|
Post by Laura (Lori) on May 18, 2010 20:21:25 GMT -8
Jordan had surgery today, and all 'went well" according to his mom. Thanks, Gasp! I was wondering when that would happen... Jordan, if you're peeking in, 'hope you're feeling back to normal soon - heal well!
|
|
|
Post by Laura (Lori) on May 21, 2010 8:52:12 GMT -8
Credit to Jordan for posting this on his FB Fanpage - it's the video of Simon Cho discovering that the others had put his nickname, 'ACE' on the back of his skinsuit - much of the audio is in Korean, but you'll like it!
Tags: Simon Cho / Jordan Malone / Short Track Speedskating
|
|
|
Post by Laura (Lori) on May 25, 2010 8:45:27 GMT -8
Olympian visits childhood schoolBy Britney Tabor / Denton Record Chronicle / May 24, 2010 An Olympic medalist returned to his former elementary school Monday to inspire students to dream big, persevere and never give up. Denton native Jordan Malone, a short track speed skater who earned a bronze medal in the 2010 Winter Olympics as a member of the men’s 5,000-meter relay team, met with kindergarten through fifth-grade students at McNair Elementary School. School officials said he shared with students a short documentary of how he qualified for the Olympics, his childhood experiences at McNair and the importance of working hard, being dedicated and never abandoning one’s dreams. He wrapped up each of Monday’s six sessions by answering questions, signing autographs, posing for photos and showing off his bronze medal. Read More: www.dentonrc.com/sharedcontent/dws/drc/localnews/stories/DRC_Malone_0525.37e47bf0.html+++ Tags: Jordan Malone / Short Track Speedskating Comments 0 | Recommend 3 Olympian visits childhood school 11:41 PM CDT on Monday, May 24, 2010 By Britney Tabor / Staff Writer An Olympic medalist returned to his former elementary school Monday to inspire students to dream big, persevere and never give up. Denton native Jordan Malone, a short track speed skater who earned a bronze medal in the 2010 Winter Olympics as a member of the men’s 5,000-meter relay team, met with kindergarten through fifth-grade students at McNair Elementary School. School officials said he shared with students a short documentary of how he qualified for the Olympics, his childhood experiences at McNair and the importance of working hard, being dedicated and never abandoning one’s dreams. He wrapped up each of Monday’s six sessions by answering questions, signing autographs, posing for photos and showing off his bronze medal. “Obviously something like this doesn’t happen very often, having an Olympic [medalist] on our campus,” Principal Sean Flynn said. “It was a wonderful experience. “It’s just kind of neat for kids to see that dreams can come true.” Flynn said a hush came over students as they intently listened to Malone talk of how he continued to pursue his goals despite not qualifying for races, disqualifications, and broken bones and other injuries. He said Malone told students that it’s easy to get frustrated when things go wrong, but he also encouraged them to stay mentally tough and focused in seeking after their dreams. “They were so blown away by his experiences,” Flynn said of students’ reactions. “I think they were in awe for a while.” Malone could not be reached for comment afterward. Kindergarten teacher Chris McDonald, who taught Malone as a child, said it was wonderful to see her former student again and “rejoice in his accomplishments.” Her current class followed him as he competed in the Olympics and watched as he fell in the final turn of his preliminary 500-meter quarterfinals heat Feb. 24. Through that, she said, they learned that though people fall, they can always get back up and keep pushing toward their goals. She remembers young Jordan’s love for skating and his desire to make it to the Olympics. Having him return to McNair to speak to students was “a wonderful inspiration,” McDonald said. “He was able to follow his dreams and I just think it’s a wonderful thing for children to see,” she said. [/img]
