Gary Young II

Gary Young II#50108

By Sly Fox - December 28th, 2006, 9:58 am

- December 28th, 2006, 9:58 am #50108

I actually have more exposure to speedskating than most would realize as I live right by Chad Hedrick's house and I had to cover him in longtrack as he transitioned from inline skating through his gold medal in Torino. Gary would seem to be a bit of a longshot considering how late he came to the sport. But anything is possible:

Speed racer
Winfield native has hopes for Olympics

By Scott Finn
Staff writer

He didn’t start skating competitively until three months ago, and at 26 he’s older than many of his competitors.

That doesn’t discourage Winfield native Gary Young II on his quest to make the Olympic short track speed skating team.

“I’m not afraid to fail,” he said after a Christmas-Eve workout at the South Charleston Memorial Ice Arena. “That’s the number one prerequisite to pursuing your dreams.”

Gary Young II of Winfield practices at the South Charleston Memorial Ice Arena recently. Young is training to qualify for the 2010 Olympics in short track speed skating.

Short track is the NASCAR of speed skating. Competitors circle the rink at up to 30 miles per hour, their bodies leaning at incredible angles. They race just inches from the ice surface and each other.

Young came to speed skating just two years ago and mostly by accident.

He grew up on Rocky Step Road outside of Winfield, the son of G&G Builders owners Gary and Penny Young. He was a track and field star in high school and went on to compete for Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va.

After graduation, he became a professional strength and conditioning trainer.

Then he received an offer to work as a strength and conditioning coach at the Olympic Training Center at Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Mich.

But when he got arrived there in January 2005, he was told the position wasn’t available any longer because of budget cuts.

He decided to stay anyway and pursue a master’s degree in English at NMU. He also helped train athletes on the side.

Young, with his parents Gary and Penny Young, in their Winfield home.

He became friends with several Olympic athletes-in-training. That’s when he realized that he might be able to do this himself.

In fact, he took care of himself better than some of the athletes did. Some had poor eating habits and didn’t sleep enough. One speed-skater friend accidentally slept through an important race and missed his last opportunity to qualify for the 2006 Winter Olympics.

“A lot of the athletes seemed half-hearted in their commitment,” he said. “A lot of them didn’t seem willing to pay the price.”

Last December, he watched the Olympic trials for speed skating, which were held in Marquette. He remembers being impressed by the combination of grace, poise, power and strength.

So Young began to think about speed skating himself. He bought a pair of in-line skates and started training on land.

He knew a friend at NMU who said she was able to walk on the speed-skating team and trained with them for one year. Could he do the same thing himself?

He went to China as part of an internship, and when he returned last summer, he met in person with the coach of the short track speed skaters at the Olympic Training Center.

He wanted to see if he could train with the team and prove himself. At one point, he thought he reached a deal with the coach where he would be a trainer for the team in exchange for getting to train with them.

In the end, the idea was nixed by people higher up in the organization, he said. But Young was determined.

“I was going to get on that ice, one way or another,” he said.

Young found a coach, a woman his age named Sara Bell who was a former high-ranked skater. He began skating at a local public ice arena during the “open skate” period. Luckily, he’s usually the only one on the ice.

He recently finished a master’s degree in English education and plans to complete another in English while teaching freshman composition at NMU.

He’s given himself one year to improve and then he’ll decide whether to commit or give it up. If he continues, the Olympic trials are scheduled for December 2009 for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia.

His first race is scheduled for Feb. 2 in Midland, Mich. It may take time, but his hope is to impress the coach and be invited to train with the other Olympic hopefuls.