Maine South
With the Vancouver Olympics approaching, many American athletes will make the trip across the border to take part in perhaps the greatest competition of their lifetimes. Among this elite group of athletes, several Chicagoans will be there to represent their country. Many of them have dreamed of the Olympics their entire lives, and finally, starting Feb. 12, they’ll get their chance at gold. Here are just a few of the local stars who hope to be singing “The Star-Spangled Banner” on top of the medal podium this month.
Patrick Kane
Sport: Hockey
Hometown: Buffalo, N.Y.
As if becoming the youngest player in Chicago Blackhawks history to reach 200 points last week or becoming the youngest NHL player to reach the 25-goal plateau in 2008-09 weren’t already career-making achievements, Kane can now add making the Olympics to his list of honors.
Kane will make his Olympic debut Feb. 16 as one of 23 players who were named to the U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team in early January. “It’s pretty special,” Kane told TheMash recently after a Blackhawks practice at the United Center. “It happens once every four years, and for an American kid growing up watching the Olympics, I think it’s pretty cool to actually be a part of them.
“I think it’s going to be a fun experience,” he said. “Just to go to different events and actually play in the games, it’s going to be a real treat.”
The 21-year-old brings a fast-growing resume to Vancouver. In his first NHL season in 2008, he won the Calder Memorial Trophy given to the league’s top rookie. Earlier that year he was the first overall pick in the NHL draft.
“Those are two pretty big honors for me,” Kane said. “Coming into my career, it was pretty nice winning rookie of the year and the first overall pick, every kid dreams of that. But (being on the Olympic team) is right up there.”
Kane is no stranger to international competition. After competing with the U.S. under-18 team in 2006, he was selected to be a member of the 2007 World Championship team and later was named an all-star. Many American hockey fans are hoping the U.S. Olympic team can redeem its eighth-place finish at the 2006 Games, despite its fifth-place ranking in the International Ice Hockey Federation.
“We are in a bit of an underdog spot, but I think you look at teams like the Swedes, Finns, Canada and Russia, obviously—they’ve been pretty good the last couple Olympics—but we have some time here to kind of prove ourselves and put the right group together and hopefully gain some chemistry and surprise some people,” Kane said.
Not all of the foreign faces will be unfamiliar to Kane. Five fellow Blackhawks will join Kane on the trip to Vancouver. Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and Jonathan Toews will compete for Canada, while Marion Hossa and Tomas Kopecky were unanimous choices for the Slovakian team.
“It will be different,” Kane said about playing his fellow teammates in the Olympics. “I think you look at some of the guys that made it, obviously, they’re going to take it pretty serious for team Canada and Slovakia too. I got to take it just as serious and make sure when we’re out there it’s all business and we’re not friends at that time when we’re playing.”
—tribune, nhl.com contributed
Nancy Swider-Peltz Jr.
Sport: Speed skating
Hometown: Wheaton
As the daughter of four-time Olympic medalist Nancy Swider-Peltz Sr., the Winter Games are in Swider-Peltz Jr.’s blood.
“My mom has told me so many stories. I am happy to finally follow in her footsteps,” said Swider-Peltz Jr., who will compete in the 3,000 meters, the team pursuit and possibly the 5,000 meters.
“My best race is the 3,000,” she said. “A goal for me is to finish in the top six. If I don’t, it’s not like I failed, but you never tell yourself not to reach high.”
After a great summer off-season, she began on-ice workouts in September and faced a great obstacle.
“My quads killed me,” she said. “I thought my chances of the Olympics went out the door.”
But she met Swiss speed skater Roger Schneider while training in Milwaukee, and he had experienced similar pains. His doctor, Bob Cooley, treated him with a form of resistance stretching that eases tension in the muscles. “It was as if it was God’s plan,” Swider-Peltz Jr. said. “My legs felt great, and this has been my best year so far; I have learned the most.”
She sailed over her next hurdle in late December when she won the 3,000 meters at the U.S. Championships in Salt Lake City to qualify for the Olympics.
“That was my hardest emotional race because something was at stake,” she said.
With others expected to medal, some of the pressure’s off. “This is the fun Olympics,” Swider-Peltz Jr. said. “No one thinks I’ll medal, but no one knows me!”
—Tribune contributed
Brian Hansen
Sport: Speed skating
Hometown: Evanston
Hansen, 19, makes his Olympic debut just a few months after graduating from high school last spring. And now as a full-time skater, the Winter Games couldn’t have come at a better time.
“I spend about four to six hours a day training,” Hansen said. “It’s a little (harder) than expected.”
Hansen lives in Chicago but spends most of his time training in Milwaukee. Olympic medalist Nancy Swider-Peltz Sr. coaches him, and all three athletes that she has coached have reached the Olympics. Hansen will compete in the 1,500 meters along with the team pursuit, in which two teams of three skaters race at the same time. “For the 1,500, I’m trying to finish in the top 15, and for the team pursuit we have a shot at a medal,” he said.
Chad Hedrick, Trevor Marsicano and Jonathon Kuck will skate with Hansen in the team pursuit. Because of their depth, many consider them as medal threats.
Hansen said he’s prepared to handle the pressure. “Stay focused on what you have to do,” he said. “And don’t let others distract you.”
Lisa Chesson
Sport: Hockey
Hometown: Plainfield
As a member of the Ohio State University women’s hockey team, Chesson ended her career with 89 points, making her ninth on the school’s all-time list. This year she was selected for the U.S. women’s Olympic team for the first time in her career.
“It is something I have wanted since they won gold in the 1998 Olympics,” Chesson said.
The U.S. women’s team hasn’t reached the top of the medal podium since ’98, but they are ranked No. 1 in the world and have their standards set high.
“Our goal is definitely to win gold,” Chesson said. “Although all the teams are good, the top four are the Finns, Swedes, Canada and us.” However, with no women’s equivalent of the NHL to help sharpen their skills, Chesson and her teammates have had to learn to play well together and excel. The team practices between four and six hours a day with a combination of on-ice work, lifting, yoga and team meetings.
“We’ve been playing together in different camps and tryouts. It’s hard not to mesh,” she said. “Now, they are like my support. We all encourage one another.”
As one of the youngest members of the team, Chesson looks up to the veterans for help and advice.
“They are a huge help. I don’t know what the Olympics are like, but I am able to watch them and learn,” she said.
Having finished second behind Canada in the last two international tournaments, the Americans will have revenge on their mind. That means there’s no place for nerves.
“I don’t let myself get distracted,” Chesson said.
