Athlete Bios
Long-track speedskating
Marsicano a serious podium contender
Long-track skater became 1st American to win 4 medals at the World Single Distance Championships
Last Updated: Wednesday, February 10, 2010 | 9:59 AM ET
New York Times for CBC Sports
In a short-track race in 2004, Trevor Marsicano suffered a major accident when his leg was sliced by a competitor's skate. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)In 2009, Trevor Marsicano's long-track speedskating career took off, a rise as fast and sudden as any athlete in the Winter Olympics. Only a year earlier, few in the speedskating world had heard of Marsicano. Now, they all know him.
Marsicano became the first American to win four medals at the World Single Distance Championships in March, when he won a gold medal in the 1,000 metres, a silver medal in the 1,500 and bronze medals in the 5,000 and the team pursuit. A month later, he turned 20. He also won a bronze medal in the 2009 world all-around championships in the 1,500.
Familiar with ice at a young age, Marsicano began skating when he was a year old. By four years old, he was playing hockey. And by the time he reached third grade, he was speedskating. His interest in the sport grew again when Pat Maxwell, the former Olympic coach, spoke to his class.
But an injury nearly ended Marsicano's skating career before it began. It happened at a short-track race in 2004 when the blade from a competitor's skate sliced into Marsicano's leg, cutting it to the bone. Marsicano lost half the blood in his body, a year and a half of training and, after having surgery, has a scar that runs nearly the length of one skate blade.
When he recovered, Marsicano moved to long-track speedskating, winning a bronze medal in the overall competition at the junior world championships in 2007. Then came the breakout performance at the 2009 world championships. And in March, Marsicano broke the world record in the 1,000, only to have his teammate Shani Davis break it again that same night.
Marsicano was home-schooled since Grade 8. He is also open about his battle against depression, which he says began when he was bullied in middle school.
In Vancouver, Marsicano is considered a contender in multiple distances. He lives and trains in Milwaukee, Wis.
