FALMOUTH, Maine —
U.S. Speedskating’s "Tour of Olympians Driven by Toyota" ended in Falmouth on Thursday after a three-week tour across the United States.
Olympic speedskaters took turns traveling across the country to visit speed skating clubs, promote the sport, meet fans, and participate in activities on and off the ice.
2022 U.S. Olympic short-track speedskaters Julie Latai and Kristen Santos finished the tour in Falmouth, visiting the Great Atlantic Speedskating Club and the public.
While in Maine, they started at the L.L. Bean Flagship store to meet with fans, take photos, and sign autographs before heading to the Family Ice Center in Falmouth.
“This is our first time getting to host the Tour of the Olympians,” Karen Schilling, the head coach of the Great Atlantic Speedskating Club, said.
The Great Atlantic Speedskating Club has been around for about 20 years, operating out of the Family Ice Center. It is the only short-track speedskating club in Maine.
“The tour, for us, is to bring excitement about short track speed skating into Maine and get the word out about the fact that you can speedskate in Maine and become an Olympian,” said Schilling.
“I think we’re just really excited overall to be a part of it,” Santos said.
“We got to stop at [Latai’s] home club in Massachusetts and my home club in Connecticut and see where it all started for us. And then just beyond that being able to spread the word about speedskating and get other little kids excited about starting,” she added.
Promoting speedskating clubs and getting people excited about the sport of speedskating is very important for a sport that isn’t very well known.
“It’s been cool when we see people and explain to them why we’re here and what we do and watch them get really interested in it,” Latai said.
“A lot of families that have little kids, you can tell they’re excited about it, and they’re like, ‘Oh, we should do that tonight.’ And that’s really cool because I can definitely see myself in them, and I see this as kind of being the thing that I would see and be really excited about and then come and fall in love with the sport, which is hopefully our goal,” she added.
“Speed skating is definitely a smaller community. That’s why we are here trying to spread the word on it," said Santos. I think, though, that’s part of the beauty of the sport a little bit. It’s that you become so close with people all around the country and the world even. I think that’s a very special thing about it."