COVER STORY
IT RUNS IN THE FAMILY
Skating Siblings Take to the Ice By Kelly Pugliano Throughout the years of sports there has been the need to fuel
the so called “rivalry” between two siblings that participate in the same sport. The Manning brothers, Peyton and Eli seem to “face off” when their football teams play each other. The Williams sis- ters, Venus and Serena go under the same scrutiny when seeding brings them face to face across the net. How does sibling rivalry sit amongst speedskating athletes? Speedskating is no stranger to having multiple generations take
to the ice; mothers and fathers passing on their passion of skating to their children or younger siblings taking up the sport because big brother or sister is already there. What happens when they reach the same level of sport? Do siblings offer guidance? Do they fall into the “rivalry” category? What if they are competing in the same race? Three sets of skating siblings were up for the chal- lenge of helping to find the answer! The Izykowski duo from Michigan has been skating since they
were young. At age 16, Alex Izykowski moved away from home to concentrate on training full time. He earned a spot on the 2006 Olympic Team and became a bronze medalist in the 5000 meter relay event in the Turin 2006 Winter Olympic Games. His family, never having the chance to see Alex compete internationally, held fundraisers to help defray the cost to travel to Italy and cheer him on. Younger sister Morgan remembers that experience as “moti- vating because it showed me that if you work hard enough, you can do anything you put your mind to.” That sparked the fire for Morgan to pursue her own skating
dreams and has earned her elite status as well. When asked the question: What do you like best about having a sibling who also skates? “The life of an elite speedskater is a rare opportunity that only comes around once in a lifetime…I’m proud of the chance I was given and happy that my sister has earned the same opportu- nity,” shared Alex. Morgan’s response was “…I like to be able to share experi-
ences and stories with each other. Being an elite speedskater comes with a lot of sacrifice, but it also creates some pretty amazing memories.” Another sister/brother pair Elli & Alex Ochowicz were asked the
same question, just slightly different: Do you think it is easier or harder having a sibling in the same sport/level of competition? Elli, having competed in the 2002, 2006 and 2010 Olympic
Winter Games said “In our case, it was easier because we were not competing against each other, which I can imagine would be difficult.” Alex, being the jokester of the two said “Nothing in speedskat- ing is easy. BOOM!” What they do enjoy is the family time that the sport pro-
vides. This brother and sister are from a tight- knit fam- ily and lineage of elite athletes (both parents are Olympi- ans in their own right) and being able to share the ice is fun.
www.usspeedskating.org Winter 2012 RACING BLADE 7
Cole Kreuger
John Henry Kreuger Alex and Morgan Izykowski
PHOTO COURTESY OF BELLA FACCIE SPORTS MEDIA, THOMAS DI NARDO © 2012
PHOTO COURTESY OF BELLA FACCIE SPORTS MEDIA, THOMAS DI NARDO © 2012
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