Henry Schlichting’s speed skating journey began at age 8 when he first hit the ice in Hartland. Now, the junior from Arrowhead High School will compete in his first Olympic trials this weekend at the Pettit National Ice Center.
Watch: Hartland speed skater to make Olympic trials debut at Pettit National Ice Center
“A little nerve-wracking, but at the same time I’m excited for it. Just excited to watch everybody skate and also see if I can get some PRs and stuff,” Schlichting said. “It’ll be my first time skating in front of a large crowd, so definitely excited for that.”
This marks Schlichting’s first time skating in front of a national audience, but training at the Pettit has put him alongside national skaters since he first arrived at the Olympic training facility.
“I was just amazed at how big this facility is and, like, seeing national team members back then skate, and I was like, I, I want to speed skate,” Schlichting said.
While this weekend focuses on achieving personal goals for Schlichting, he knows how special it is to share the same ice as Kewaskum native Jordan Stolz, currently the world’s top speed skater.
“Well, I think Jordan’s definitely, like, someone everybody wants to be like right now because I mean he’s the best skater in the world, and he’s been really tearing it up at World Cups and stuff, so I think seeing him train here is definitely encouraging, you know, occasionally talking to him. He’s just a super nice and humble guy, so yeah, it’s always exciting to see him train,” Schlichting said.
That excitement also serves as inspiration for what Schlichting hopes to accomplish in the future.
“I generally don’t like to think too far ahead, but I mean maybe one day making the national team will be a goal, and I mean in the short term maybe trying to make a junior world team,” Schlichting said.
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