Post by gasp on Nov 22, 2008 1:47:36 GMT -5
This just in from St. Louis:
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Speed skaters getting ready to gather here
By Kathleen Nelson
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Saturday, Nov. 22 2008
St. Louis has another chance next month to show why it has earned a special
niche in speed skating, hosting the U.S. Short Track Championships, Dec. 19-21
at the Hardee's Ice Plex in Chesterfield. The top short track skaters in the
country will compete for spots on the U.S. World Cup team and for the world
championships in March. Expected to attend are J.P. Kepka, a St. Louis native
who won a bronze medal in Turin, and Katherine Reutter, U.S. overall champion.
Both are alumni of the St. Louis Metros, so the event will serve as a
homecoming.
A couple of the area's most prominent skaters won't be attending, since they
made the jump to long track. Though they have followed a steep learning curve,
former Metros skaters Patrick Meek and Matt Plummer continue on an upward trend
and have their eyes set on Vancouver in 15 months.
Meek qualified last month for the U.S. World Cup team and finished 12th in the
5,000 meters last weekend in Heerenveen, the Netherlands, "my highest finish
ever. It went really well," he said. The result is significant because World
Cup events are the sport's most prestigious in non-Olympic years.
He also reported that 2006 Olympians Chad Hedrick and Shani Davis skated
together in the team pursuit for the first time since before the Turin Games,
leading the U.S. team to a second-place finish. The two provided an unwelcome
distraction, trading barbs throughout the Olympics and refusing to race
together in the team event.
"It was a very nice, drama-free weekend," Meek said. "They both realize that if
we want to beat the Dutch in 15 months, we have to put the past behind us and
work together."
Meek referred to the only time most Americans pay attention to speed skating,
the Olympic Games. He and Plummer have set a goal of competing in Vancouver,
hoping to extend the streak of Olympic skaters from St. Louis that began in
1968.
Plummer missed qualifying for the World Cup fall circuit by 0.1 second. A 2006
graduate of Chaminade, Plummer said his short-term goal was to qualify for the
World Cup events in January and February.
Both St. Louisans stressed the importance of participating in World Cup events
and learning from the masters, such as Hedrick and Davis, who won five of the
25 U.S. medals in Turin despite their little spat
Meek, a 2004 graduate of St. Louis University High, also credits his coach,
Bart Veldkamp, with helping him get to the next level. Veldkamp earned a gold
medal in the 1992 Olympics in the 10,000 meters and bronze medals in 1994 and
'98, so he can offer extra advice to Meek, who also specializes in the
long-distance events.
"His strength is his total focus on speed skating," Veldkamp said. "He's
willing to do anything to progress. Staking is the center of his life. The next
step is to develop his technique more."
Meek will earn his degree in political science at the University of Utah in
December, but between skating and school, he has no time to work. He gets $650
a month from U.S. Olympic Committee and U.S. Speedskating, which barely covers
rent. Because of the recession, he lost a sponsorship. His parents have filled
the void this year.
"A lot of companies don't realize we compete between Olympics," Meek said.
"They don't realize we have world championships and world cups and practice
every day. People forget that the U.S. has won more gold medals than any other
country, and you have to work at this all the time."
The window for competitors is barely a crack. Plummer said he put college on
hold to pursue his Olympic dream but will most likely only give it one chance
because I would like to move back to Missouri to finish college and continue to
law school."
So, Meek wanted to give a pat on the back to local organizers, in particular
Russ Owen and Fran Whalen of the St. Louis Metros, who helped lure Monsanto as
a title sponsor for the short track nationals.
"They are the reason that guys like me are able to compete at this level," he
said. "They'll go the extra mile for guys like us."
And for St. Louis' legacy in speed skating.
print | close
Speed skaters getting ready to gather here
By Kathleen Nelson
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Saturday, Nov. 22 2008
St. Louis has another chance next month to show why it has earned a special
niche in speed skating, hosting the U.S. Short Track Championships, Dec. 19-21
at the Hardee's Ice Plex in Chesterfield. The top short track skaters in the
country will compete for spots on the U.S. World Cup team and for the world
championships in March. Expected to attend are J.P. Kepka, a St. Louis native
who won a bronze medal in Turin, and Katherine Reutter, U.S. overall champion.
Both are alumni of the St. Louis Metros, so the event will serve as a
homecoming.
A couple of the area's most prominent skaters won't be attending, since they
made the jump to long track. Though they have followed a steep learning curve,
former Metros skaters Patrick Meek and Matt Plummer continue on an upward trend
and have their eyes set on Vancouver in 15 months.
Meek qualified last month for the U.S. World Cup team and finished 12th in the
5,000 meters last weekend in Heerenveen, the Netherlands, "my highest finish
ever. It went really well," he said. The result is significant because World
Cup events are the sport's most prestigious in non-Olympic years.
He also reported that 2006 Olympians Chad Hedrick and Shani Davis skated
together in the team pursuit for the first time since before the Turin Games,
leading the U.S. team to a second-place finish. The two provided an unwelcome
distraction, trading barbs throughout the Olympics and refusing to race
together in the team event.
"It was a very nice, drama-free weekend," Meek said. "They both realize that if
we want to beat the Dutch in 15 months, we have to put the past behind us and
work together."
Meek referred to the only time most Americans pay attention to speed skating,
the Olympic Games. He and Plummer have set a goal of competing in Vancouver,
hoping to extend the streak of Olympic skaters from St. Louis that began in
1968.
Plummer missed qualifying for the World Cup fall circuit by 0.1 second. A 2006
graduate of Chaminade, Plummer said his short-term goal was to qualify for the
World Cup events in January and February.
Both St. Louisans stressed the importance of participating in World Cup events
and learning from the masters, such as Hedrick and Davis, who won five of the
25 U.S. medals in Turin despite their little spat
Meek, a 2004 graduate of St. Louis University High, also credits his coach,
Bart Veldkamp, with helping him get to the next level. Veldkamp earned a gold
medal in the 1992 Olympics in the 10,000 meters and bronze medals in 1994 and
'98, so he can offer extra advice to Meek, who also specializes in the
long-distance events.
"His strength is his total focus on speed skating," Veldkamp said. "He's
willing to do anything to progress. Staking is the center of his life. The next
step is to develop his technique more."
Meek will earn his degree in political science at the University of Utah in
December, but between skating and school, he has no time to work. He gets $650
a month from U.S. Olympic Committee and U.S. Speedskating, which barely covers
rent. Because of the recession, he lost a sponsorship. His parents have filled
the void this year.
"A lot of companies don't realize we compete between Olympics," Meek said.
"They don't realize we have world championships and world cups and practice
every day. People forget that the U.S. has won more gold medals than any other
country, and you have to work at this all the time."
The window for competitors is barely a crack. Plummer said he put college on
hold to pursue his Olympic dream but will most likely only give it one chance
because I would like to move back to Missouri to finish college and continue to
law school."
So, Meek wanted to give a pat on the back to local organizers, in particular
Russ Owen and Fran Whalen of the St. Louis Metros, who helped lure Monsanto as
a title sponsor for the short track nationals.
"They are the reason that guys like me are able to compete at this level," he
said. "They'll go the extra mile for guys like us."
And for St. Louis' legacy in speed skating.
~Lori
;D 
) a great place to go is the Anheuser-Busch Brewery. It a free tour of the factory including seeing the famous clydesdales horses, along at the end a free drink (alcoholic and non-alcoholic). 
