Maame Biney becomes first African-American to make U.S. Olympic women speedskating team
The 17-year-old native of
Ghana cruised to victory in the first 500 final at the short track
trials on Saturday, beating Olympians Lana Gehring, Jessica Kooreman and
Katherine Reutter-Adamek.
“I can’t believe it, aww geez,” she said after squealing with joy.
“It’s a really good feeling, but it has to set in first because it takes
me a while. I’m like, ‘Holy cow.’”
Before the second final, her father sitting in the stands held up a sign reading: “Kick some hiney Biney.”
17-year-old Maame Davis is #blackgirlmagic all day! She obliterated the comp in the 500m and is headed to the #winterolympics in 2018. #wintergames #skate #excellence #DC pic.twitter.com/D3502kT183— Proday Media (@prodayco) December 17, 2017
But make history is exactly what she did at the U.S. Olympic Team
Trials for Short Track Speedskating. Biney qualified for the Olympic
Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 in the 500-meter, becoming the first black
women’s speedskater on a U.S. Olympic Team.
And the giggly high schooler couldn’t hold back her emotions.
“Aaaaahhhhhhhh,” Biney squealed to reporters. “I can’t believe it!
Ah, jeez. It’s a really good feeling, but it has to set in. It takes me a
while before it’s like, ‘Holy cow.’”
At Olympic trials, each distance has two full rounds with two A
finals. A skater’s result in each final is awarded a point value and the
two results are added together. The winner of each overall distance
classification qualifies for the Olympic team.
After falling multiple times in Friday night’s 1,500-meter races,
including in the first final, where she was penalized for taking out
Katherine Reutter-Adamek, Biney was hoping her falls were behind her and
that Saturday would be her time to shine. Plus, she knew the 500 was
her best distance.
Biney took full advantage of her strength in the 500, cruising
through wins in her first quarterfinal, semifinal and final – beating
Olympians Lana Gehring, Jessica Kooreman and Reutter-Adamek in that
final.
In the second round, Biney again sailed through the second round,
winning the quarterfinal and settling for a close second to Kooreman in
her semifinal round. In the final, she exploded off the line to take an
early lead that only widened as the race progressed, leaving no doubt as
to who would take first place and the Olympic berth. Gehring and
Kooreman finished the 500-meter overall classification tied for second.
“I was thinking I had to beat Jess at the start because she has such a
good start and I did, so I made it!” Biney said of her strategy for the
second final.
Biney’s celebration after that race was priceless. She fell to the
ice, first sitting on her butt and giggling, then turned onto her knees
with gratitude.
“When I crossed the finish line, I don’t know what I was thinking – I
was just like, ‘I got first, that’s so cool.’ And when I realized I
made the Olympic team I started cheering like crazy,” she said. “And
then I made my epic fall, so, yeah, you’re welcome.”
Biney was a strong favorite to make the three-woman U.S. Olympic
Short Track Speedskating Team heading into the trials. She first made a
name for herself in the sport last season when she won bronze in the
500-meter at the world junior championships, becoming just the second
U.S. woman since 1996 to medal at junior worlds. Biney easily made her
first senior-level world cup team a few months later, when she was the
overall women’s winner at the world cup qualifier, beating out several
Olympians for that title.
While she has not yet reached a world cup podium, Biney’s star has
continued to shine on that stage. In four world cups this season, she
has earned fifth- and seventh-place finishes at the short’s fastest, and
perhaps most exciting, distance.
Biney was born in Ghana and moved to the U.S. at 5 years old to visit
her father. But as the story goes, Biney visited a mall and quickly
fell in love with life in the States, so she stayed. Her father enrolled
her in figure skating lessons the next year after noticing a sign
advertising the sport.
She quickly switched to speedskating at the suggestion of a coach, and hasn’t looked back.
Biney was quick to thank her father after qualifing for the Games, attributing much of her success and perseverance to him.
“He’s been through everything and I’m amazed by him. I just want to
thank him a lot for everything,” Biney said of her father, Kweku.
“I haven’t been home since October, and that’s the longest I’ve ever
not been home. It’s been really hard on him and on me because he helps
with my mindset. Before that, he’s been through all the practices with
me and watches me every day and gives me tips, and I love him for that.”
Biney becomes the second black speedskater to represent Team USA at
the Olympics, following in the footsteps of the legendary Shani Davis.
Davis was two years older when he made his first Olympic team in 2002,
also in short track. He soon switched to long track and has since made
three more Olympic teams and earned four medals, including two golds.
The teen joins 2010 Olympian Lana Gehring, who qualified in the
1,500-meter, as the first two women on the U.S. Olympic Short Track
Speedskating Team. They will both compete in the 500 and 1,500 in
PyeongChang. A third woman will join them on the team after Sunday’s
1,000 finals.
Source: TEAMUSA
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