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In 2021, Conor McDermott Mostowy 24 (Washington, D.C.) was preparing for the ISU Speed Skating World Championships in the Netherlands and gearing up for his ultimate goal of qualifying for the Olympics in 2022. And he was almost there, until norovirus suddenly robbed him of that chance.
This year, the 25-year-old has changed his focus once again and is preparing for this weekend’s World Championships in Calgary, Canada.
He had a year he called “unexpectedly good skating,” understating his record-breaking 1,000-meter race at the fifth World Cup in Salt Lake City on Jan. 28. Ta. He had previously finished in the top 20, but moved up to the top 5 by a wide margin, a personal best. What was his end? Just under 1 minute and 7 seconds. He is one of only three others in U.S. history to do so.
“It was a career goal that I never expected to come true that weekend,” he says.
I don’t know exactly what led to the breakthrough race, but I have a hunch. “I used to feel like everything depended on my skating results, like being satisfied with my career,” he says. “But with the prospect of no longer having the Olympics in 2022, it’s important to work on doing things for yourself, to have fun outside of skating, and to remember that skating isn’t everything in life. , I began to reconsider what is important.”
This change helped him relax before the match, which he believes contributed to his great World Cup time. “I felt very anxious as an athlete,” he says. “But over the last few years, I’ve become more successful in skating and more confident in myself, so I can go into competitions with a lot less anxiety.”
This is a very useful trait for future championships. The World Cup is a qualifier for the world championships, which Connor likens to “the Olympics in a non-Olympic year.” Although the championships do not determine qualification for the Olympics, they are like a stepping stone on the road to the Olympics.
I’ve been traveling all over North America for skating in quick succession in recent weeks, and my final semester at Macalester is off to a busy start, but I’ve never had a traditional schooling experience in the first place. I admit it. With gap years and semester rearrangements to avoid skating (not to mention a pandemic), Connor has spent most of his time at Mack, away from St. Paul, and has spent the past two years taking equivalent courses at the University of Utah. The year I took the course.
He says it’s always been a challenge to divide time and effort between skating and schoolwork, and he’s looking forward to graduating to focus on Olympic training, but it’s all worth it.
“I’ve been skating five days a week since high school,” he says. “I’ve sacrificed a lot to get here. But the opportunity to compete like this is something you usually only get within a small window of your life. I’d love to do it again.”
Connor could also pursue a non-traditional education and then transition into a non-traditional sports career. If he competes in the Olympics in 2026, the tentative plan is to retire after that. For an athlete in his field, that would mean retiring at the peak of his career, but the neuroscience major is aiming to attend medical school and he feels he is incompatible with skating at this level. ing.
However, Connor also admits that his plans are always “in flux” and a standout performance at the Olympics could change his future once again. No matter how the timeline changes, he says he feels ready for whatever new challenges lie ahead with the lessons skating has taught him over the past 15 years. .
“One of the most important factors in my success in skating is my work ethic and the idea that results don’t come overnight,” he says. “In all my years of skating, I have only competed in international World Cups four times, so I am well aware that achieving my goals will take hard work, hard work and time. Anything that is really good requires effort.”
Connor will compete in the 1000m, 1500m and mass start races at the International Skating Union World Speed Skating Single Distance Championships, to be held in Calgary, Canada from February 15th to 18th.
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