|
|
|
Post by Laura (Lori) on Jun 1, 2010 22:02:31 GMT -8
Speed skating: Malone enjoying time offOlympic medalist taking extended off-season to rehab By Todd Jorgenson / Denton Record-Chronicle / June 1, 2010 Perhaps the only benefit of being injured is that it allows Jordan Malone to enjoy a longer off-season than usual. Plus, the bronze medalist in short track speed skating from the Vancouver Olympics gets to spend most of his summer on his home turf in Denton. Malone had knee surgery two weeks ago and will need the summer to recuperate before returning to the ice for the next World Cup season. He hopes to return to competition by the end of this year. Read More: www.dentonrc.com/sharedcontent/dws/drc/sports/stories/drc_maloneupdate_0602.6112333a.html+++ Tags: Jordan Malone / Short Track Speedskating “We went with the option that we predicted that would be better for me in the long run,” Malone said of the surgery, which involves using the middle third of his patella tendon to replace his anterior cruciate ligament. “You extend your off-season by double. It’s been kind of nice.” The surgery was needed to repair a knee that he injured in an off-ice accident prior to helping the United States team win an Olympic bronze medal in the men’s 5,000-meter relay in February. Malone, 26, will spend most of this month rehabilitating his knee, then will need about six more weeks before being allowed to return to the ice. Malone will require another five months before doctors clear him to begin skating at full speed. “It’s something that doesn’t concern me that much,” Malone said about the extended time away from training, which began for his teammates last month. He had a similar gap in training before returning successfully in spring 2009. In the meantime, Malone said he has enjoyed an extended visit with family and friends in Denton, where he will spend about two months this summer. He lined up a few speaking engagements at local schools to share his Olympic experiences and offer words of encouragement for students. Malone compensated for a frustrating individual performance in Vancouver by helping the U.S. take bronze in the relay on the final day of the short track competition. “I would have wanted an individual medal and an individual gold,” Malone said. “But I was able to leave happy. Not satisfied, but happy.” He experienced similar results a month later at the ISU World Championships in Bulgaria, where Malone failed to advance past the quarterfinals in any of the three individual distances, but anchored the U.S. relay team, which took a silver medal behind powerhouse South Korea. Malone is in the process of moving temporarily from Salt Lake City, where he has trained with the U.S. team for the past couple of years, to Marquette, Mich., another training hub for the American short track program. As part of the training program, he will receive free schooling at Northern Michigan University, where Malone said he plans to pursue an engineering degree beginning this fall. “I want to be an engineer, probably mechanical or electrical,” he said. “I’ve wanted to be an engineer for as long as I can remember.” On the ice, the long-term goals for Malone remain the same. He is anxious to return for another season of competition, with the hope of earning a spot on the U.S. team at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia. “Everything goes back into the same ritual that it has been,” Malone said. “Everybody thinks it’s every four years, but it’s every day for us.”[/img]
|
|
|
Post by Laura (Lori) on Jul 1, 2010 21:09:06 GMT -8
|
|
|
Post by Laura (Lori) on Jul 20, 2010 19:37:53 GMT -8
The skaters having some fun at the 2010 World Championships. I see Jordan Malone, JR Celski, and Olivier Jean. The text accompanying the video indicates that the Korean skater feeding Olivier is Ha-Ri Cho.
