J.R. Celski
EVENT- SHORT TRACK SPEEDSKATING
HEIGHT 5'8"
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Team 24 Hour Fitness: J.R. Celski
Get inspired by the Olympian who bounced back.
OLYMPIC HIGHLIGHTS
- 2010 Olympic Winter Games
- Men's 1500m: bronze medalist
- Men's 1000m: DQ
- Men's 5000m relay: bronze medalist
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
- 2009 World Championships five-time medalist - gold (5000m relay, 3000m), silver (overall), bronze (1000m, 1500m)
- 2009 World Junior Championships - overall bronze medalist
- 2008 U.S. Championships - overall silver medalist
- Two-time U.S. Junior overall champion (2007, 2008)
PERSONAL
The youngest of three boys, Celski began skating inline at Pattison's West Roller Rink in Federal Way, Wash. His dad put all the brothers on skates when Celski was 3, and both Celski and his dad won national titles. He switched from inline skating to speed skating after watching Ohno star at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. He missed the minimum age requirement for competing in the 2006 Olympic Winter Games by 17 days. Celski had a breakthrough performance at the 2009 World Championships, finishing second in the overall standings.
When Celski needed to move to California to get the best coaching at age 14, it was not his parents, but instead his oldest brother, Chris, who moved with him.
Many are making Celski out to be the next Apolo Anton Ohno, and the 18-year-old prodigy certainly lived up to even the highest expectations at the 2009 World Championships by winning five medals. Celski has quickly developed into a strong all-around skater as a teenager.
On February 13, 2010, Celski won his first Olympic medal with a bronze in the Men's 1500m, which was his debut Olympic event and his first international competition since a devastating injury during the Olympic Trials in September. Then on February 20, 2010, Celski was disqualified in the 1000m after a collision that caused Canadian skater Francois Hamelin to crash.
DID YOU KNOW...?
- Avid user of Facebook
- Said in 2006 that the 2010 Olympic Winter Games were on his mind every day
- Fought homesickness when he moved to California for training at age 14
- Scored an 1810 on his second try at the SATs and graduated from Lakewood (Calif.) High School with a 3.71 GPA
- Plans to attend Cal-Berkeley after Vancouver
Image by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
