High Point NC Woman Speedskater Makes the Transition from Inline to Ice for the Olympics

A few years ago at the US10K I met Heather Richardson from High Point Speed, just briefly, not a long chat or anything. But it was clear she was a powerful skater even at 10K, which is lots longer than most indoor types really want to do very often (that's a lot of laps on the tiny indoor inline circuits). The Greensboro News & Record has a nice story on her, point out that...

Richardson, a 19-year-old from High Point, is the reigning U.S. champion in long-track speedskating's sprint events and recently finished 20th at the World Sprints.

Not too much is expected at first from inliners that switch over to ice, but sometimes it works out rather quickly...

Richardson's sights had been set on the 2014 Olympics, and that made perfect sense until she started outperforming veterans on the American team. She swept all four races at the national championships in Milwaukee as 2008 drew to a close, defeating two returning Olympians in the process.

She says the turns are similar to inlining but that ice speed is definitly different, especially with respect to equipment...

"The hardest part was adjusting to the 'clap' frame (that holds the blade on long-track speed skates). It's different to find your balance," Richardson said.

Richardson has been competing in the 500m and 1000m but likes the longer event better, thinking perhaps the 1500m might be good for her as time goes on. 

Thanks to Cathy Breitenbucher for a nice piece mentioning inline skating and how that connects with Olympic ice speedskating! Check it out y'all...

High Point speedskater plots a familiar path - Greensboro News Record -

High Point speedskater plots a familiar path Greensboro News Record, NC - 16 hours ago Richardson, a 19-year-old from High Point, is the reigning US champion in long-track speedskating's sprint events and recently finished 20th at the World ...

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