2018 Winter Olympics: Speed skaters' medal hopes melt on the ice

JR Celski: 'I gave it my best shot'

THE RACE for a medal in Olympic speed skating for men has gone ice cold.

The AAPI men's speed skaters JR Celski, Aaron Tran and Thomas Hong had early exits in their respective races.

For Celski, 27, it could be the Filipino/American's last chance for another Olympic medal after he finished last in the preliminaries for the 1,000-meter short track.

An hour later, the third-ranked U.S. men's team failed to qualify in the 5,000-meter relay.

“I’m disappointed,” Celski said. “To come out here and not be able to compete for a medal is really disappointing.”

A three-time Olympian, Celski is also a three-time medal winner after earning silver in the 5,000-meter relay in the 2014 Olympics in Sochi and bronze in both the relay and 1,500-meter individual event in Vancouver’s 2010 Winter Games. He was ranked 18th in the world for the 1,000-meter event entering the Olympics and seventh in the world for the 1,500 meters. But he failed to advance past the qualifying heats for either event.

“I gave it my best shot, and I just came up short,” he told the Seattle Times.

Aaron Tran, 21, also fell short of qualifying even though he did better than Celski, giving the U.S. hope in future Olympics. Tran has another chance when he headlines the American contingent in the 500-meter sprint event Feb. 22. Hong will also race in the 500.

The men's speed skating disappointing results were shared throughout the entire team. John-Henry Kruegger, considered America's best hope for a medal, did not qualify either.
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TGIF Feature:: 2018 Winter Olympics - 12 Asian Americans on Team USA

Hailey Langland will compete in Snowboard Big-Air at the Winter Olympics.

THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT!

AT MY AGE, I think it's OK for me to descibel the young Asian/American olympians as kids.

That's not meant to be an insult or to denigrate the hours upon hours of training they put into their sport, that's just a reminder, no matter the outcome of their efforts, they are among the best the United States has to offer, they're just teenagers or young adults who grew up listening to the same music, watching the same TV shows, reading the same news stories, getting basically the same classroom education as all of America's children.

But ... they are special! They'll be competing at the Winter Games being held in PyeongCheng, South Koreah which starts Fridiay, Feb. 9.

In order to reach the level of athleticism that they will be competing at, they've had to be disciplined, dedicated and willing to sacrifice their time that they might have used to do what us ordinary mortals do: make friends, go on dates, party all night, overindulge in junk food.

For the next couple of weeks, they will put everkything on the line as they compete against the best-of-the-best athletes from other countries - other kids. They will soar, twirl, race to represent their country - our country.

NBC broadcast these commercials featuring Nathan Chen and Chloe Kim - both of whom are expected to medal - to promote their coverage of the Games:

Since most people of color come from warmer climes, it is not surprising that the winter sports are dominated by people who grew up in snow country. Scandinavian countries, Germany, France, Italy, Canada traditionally do well in the Winter Games. Throw in the U.S.A,, too, because we pour in a lot of money into those developing athletes.

And let's face it: You won't find whole lot of bobsled runs, ice rinks or ski jumps in most big city neighborhoods. Accessibility to those venues is limited and the cost to go skiing is beyond a lot of people. Therefore, the winter sports don't have a whole lot of diversity.

RELATED: Filipino/American skier represents the Philippines

Team USA numbers 243 athletes, which is the largest team any nation has sent to a Winter Olympics. Of that group,  only 10 are African/American — 4 percent —  12 are Asian/American.

“We’re not quite where we want to be,” said Jason Thompson, the USOC’s director of diversity and inclusion. “. . . I think full-on inclusion has always been a priority of Team USA. I think everybody’s always felt it should represent every American.”

That's an understatement. The Summer Olympic team the USA sent to Brazil two years ago, of the 550 athletes, 23 percent (or 125) of the athletes were African/American. 

Asian/Americans on Team USA

Men's Figure Skating:

• Nathan Chen
• Vincent Zhou

Women's Figure Skating

• Karen Chen
• Mirai Nagasu

Ice Dance Pairs

• Maia Shibutani/Alex Shibutani
• Madison Chock with partner Evan Bates

Speed Skaters

• JR Celski
• Thomas Hong
• Aaron Tran

Snowboarding Half-pipe

• Chloe Kim

Snowboarding Big Air

• Hailey Langland

The opening ceremony for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, takes place 6-8 a.m. EST on Friday. (Feb. 9)  Don't worry, the channels will undoubtedly replay the ceremonies later in the day.
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Asian Americans dominate Team USA speed skating

Courtesy Team USA

Speedster JR Celski made his third Olympic team.

ASAM NEWS

THREE OF THE FIVE speedskaters on the U.S. Olympic team are Asian/Americans.

Leading the way is two-time Olympic veteran JR Celski. He’s one of three Asian Americans to make the team at the Olympic Trials in Kearns, UT. The others are Thomas Hong and Aaron Tran. John-Henry Kruger and Ryan Pivirotto round out the team.

Celski, whose mother is Filipino and father is Polish, is a two-time Olympic veteran who won a pair of bronze medals in 2010 in Vancouver in the 1500m and 5000m relay and a silver in the 500M in 2014 in Sochi, Russia.

“I’m ecstatic. A lot of up-and-down emotions. I really couldn’t get it together after the first fall today, but I turned it around and I told myself I have to come out and skate and do what I can, so I made it happen,” said Celski to Team USA.

Thomas Hong

Celski, who qualified by finishing second in the 1500 meter, went to the same middle school in Federal Way, Washington, as his teammate Tran. “We both went to the same middle school, went to the same high school and now we’re going to the Olympics together, so it means a lot,” Celski said. “I’m so happy for him, his family and everyone that supports him.”

“It’s amazing; he’s a great role model, great leader, and I’ve always been thankful that I’ve been able to skate with him,” Tran said about Celski who he considers his role model. “He’s just a great guy, great skater.”

Tran, 21, surprised the field by placing second in the 500M to qualify for the Olympic team.

Aaron Tran

The Olympics will be a homecoming of sorts for Thomas Hong. According to the Baltimore Sun, Hong, 20, was born in Seoul and moved to the United States with his family when he was 5.

He qualified by finishing fourth in the overall classification to earn a spot on the five member team.

“I’m tremendously excited,” Hong said. “I’m extremely familiar with Korean culture. I’ve lived there for parts of my life and I’m excited to go back.”

The 2018 Olympic Games will be held in PhyongChang, South Korea, Feb. 9-25, 2018.

(Views From the Edge contributed to this report.)