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The Roller Rink Where Olympians Are Born

Youth inline skaters line up to practice sprint starts at Pattison's West in Federal Way, Wash. (Tom Banse/Northwest News Network)
Youth inline skaters line up to practice sprint starts at Pattison's West in Federal Way, Wash. (Tom Banse/Northwest News Network)

At the Winter Olympics in Sochi, the U.S. has collected no medals so far in speedskating, an uncharacteristic result.

The Americans’ best remaining hope for hardware rests with short track speedskater J.R. Celski and the men’s relay team. Celski began his career at a skating rink in the Seattle suburb of Federal Way, the same city where his former speedskating idol Apolo Ohno got his start.

The thing is, it’s a roller rink, not an ice skating rink. From the Here & Now Contributors Network, Tom Banse of Northwest News Network pays a visit to the place where Olympians are born, but have to leave to achieve their Olympic dreams.

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Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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