Jordan Malone's Self Camera
|
|
|
Post by Laura (Lori) on Jul 30, 2010 20:45:44 GMT -8
Really, REALLY cool story - a friend in need is a friend indeed... Malone and fans lend Kashima a handRiley Steinmetz / July 30, 2010 At first glance, 2010 bronze medalist short track speedskater and 2014 freestyle moguls skiing hopeful Sho Kashima have little in common. But after connecting through mutual fans on Facebook and Twitter, Malone and Kashima discovered one major thing they shared: serious injuries that have threatened their Olympic dreams. After a sixth-place finish at 2009 World Championships, Kashima was widely expected to make his Olympic debut at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games. That all changed after a fall during a training run just one month before the Olympic Games were set to begin. After changing direction on Salt Lake City’s Deer Valley course, Kashima heard his knee pop and crashed to the ground. Kashima’s ACL was torn, leaving him with dashed Olympic hopes, a six-month recovery, and a pile of medical bills. Although Kashima does have insurance through the U.S. Olympic Committee, he was left with a large deductible to pay off—and training full-time for the Olympic Games while recuperating from a serious injury leaves little time for a full-time job. Enter Jordan Malone. Malone, a short track speedskater, experienced a similar setback while training for the 2006 Torino Olympic Games. “I was ranked 3rd before Olympic Trials,” he explained, “and then I broke my ankle a month before and wasn’t able to make the team.” He experienced yet another setback while training for the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games when he, like Kashima, tore his ACL. Unlike Kashima, though, Malone was able to delay surgery to repair his torn ACL and competed at the Olympic Games, bringing home a bronze medal. Following Vancouver, Malone was looking for a way to keep his fans engaged despite the season for his sport ending. A couple of fans connected him with Kashima, an avid user of social media, and Malone found himself following Kashima’s lead. Using webcasts, Facebook and Twitter, Malone connected both with his fans and with Kashima. “My first introduction to him was a fan [that] wrote me and suggested that I do a webcast. And I was like, a webcast, really? That seems kind of weird. And they were like, ‘No, no it’s really cool! This guy named Sho Kashima does them all the time.’ What I found out from the fans was that it was a good opportunity to reach them and that’s what Sho had found out. He was sort of ahead of the curve on fan appreciation stuff.” Malone admired Kashima’s dedication to his fans and began using Kashima’s methods with his own fans. Despite never having met, a friendship quickly developed between the two. During one phone conversation, Kashima explained the difficulties he was having paying off the deductible for all of his ACL-related medical expenses. Although there had been some fundraisers held, there was still some left to pay off. “He said, after fundraisers, we have about $600 left,” Malone said, “And at that point, I looked up at my mom and was like, ‘Maybe we should do a fundraiser for him, you know.’ It sort of just started out as an idea.” To make the idea reality, Malone turned to a couple of fans who had surprised him in the past. With their input, Malone created a dedicated email address and PayPal account so that fans could contribute to Kashima’s cause. Although the fan response was initially slow, a few posts about a secret project on Facebook and Twitter caused enough of a stir among his fans to get the project rolling. “I basically just said it was something I was getting done—email me if you want to get involved. And people started emailing like crazy. One morning I spent three hours on the computer just copying, pasting, and letting people know that had contacted me that wanted to get involved. And within a day, we had over half of the donations already.” Despite the surge of fan interest, Malone managed to keep the secret from Kashima. In order to allow the fans who donated to see Kashima’s reaction to the fundraiser, Malone decided to use one of the tools Kashima had introduced him to—webcasts. “We’re going to do a webcast and then at the end of that 'Getting to Know Sho' webcast…everybody who’s involved gets to watch me tell him the surprise about, ‘Hey, we had a fundraiser to help pay for your deductible.’ Everybody wants to see his face when he finds out…and hopefully that’ll be what is accomplished in that webcast.” According to Malone, his and Kashima’s fans not only managed to raise the money for the deductible; they exceeded the goal. At the time of the interview, Malone had collected $660 and had additional donations coming in the mail from fans without access to PayPal. Malone plans to turn all of the money he raises for this project over to Kashima. He also will be giving him the PayPal account used to raise money for Kashima to use for future fundraisers. However, he does not rule out another secret fundraising project in the future. “Since this was such a success, it’d be nice to try and find somebody once a year to try and donate to a good cause…the reason I like to do this for Sho is because I feel like I’ve come to know him and it is going towards a good cause. I identify with his cause, his situation. And it’s hard to…use your influence to make a donation for somebody if you don’t relate to the cause. There could be something in the future…it’s a fun thing to do.” On July 29, 2010, Malone and Kashima held the “Getting to Know Sho” webcast that Malone had been planning. In the webcast, Malone explained the fundraising project to Kashima and presented him with the account information he needed to access the funds. “I can't thank you enough!” Kashima posted on his Twitter account following the webcast, “One of the nicest gestures I have ever received, I'm very grateful to have the best fans and friends in the world!” Aside from raising money for his fellow athletes, Malone is now spending his time recuperating from his own ACL surgery. Since Kashima had his surgery just a few months before Malone, the two have been comparing their progress as they both anxiously await the chance to get back to their respective sports. Malone also recently departed his home state of Texas to attend college at the U.S. Olympic Education Center in Marquette, Mich. Despite taking the time out of his busy life for a successful fundraiser, Malone does not consider his efforts to be anything extraordinary. On the contrary, he sees it as an opportunity to use his position as an Olympic athlete to help others. “One of the fans had told me that it’s good to see me using my power for good, basically, and I was like, ‘Yeah, that’s sort of how I can look at it.’ A lot of people would try to soak up whatever they could get out of their fans for themselves and I’m glad I’m able to do it for someone who needs it.”[/img] Read it all: www.teamusa.org/news/2010/07/30/malone-and-fans-lend-kashima-a-hand/37591?ngb_id=3+++ Tags: Jordan Malone / Short Track Speedskating
|
|
|
Post by quietpirate on Jul 31, 2010 3:54:41 GMT -8
This is such a great story and article. Jordan seems like an awesome guy. I wish more athletes were like him.
|
|
|
Post by Laura (Lori) on Aug 5, 2010 12:14:12 GMT -8
Jordan's (who LUV'z tea) is mentioned in this article! Tea sales are hot in Orlando, U.S.By Sandra Pedicini, Orlando Sentinel / August 5, 2010 www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-tea-stores-on-rise-20100805,0,1535116,full.story ...Men's Health and Men's Fitness magazines have posted articles on their Web sites about tea, and Olympic speed skater Jordan Malone has touted Teavana.... Tags: Jordan Malone / Short Track Speedskating
|
|
|
Post by Laura (Lori) on Aug 12, 2010 21:55:02 GMT -8
Well, looky who's the US Olympic Team Athlete of the Week! It doesn't look like you have to be a Facebook member to view this - some great pics of Jordan! www.facebook.com/USOlympicTeam?v=app#!/USOlympicTeam?v=app_4949752878 Tags: Jordan Malone / Short Track Speedskating
|
|
|
Post by Laura (Lori) on Aug 15, 2010 22:50:00 GMT -8
I LOVE THIS ARTICLE! Jordan's gonna go far in life, and we're gonna say "I knew him when..." Malone pursues an Olympic educationRiley Steinmetz / TeamUSA.Org / August 13, 2010 At 26, Jordan Malone has accomplished more than many his age. At the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games, he won a bronze medal as part of the men’s short track speedskating relay event. He has lived overseas and has world championship titles to his name not only in short track, but in inline speedskating. He has qualified for both short track and inline speedskating World Teams in consecutive years. He learned how to work with carbon fiber for fun, and now supplies most of the National Team with carbon tips for their gloves. Now, there is one more thing Malone is about to cross off of his list: college. “There are so many sacrifices and stuff that we do put off when we go out and try to perform at an Olympic level and one of the things I’ve been putting off for a very long time is going to school. So, the fact that there’s an actual training program in Marquette, Michigan, attached to [Northern Michigan University]… is just awesome. It’s really the only way for a full-time athlete to be able to go to school.” Malone will be attending the U.S. Olympic Education Center. According to its website, the center holds the distinction of being “the first and only Olympic Training Center dedicated to providing Olympic aspiring athletes the opportunity to continue their educations while training to represent the U.S. at the Olympic Games.” The U.S. Olympic Education Center (USOEC) offers facilities for a number of different Olympic