How One Teen is Pursuing his Goal to Achieve Olympic Gold

Scholastic Kid Reporter Asher Freije with speed skater Quinn Derheimer.

Though the 2026 Winter Games have come and gone, one future Olympic hopeful stays focused on the next games. Seventeen-year-old Quinn Derheimer is chasing his 2030 Olympic dream in competitive speed skating. 

Short track speed skating is an intense, fast-paced, competitive sport where athletes race to get the fastest time around a track, reaching speeds up to 35mph. 

Quinn started on the ice at a young age. “I started hockey when I was 5 years old. One day a team of speed skaters asked if I wanted to try on some speed skates and the rest is history.” 

He fell in love with the sport and began to train. After practicing at a nearby rink and reaching an elite level in the sport, Quinn and his family made the decision to train at the Pettit National Ice Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, despite living in Greenwood, Indiana. Quinn and his dad travel every Monday to Milwaukee for a week of training and back home to Indiana on the weekends. 

With a lot of success and glory comes much hard work. Quinn must train, research, eat well, and more to pursue a path to the Olympics. 

“Speed skating is a sport that takes dedication and a good mindset,” Quinn said. 

In middle school, Quinn joined Indiana Gateway Digital Academy, an online school program that allows him more flexibility in his training. He wakes up at 5 a.m. to practice before online learning begins and he is back to practice after school. He must wake up early for lifting, and then skate in the afternoon, with only a short two-month off season. 

All his hard work is paying off. Quinn is now nationally ranked and has competed in the Junior World Cup for speedskating. 

Even though Quinn is a nationally ranked speed skater, he makes sure to find time for his education. “The teachers are very flexible, and I try to fit in schoolwork along with family time,” he said. “I have kind of reached a flow state with all my activities.” 

Quinn Derheimer trains in Milwaukee during the week and returns home to Indiana on the weekends to spend time with his family.

Quinn said he loves the book Zero Regrets: Be Greater Than Yesterday by Apolo Ohno. The book is about Apolo’s journey as a speed skater and living his life without regrets. Quinn also said he has learned a lot about his sport from articles and reading in general. 

Significant sacrifice goes into making Quinn’s Olympic dream possible, but he believes it is all worth it. “You have to stay focused on what your goal is, one day at a time, one step at a time; don’t rush it.”