McMurray resident Krueger realizes Olympic dream
Courtesy U.S. Speedskating
John Henry Krueger, who competed for the United States in the recent Olympic Games, will now represent Hungary.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
John Henry Krueger
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
John Henry Krueger takes a lap around the Mt. Lebanon ice rink, where he started in his sport. The McMurray resident is now qualified for the 2018 Winter Olympics in short track speedskating
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
John Henry Krueger tests out the ice at the Mt. Lebanon rink.
John Henry Krueger has much in common with The Flash. He’s super fast, too. In fact, the McMurray native is the fastest American on ice skates.
“I was never interested in the strongest or the ones that could fly,” Krueger explained of superheroes. “I was always interested in the one that could go the fastest.”
During the U.S. Olympic Team Short Track Speedskating Trials, Krueger was the fastest and qualified for the 2018 Winter Games to be held Feb. 9-25 in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Over three days of racing, Dec. 15-17, in Kearns, Utah, Krueger was nearly unbeatable, winning four of six A finals. He won both 1,000-meter finals as well as the 500 and the 1,500 to ensure a sweep of the men’s individual distances and set himself up for the potential to win four gold medals, including a relay, during Olympic competition.
“I want to bring home the gold for the City of Black and Gold,” Krueger said.
More specifically, Peters Township has always been home for Krueger. He and his brother, Cole, who has a chance to compete in the Olympics for Hungary, started skating as youth at the Mt. Lebanon Ice Rink, where their mother, Heidi, has been a professional figure skating coach for 16 years.
“He took his first steps on the big rink,” said Heidi, a Mt. Lebanon graduate, pointing to the exact spot on the ice. “He skated in the studio rink and took the tot-prep classes just like everybody else.”
The Kruegers discovered quickly axels were not their forte.
“We weren’t good at figure skating or hockey at that point, but my family knew about long track but not short track,” John Henry said. “My brother was skating on the rink and somebody from the local Pittsburgh speedskating team saw him and invited us to skate with the team. He loved it right away, and as I got older, I followed him.”
John Henry overtook Cole in the sport, and by the time he was 16 he had moved to Salt Lake City to train and compete.
“I loved going to all these new places and living all over the world because it broadens your horizons and widens your perspective,” he said.
For two years, Krueger lived in Korea. He currently trains in the Netherlands.
“I’m looking forward to returning (to Korea) because I have amassed a great group of friends and I love the food there,” Krueger said of his upcoming trip.
For Krueger, however, there was nothing like home-cooking as he recently spent a brief holiday break in the South Hills. He made a public appearance at the Mt. Lebanon Ice Rink and spent some of Christmas Day at home in Peters Township before flying to Europe to resume training.
“We were super excited because for him to be home at Christmas is so rare,” Heidi said.
Normally, Krueger is preparing for a World Cup cycle but because the Olympics are to be held in February the trials were held before the holidays. Usually, the World Cup events are the first of January, so Krueger normally would skate Christmas Eve, have Christmas day off and then resume training.
Training has always been a part of Krueger’s life. Often he would rise at 4:30 a.m. for morning skates at different rinks because ice time was sparse during his youth. Today, he’s competed around the world and trains at least four hours a day skating. Some days, he adds cycling to his workout mix. And while he says that he could eat almost anything when he was 16, he does follow a diet that enhances his performance.
That doesn’t always mean everything will turn out right. Four years ago, Krueger was the No. 2-ranked skater in the country and had earned each of the distance spots, but U.S. Speedskating changed its qualifying rules, allowing for no discretion. Skaters had to qualify during trials, but Krueger came down with the swine flu. Thus, he did not make the team that participated in the 2014 Olympics held in Sochi.
When he crossed the finish line first in the 500-meter race to earn his first spot on this year’s U.S. Olympic team, all of Krueger’s anguish dissipated.
“After what had happened the last time, it was really, really fulfilling,” Heidi said. “It broke his heart four years ago. So when he made the team there was this look about him that a Bulgarian photographer captured. It was a look of such absolute exhausted relief. It encompassed everything that was happening inside of him. After he won that race, it was like it’s going to be OK.”
Everything was more than OK for Krueger because he went on to win the 1,500 and 1,000 meters to ensure his sweep of the distance events.
When he first qualified, Krueger said he experienced “a weird combination” of relief and stress. Yes, he knew he had earned his Olympic spot but he still had the two other distances to race and in which to qualify.
“There was some celebration, but it wasn’t over yet,” he said. “I had to keep my composure. I had to pretend like I wasn’t on the team because I still had races and I wanted to do well in them.”
Krueger says he has done well because of the support of his family, which includes his father, Bryan, who was born in Hawaii.
“If you want it and you are willing to work hard at it and your family gets behind you, it can be done. But family has to be behind you,” John Henry stressed. “Mine has been with me every step of the way. It would not have worked out for me if they hadn’t been there. My brother has been a key training partner for me my entire career and I have had amazing coaches.
“I don’t think I have run into or seen anybody with such passion and drive in my sport as I have than my family.”