sports, including Greco-Roman wrestling, short track speedskating, and weightlifting. The USOEC also has access to other facilities nearby, expanding the program to potentially include basketball, ice hockey, track and field, soccer, and many others. Malone will join two other members of the National Training Team, Kimberly Derrick and Anthony Lobello, in Marquette. Although the three athletes are used to training at the Olympic Oval in Salt Lake City under the National Team coaches, Malone is looking forward to a slight change of pace. “It’s also a good opportunity for me to be able to go back to the basics and go back to take some skaters under my wing and be able to teach them some things that I’ve learned.” Malone is also looking forward to getting the education he has put off while pursuing his Olympic dreams. However, because of his experiences, Malone will not exactly be having the typical freshman experience. “You know, I’ve sort of had the college life. Everybody’s always like, you know you missed out and I’m like no, I didn’t. I was in Europe for a few years and I lived in a dorm in Colorado Springs [at the Olympic Training Center]. And yeah, maybe we didn’t do stuff that was as crazy as when you’re a college student, but I’m not going to be the guy that’s out drinking and partying every night,” he explains. Still, Malone is looking forward to living on Northern Michigan University’s campus and meeting his fellow dorm residents. “I’m looking forward to simplifying my life a little bit more and not having to worry about mowing the lawn and paying a house bill and saving money for that reason.” For some, the notion of leaving a house for a dorm room after years of independence might seem unappealing. Malone, however, sees it as a way to put his focus as a college student where it needs to be—on academics. “I went through that adolescent stuff already and I’ll be going to college now, freshman year, and not one of those kids that’s like ‘Ah! I’m out of the house!’ I’ve been out of the house for 10 years, so I think I’ll be just fine. I think I’ll be a great student, hopefully, and a great athlete as a result of it.” When asked what he wants to study while in the program, Malone does not hesitate. “I’ve always wanted to be an engineer. I need to maybe get on that bandwagon right now because, I don’t know, it’s what drives me. It’s one of the things that keeps me up at night, thinking about that sort of stuff.” Fortunately for Malone and his love for engineering, physics is right up his alley. “I love physics,” he said. “It’s applied mathematics. I can’t stand mathematics without a purpose and that’s what gives math purpose.” Malone already has a head start in engineering—he already owns his own company specializing in carbon fiber products. The company, Full Composite Racing, manufactures products for speedskating, including the carbon fiber tips worn on short track speedskaters’ left hands. According to his official website, Malone makes carbon fiber racing equipment for 80% of the short track National Team. College, however, will mean he will have less time to focus on his business. Despite the challenges, though, Malone is looking forward to the change of pace. “It’s just the attraction of it all is that life is simple there. So, I’m really excited about it,” he says, “I’m really excited to go.” [/img] Read More: speedskating.teamusa.org/news/2010/08/13/malone-pursues-an-olympic-education/37858+++ Tags: Jordan Malone / Short Track Speedskating
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 7, 2010 21:15:05 GMT -8
|
|
|
Post by Laura (Lori) on Nov 7, 2010 22:10:29 GMT -8
Very nice article, Gasp!
|
|
|
Post by aaosmts19 on Dec 29, 2010 5:29:18 GMT -8
Jordan held a USSTREAM chat last night, a few updates: www.ustream.tv/recorded/11697724After his ACL surgery, he started back on skates as part of his rehab in Sept. After 2-3 weeks, there was some discomfort which got worse and worse. TUrned out to be tendonitis, and the doctors recommended complete rest, so he has not been skating. More recently he has experienced more pain in the knee and had it checked out...turns out to be a stress fracture in the knee, which he's had for quite a while.. Doc says it should be pretty much healed by the time he goes back to Marquette after the holidays. I was not able to listen to the whole thing, as I had to get ready for work. But tune in to see what elese Jordan has been up to. Speedy recovery, Jordan...wish it had been faster, but sounds like you've got the big picture of what's going on with the knee now! Looking forward to your comback.....
|
|
|
Post by quietpirate on Dec 29, 2010 7:20:21 GMT -8
Great webcast. Jordan talked to Sho (I can't remember his last name) you know the skier that he helped out a couple months back and Simon Cho on the phone. I don't want to tell too much.
So check out the webcast. You'll be glad you did.
QP
|
|