime.
“I took to it right away. First day on the ice, just really loved it. Stuck with it," said Whitmore. "I think it was the type of work ethic that it was, like building lactate in my legs, doing dry land exercises, wall sit type things. I just thought the solidarity of that was really enjoyable for some reason. I also really enjoy cross country and track and field and stuff, but I took to skating. It goes faster too so that was also a big draw.”
When he’s not skating, he’s still a sports fan. Hockey is his favorite, and he’s a loyal Brewers and Bucks fan. But he spent a few years of his childhood in Illinois, so just because he's from Waukesha doesn’t mean he’s a Packers fan.
"I started watching sports when I was in Illinois, and I felt like I couldn’t be a traitor to my team, and it’s been some pretty rough years lately but I’m a Bears fan," Whitmore said, laughing.
Whitmore also has been through some rough times leading up to Pyeongchang this year. In August, while training in Utah, he was involved in a severe bike accident, spraining his wrist and breaking his sacrum, a bone in the lower back at the bottom of the spine, which sidelined him at a critical juncture in an Olympic year for six weeks.
"That was super hard to overcome. You want it to be perfect, especially Olympic season. If it’s in another year, it still hurts but it’s not like this is the year," Whitmore said. "And I don’t plan on going four more years. So looking at that, it was a bummer. There was for sure some good days and bad day trying to get through it."
Like Whitmore, the USA long track speed skating team has also faced rough times recently. Team USA left the 2014 Sochi winter games without a single long track medal for the first time since 1984, so some skaters, like Joey Mantia, are calling Pyeongchang a chance for redemption.
"I wouldn’t say people really think about four years ago too much. We’ve had so many competitions in between there that have gone well and some have gone poorly. So I think it's just us focusing on doing the best we can at that competition," Whitmore said. "And since Sochi, each year at world championships has gotten better so going into this one I at least feel like I can rise to the occasion."
Now in Pyeongchang, Whitmore said he’s focusing on perfecting his starts, those critical opening seconds. After recovering from his accident, Whitmore finished eighth at the last World Cup before trials with a 34.38 second mark in the 500 meters, just shy of his American record time of 34.19. In Pyeongchang he’s hoping to win the first men’s 500 meters Olympic medal by an American since 2006.
