One Year After Winning Olympic Bronze, Utah-Based Speedskater Is Even More Dominant
Mar 6, 2019, 6:46 PM | Updated: Feb 12, 2023, 6:01 pm
UTAH OLYMPIC OVAL, KEARNS, Utah — It takes a great coach to get you to be your best.
As soon as you walk into the Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns during speedskating practice, you can hear Ryan Shimabukuro loud and clear.
“That’s it! Nice flow,” he says to members of the US Team. “You still got one more? Okay.”
He is the national coach for the US Team.
But when you get to the level skater Brittany Bowe is now at on the ice, it takes a little extra something that can’t be taught.
Brittany Bowe with Coach Shimabukuro
“I confident,” she said after another long practice. “In this sport, when it’s you versus the clock, confidence goes a long way.”
That confidence really started last year during the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics in South Korea.
Bowe won Bronze as part of a team race with fellow U.S. skaters Mia Manganello, Heather Bergsma, and Carlijn Schoutens.
“Winning an Olympic Bronze with the team pursuit was a dream come true and I came very close to getting a couple of individual medals,” said Bowe.
Bowe had a 4th and two 5th place individual finishes during the 2018 Olympics.
This World Cup season, though, Bowe has been dominant.
She has won 12 World Cup medals, including five Gold medals.
Bowe also won two World Single Distance Championships and, because of her success, is now the 2019 U.S. National Champion.
“For me, being on the podium consistently and stepping to the first place podium really boosted my confidence and my energy. So, I think that’s had a lot to do with my success this year,” she said. “My goal this year was to be the World Champion in the 1000-meter and I accomplished that goal.”
Brittany Bowe
Bowe, who lives in Salt Lake City and trains at the Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns, still has a goal to win an individual Olympic Medal.
“I’m still full swing and fully committed to this,” she said with a smile.
However, her coach says there’s time.
The next Winter Olympics in Beijing takes place in 2022.
It’s still three years away.
“Brittany is definitely a leader and our captain of the team,” said U.S. National speedskating coach Ryan Shimabukuro. “Obviously, we’re still chasing Olympic Gold. But we’re going to take it year by year. We don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves.”
Getting far ahead, though, is exactly how Bowe has been skating this season.
She wishes 2022 was a lot closer.
“Beijing is definitely on my mind. You know, hopefully we can keep this ball rolling and if so, the world better watch out,” she said with a laugh. “I’m looking forward to the next three years and hopefully I can step up on that first place podium in Beijing.”
If you’d like to see Bowe skate, as well as other Olympians from around the World, there is one more World Cup event and it takes place this weekend at the Utah Olympic Oval.
