Post by bubblebuttsbabe on Oct 8, 2008 6:03:50 GMT -5
Article: www.mcall.com/sports/all-take5-0108,0,7501769.htmlstory
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Take 5 -- Alex Mark
By Gary R. Blockus | Of The Morning Call
October 8, 2008
ALEX MARK
Age: 19
Sport: Long track speedskating, specializing in sprints (500 meters and 1,000 meters)
Status: Category 1 skater, U.S. Olympic hopeful for 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics
Residence: Pennsburg and Salt Lake City, Utah
Attended: Upper Perkiomen High School as a freshman; finished high school as on-line student.
How does a young man from Pennsburg become an Olympic hopeful in speedskating?
Actually, I was an inline skater for 10 years first. I was on the local speed team at the inline rink in Pennsburg and blossomed over the years. I made it to the world level and traveled the world. That's why I left Upper Perk and moved to Florida to train and compete.
Why the switch from inline to ice?
Chad Hedrick, the Olympic gold medalist from 2006, was a friend of mine from inline and coached me along the way. He made the switch over to ice in 2003 and was a world champion on the ice in 18 months. He had talked to me and said that was the way to go because there was only world level with inline, but Olympic level on the ice.
Was the switch to the ice difficult?
I switched over in April of 2007. It was a whole lot different. It was a real eye-opener for me. I expected to come out and have it be second nature, but it ended up being a whole new world. It was a different technique, and I had a lot of bad habits, but the coaches really beat the technique into us. On the ice, it took me a good four or five months before I really got the feel for it, and I turned the corner last year when I went to the Junior National Championships and placed in the top six in the nation and put me on the board as a member of the U.S. Speedskating team.
Why did you make the move to Salt Lake City?
I had lived in Florida for a year and a half as I got to the world level in inline and lived with a friend, a teammate. So when I moved out to Salt Lake City, Jordan Malone, a member of the short track team, took me in. He was an inliner before that.
So how did you choose long track over short track?
Short track is a lot more technical and there are so many people out there at once that there are so many variables that can go wrong. I've always done well against the clock. The clock never lies in long track, and the simple fact is that long track is a little easier to pick up for an inline skater.
Have you had any setbacks?
I had a borderline career-ending injury at the beginning of this year. I was skating short track to cross-train and I took a fall into the boards during practice. My left skate cut two tendons and three-quarters of my Achilles in the right ankle. Cuts are common, but not tendon damage. I was the only case they had seen with that amount of damage, and they thought I might not skate again.
How has the recovery been?
Faster than expected. Eric Heiden [former Olympic speedskating champion] is actually the team physician for U.S. Speedskating. He had me come right over after the injury and performed the surgery the next morning. They told me I might not skate again, but I was determined to get back.
How are your chances to make the U.S. team for Vancouver 2010?
It's kind of up in the air. With the rate I'm improving at, it's still going to be tough. The Olympic Trials will have a deep field with a lot of good guys. I've put in a lot of hard work and there's still a lot of hard work ahead of me. I want it bad, though. With the coaches I have, I don't think it's impossible at all.
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How sweet of Jordan! ;D
Good Luck, Alex! That sounds like a nasty injury - Get Better Soon!
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Take 5 -- Alex Mark
By Gary R. Blockus | Of The Morning Call
October 8, 2008
ALEX MARK
Age: 19
Sport: Long track speedskating, specializing in sprints (500 meters and 1,000 meters)
Status: Category 1 skater, U.S. Olympic hopeful for 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics
Residence: Pennsburg and Salt Lake City, Utah
Attended: Upper Perkiomen High School as a freshman; finished high school as on-line student.
How does a young man from Pennsburg become an Olympic hopeful in speedskating?
Actually, I was an inline skater for 10 years first. I was on the local speed team at the inline rink in Pennsburg and blossomed over the years. I made it to the world level and traveled the world. That's why I left Upper Perk and moved to Florida to train and compete.
Why the switch from inline to ice?
Chad Hedrick, the Olympic gold medalist from 2006, was a friend of mine from inline and coached me along the way. He made the switch over to ice in 2003 and was a world champion on the ice in 18 months. He had talked to me and said that was the way to go because there was only world level with inline, but Olympic level on the ice.
Was the switch to the ice difficult?
I switched over in April of 2007. It was a whole lot different. It was a real eye-opener for me. I expected to come out and have it be second nature, but it ended up being a whole new world. It was a different technique, and I had a lot of bad habits, but the coaches really beat the technique into us. On the ice, it took me a good four or five months before I really got the feel for it, and I turned the corner last year when I went to the Junior National Championships and placed in the top six in the nation and put me on the board as a member of the U.S. Speedskating team.
Why did you make the move to Salt Lake City?
I had lived in Florida for a year and a half as I got to the world level in inline and lived with a friend, a teammate. So when I moved out to Salt Lake City, Jordan Malone, a member of the short track team, took me in. He was an inliner before that.
So how did you choose long track over short track?
Short track is a lot more technical and there are so many people out there at once that there are so many variables that can go wrong. I've always done well against the clock. The clock never lies in long track, and the simple fact is that long track is a little easier to pick up for an inline skater.
Have you had any setbacks?
I had a borderline career-ending injury at the beginning of this year. I was skating short track to cross-train and I took a fall into the boards during practice. My left skate cut two tendons and three-quarters of my Achilles in the right ankle. Cuts are common, but not tendon damage. I was the only case they had seen with that amount of damage, and they thought I might not skate again.
How has the recovery been?
Faster than expected. Eric Heiden [former Olympic speedskating champion] is actually the team physician for U.S. Speedskating. He had me come right over after the injury and performed the surgery the next morning. They told me I might not skate again, but I was determined to get back.
How are your chances to make the U.S. team for Vancouver 2010?
It's kind of up in the air. With the rate I'm improving at, it's still going to be tough. The Olympic Trials will have a deep field with a lot of good guys. I've put in a lot of hard work and there's still a lot of hard work ahead of me. I want it bad, though. With the coaches I have, I don't think it's impossible at all.
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How sweet of Jordan! ;D
Good Luck, Alex! That sounds like a nasty injury - Get Better Soon!
