Howard County Speedskater Competing In South Korea Olympic Games

By Julia Karron and Timmy Chong, CAPITAL NEWS SERVICE

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — Speedskater Thomas Hong said that his life on the ice predated his own birth.

“My mom was actually...at my sisters’ practice when she was pregnant with me, and she had to be rushed to the hospital during that practice,” he explained in a telephone interview with Capital News Service, as he gears up to compete in the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Hong was skating at age four, just after his family immigrated from South Korea to the United States. At the time, the Washington metropolitan area was a hotspot for aspiring skaters, and the region has increased in prominence since then.

He was eyeing the 2018 Olympics back in 2014, and this winter he is headed to South Korea in hopes of bringing home a gold.

Hong says he feels fortunate that he grew up in Howard County, and identifies strongly with his home state.

“You can pretty much ask anybody...I wear a (University of) Maryland cap every single day of my life,” said Hong, who lives in Laurel and attended Atholton High School.

Hong attended the University of Maryland as a freshman during the 2015-2016 school year, but put his education on hold in pursuit of the 2018 Olympics.

Following the games, he plans to return to the university for the 2018-2019 school year, according to U.S. Speedskating communications coordinator Austin Controulis.

Hong has spent the past months fine-tuning his approach to the upcoming races with the U.S. Speedskating coaches, with a focus on maintaining his health.

His performance at the Short Track World Junior Championships in January, where he won silver in the 500-meter race and bronze in the 3000-meter relay, was a big factor in his selection for Team USA.

Although Hong is a Marylander at heart, he is very excited that the Olympics will be hosted by his native country.

“Being able to go to a country where I’m familiar with, being that my family is able to be there and be comfortable with as well, it just means a lot,” he said.

The Olympics start Feb. 9 and the Paralympics begin March 8.

Hong is one of three athletes who call Maryland home that are headed to the Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea: women’s ice hockey player Haley Skarupa and sled hockey player Noah Grove are the others.

While they have yet to be acquainted, they’re all fighting to bring gold medals back to Maryland.

Two athletes who were born in Maryland but listed home towns in other states will be in the Olympic Games as well: luger Summer Britcher, born in Baltimore, and freestyle skier Ashley Caldwell, born in Montgomery Village.

Also, two of the three alternate ice dancing pairs live and train in Montgomery County. Quinn Carpenter of Wheaton and Lorraine McNamara of Germantown are the second alternates, while sibling duo Michael and Rachel Parsons of Rockville are the third alternates.

In the 2016 Summer Olympics, athletes with ties to Maryland dominated. With 18 gold medals, Maryland would have ranked tenth among all countries. Additionally, Maryland’s 2016 Paralympians scored 13 gold medals, which would have placed them thirteenth among all nations competing.

Thomas Insuk Hong (104) competes in the men's 500 and 1000-meter U.S.Olympic short track speedskating trials on Saturday, Dec. 16, and Sunday, Dec. 17, 2017, in Kearns, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)