TRIBUTE


lap and was scouted by the 1952 Olympic Team. He not only went on to skate the trials, but secured a spot on the team and traveled to Europe to represent the US. He would go on to represent the US in


two Olympic Winter Games, becoming the fastest American in the 5000meter and 10,000meter and in the 1956 Cortina Olympic Winter Games, broke records in the 1500m and 5,000m. He also set the record as the fastest American in the 10,000m, which stood for ten years. He enjoyed the solitude of the ice, giv-


ing him time to think and just enjoy the act of skating. Having been active all his life in tennis and cycling, Pat’s mother always said he “never just sits & does nothing,” even though Pat never thought of himself as athletic. “It’s just me. No medals, just Matthew skating and having a good time.”


William “Billy” Carow William “Billy” Carow returned to the


sport of speedskating on a bet and a six- pack of beer, aer a 10 year hiatus. Billy


began competing at the age of 12 but le the sport at age 17 to proudly serve as World War II highly decorated pilot, hon- ored with The Distinguished Flying Cross, 10 Air Medals and the World War II Vic- tory Medal, to name just a few. He came home from the war and mar-


ried his high school sweetheart, enjoying 65 years of wedded bliss and the joy of raising four children. He joined and be- came Chief of the Madison City Fire De- partment; a career he loved and would retired 40 years later aer serving and protecting his great community. It was during his firefighting days that


Bill would accept that bet from his friend and would spark the competitive juices again. He would train before and aer work to help him prepare for races. In 1954 at the Great Lakes Speed Skating Champi- onship he skated the 220 yards in 17.7 sec- onds beating the previous World Record time of 18.9 seconds. Bill competed in Italy at the Cortina 1956 Olympic Winter Games placing 6th overall in the 500m. He came home with a pair of steel blades that he


William “Billy” Carow


received from the Russians, who were so impressed with his skating the 500m race in 41.3 seconds a week before the Olym- pic Winter Games. It was the fastest time anyone outside of Russia had ever officially been clocked for the distance. Four years later the favored sprinter competed in the 500m at the Squaw Valley 1960 Olympic Winter Games in California, but fell during his race aer hitting a patch of bad ice. He never let that cloud his contributions


to other promising skaters chasing their own dreams. He was honored to have the opportunity to help fellow skaters with tips and advice to reach their full potential; some who became Olympians as well. n


WWW.UA.COM www.usspeedskating.org Winter 2012 RACING BLADE 17


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