We’ve been watching Sophie on the ‘Future Stars’ board, but now that she is skating at the Senior Level, it’s time to start a separate thread for her!
We’ll get the ball rolling by copying a post that I made about Sophie on the Future Stars board back in October:
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Posted by Lori, October 20, 2011, ‘Future Stars’ board…Here's one to keep your eye on! This young lady has impressed me at National Championships, and it was fun to see how well she did in Group 2 at AmCup 1. She's only 13, and has achieved her elite-level qualifying time - but was too young to skate in Group 1 at AmCup 1 this year.
Bethesda teen wins national short track competitionMittelstadt won three of four speedskating events to take the overall title at the America Cup Iby Jennifer Beekman, Staff Writer / Gazette.net / October 19, 2011
Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School freshman Sophie Mittelstadt was skeptical when her mother suggested she try short track speedskating five years ago.
“I was a figure skater,” Mittelstadt said. “My mom had a boyfriend in high school who was a short track speedskater and she really wanted me to try it. It looked really hard.”
Mittelstadt took a few short-track classes, mostly to appease her mother. Soon, she said, figure skating was a distant memory.
On Oct. 1-2, Mittelstadt, representing the Potomac Speedskating Club, won three of four events to take the overall gold medal in the Group 2 Ladies Division at the America Cup I Short Track Speedskating Championships in Missouri.
“[Short track speedskating] does get your adrenaline going, which feels good,” she said. “I like speedskating because it’s unique, it’s not a typical sport. A lot of people see it on the Olympics and then want to try it.”
Mittelstadt’s time in the 1,000-meter event qualified her to skate in Group 1 with the country’s top-ranked skaters — the U.S. World Cup Team was selected from that division over the weekend, and that’s where U.S. Olympic athletics compete — but the age cutoff is 15 years old and she is only 13.
During the 2010-11 season, Mittelstadt won the U.S. Junior National Championships Group 2 Ladies title and was the overall America Cup series Group 2 Ladies Division champion.
Mittelstadt is still a year away from being able to compete at the Junior World Championships, for athletes ages 14 to 19.
She plans to travel to Ohio for the America Cup II on Oct. 29-30, where the top male and female skaters born in 1996 or 1997 will be selected to represent the U.S. at January’s 2012 Youth Winter Olympic Games in Innsbruck, Austria.
“Sophie’s time qualifies her for the elite division, so to make this group at 13 is already a good accomplishment,” said Potomac Speedskating Club coach Hyun Jung Lee, a longtime member of the Korean National Team who competed at the 1988 Winter Olympics where short track speedskating was just a demonstration sport. “If she continues to improve, I think she can be part of the U.S. Olympic Team [one day].”
While figure skating laid the groundwork for Mittelstadt’s speedskating career — she avoided that awkward period of learning to feel comfortable on thin blades — she had to learn a whole new set of skills.
Short track speedskating requires a tremendous amount of power. Those incredible bursts of speed come from a kinetic chain of actions from the blade work, through the legs and into the core.
Flexibility and agility are also integral as well as fearlessness and the ability to make split-second decisions, Lee said.
“[Short track speedskating] is the fastest human-powered sport on ice,” she said. “Some call it NASCAR on ice.”
Mittelstadt also competes in bicycle racing. With that cross training, she’s built up an incredible endurance, which helps her excel in the long-distance events in short track speedskating. She’s still working to improve her sprint races, Lee said.
Mittelstadt trains for nearly two hours, six days a week. It’s that commitment, desire to keep improving and competitiveness that has gotten the young teen to such a high level so quickly, Lee said.
“I’m a competitive person, so this is a good outlet,” Mittelstadt said. “I was kind of a tomboy, so speedskating suited me better. I liked it better than figure skating because you’re not getting judged for your style or the way you look when you skate, it’s just whoever crosses the line first. And that’s what makes it fun.”[/img]
Read the entire article:
www.gazette.net/article/20111019/SPORTS/710199789/1021/bethesda-teen-wins-national-short-track-competition&template=gazette+++
Tags: Sophie Mittelstadt / Short Track Speedskating