Zen and the Art of Speedskating

There is a rite of passage that many cocky US junior national team skaters have undergone out here in Utah, and I have heard this story from several different victims.

The story goes like this; a hotrod young gun signs up for a 500m time trial out here at the Utah Olympic Oval. They look at the start list and see that they are paired with a medium height, barrel-chested 50-ish fellow who speaks with a Russian accent and has just a touch of grey to his hair. They assume it will be no contest.

Once the gun goes off, they are shocked when the 50 year old blows them away in the race. Congratulations, you have just met Boris Leikin!

In fact, this happened just this past weekend, Boris was paired with a very good younger skater, Jeremy Cox, and here is Boris passing him in the final turn.

Happy Birthday Boris. You turn 53 today, and in the race pictured above, you skated a 38.72! only a few hundredths off of your all time personal best, and the next day’s 1000m you skated a very quick 1:17.58. I asked you how old do you feel, and you answered “hmmmm, about 35“.

You have qualified for, and will skate in, your 3rd Olympic trials twelve days from now, I wonder how many 50+ year olds are going to be competing in winter Olympic trials, in any sport? In the physical off ice tests we do, lifting or jumping, I can’t come close to what you can do.

And on top of that, you have an excellent brain, spot-on skating analytical ability, a unique approach to training, and even willpower to match mine! I was very lucky that last January you asked me to join the group of skaters you coach. I hope my technique doesn’t “hurt your eyes” as much as it did last year.

I wish I could tell a few more Boris stories here, as over the last year, I have amassed quite a few, I mean this guy has done things like building his own car from a pile of parts in a garage in St. Petersburg, but I do respect his privacy somewhat.

I will end this with a picture of Boris in his natural environment, an outdoor hot tub! Somehow I think there will be outdoor hot tubbing and vodka at the party tonight.

Filed under: from home