Olympic speedskater and Bay City native Alex Izykowski returns to Bay Area this weekend as coach for American Cup By Zachary Reichard | Bay City Times / February 11, 2011
MIDLAND — Olympic medalist and Bay City native Alex Izykowski returns to the area where he got his start for this weekend’s U.S. Speedskating American Cup in Midland.
“I’m always excited about coming back to Bay City,” he said.
Izykowski won a bronze medal as part of USA’s 5,000-meter relay team in 2006 but was forced to retire from competition because of injuries.
Now a sophomore at the University of Utah, Izykowski
recently was hired as a coach for the Utah Olympic Oval Program, a training enterprise for skaters seeking to make the U.S. team. Izykowski said he didn’t plan to go into coaching but couldn’t pass up the opportunity.
“Initially, I didn’t see it taking this turn, but I’m enjoying it so far,” he said. “I just like being on the ice and being around the sport.”
His father, Al Izykowski, said the program serves as an intermediary between club teams and the U.S. team. As skaters progress, they outgrow their club teams but still need a place to train before qualifying for the U.S. team.
Read More:
www.mlive.com/sports/bay-city/index.ssf/2011/02/olympic_speedskater_and_bay_ci.html“It’s pretty cool and a really nice fit for him,” Al Izykowski said. “He writes a program for all the athletes and prepares them for all the competitions.”
American Cup racing is scheduled from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday at Midland Civic Arena. The event marks Izykowski’s first experience as coach after taking over for Mike Kooreman, another Michigan native. Kooreman was hired as the coach of the German national short track speedskating team.
“I’m a little bit nervous,” Izykowski said.
Also competing this weekend is Bay City’s Rachel Skrocki. Skrocki was named to the U.S. National Team last May and finished 14th at the U.S. Championships in December.
“I’m excited about it. I’m expecting to do pretty well,” Skrocki said. “I haven’t been home since June, so it was very nice to be close to home for the competition.”
While home, Skrocki has been able to see a lot of friends, and she said she is excited that they will get a chance to watch her compete this weekend.
Skrocki’s U.S. teammate and Alex’s sister Morgan Izykowski also is competing this weekend but not in Midland.
Morgan Izykowski qualified for the U.S. World Cup team after an eighth-place finish at the U.S. Championships and is with the team as it competes in Moscow, the fifth World Cup stop for the 2010-11 short track season.
She was a member of the fall World Cup team, competing in Montreal and Quebec City last October. She won a bronze medal with the 3,000-meter relay team in Quebec City.
Representing Bay City off the ice this weekend is Brian Chartier. He is working as an starting official for the Midland event.[/img]
Tags: Alex Izykowski / Rachel Skrocki / Morgan Izykowski / Short Track Speedskating
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