Maria Garcia will soon compete in his first Olympic games where she qualified
for the 3000m relay. Despite good performance on the 1500m at the selections
where she was in the lead when you combine both 1500m races but she failed
qualification on that distance because they combine points from 1500m and the 1000m time trial.
Remarks collected by Jean-Michel Lachance
Three years ago you were in the junior squads where you have good success.
How has been the transition to the senior circuit?
I made my first world team when I was fifteen years old, due to ISU age
restriction I was not able to compete. I also made my first Jr.World team when I
was fifteen years old. The transition has been fairly easy considering, I have
been competing with the same ladies throughout juniors and now in seniors. The
level of competition had increased, but that's expected due to the level of
experience you gain from competition.
How do you appreciate your experience with US speed skating so far?
Living and Training in Los Angeles, CA. I do not have much to do with US speed
skating. I train with my local club, Ice Club De Morra and my Local Coach Wilma
Boomstra. I am thankful for having the opportunity to be part of US Speed
skating, otherwise I would not be able to compete at an International Level.
In less than a month, you will compete in your first Olympic, how do you
approach this event?
I am very excited to be competing in my first Olympics. It has been a dream of
mine since I am very little. I am qualified to compete in the 3000m relay.
There was so much stress at trials, due to me wanting to compete at my best. The
first three days, were very frustrating because I felt like mentally I was not
competing at my best. Tactically I made a lot of mistakes. But the last two days
I managed to turn things around, where I was later named upon the 2006 Olympic
team that will compete in Torino.
I am from Carson, CA just outside of Los Angeles. U.S Speed skating has planned
a month long training program in Colorado Springs, CO where the entire team is
present to prepare for the Olympics. This is has been very difficult for me. One
because it is an entire new training program, and I am training at altitude,
which I am not used to. I completely understand and agree that I need to be here
to train with the team, and I am so excited to know that this is just one step closer to preparing myself for
the games.
Find the continuation of the
interview tomorrow
Photo: Maria Garcia, 2003
Credit: Sam Hicks
Southern California Speed Skating Association
Jeudi, janvier 19 @ 05:17:08 PST
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