McKenzie Browne

Club / Team

FAST Speedskating Team: Salt Lake City, UT, USA

Hobbies	Snowboarding, hiking with her dog, writing, reading, playing games. (Athlete, 09 Feb 2023)
Superstitions / Rituals / Beliefs	She always puts her left skate on first. (Athlete, 09 Feb 2023)
Memorable sporting achievement	Winning the women's team sprint at the 2022 World Cup event in Calgary, AB, Canada. (Athlete, 09 Feb 2023)
Other sports	She represented the United States of America in roller speed skating at four editions of the world championships between 2015 and 2019. She has also competed in track cycling at an elite level. (SportsDeskOnline, 11 Feb 2023; Athlete, 09 Feb 2023)

Reason for choosing this sport	"I switched from inline to ice speed skating after watching several of my friends make the Olympic Winter Games in 2018 and 2022."
Name of coach	Mitchell Whitmore [club], USA; Ryan Shimabukuro [national], USA
When and where did you begin this sport?	She took up inline skating at age six. She began speed skating on ice in 2018 at age 23 in Salt Lake City, UT, United States of America.

Nicknames	Kenz, Kenzie (Athlete, 09 Feb 2023)
Sporting philosophy / motto	"An underdog is a hungry dog, and hungry dogs run faster." (Athlete, 09 Feb 2023)
Ambitions	To compete at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan-Cortina. (kutztown.edu, 08 Nov 2022)
Other information	SWITCH TO ICE She switched from roller speed skating to speed skating on ice in 2018 after experiencing issues with motivation and mounting pressure competing as an individual athlete. She was also motivated to make the switch after watching friends Kimi Goetz and Erin Jackson successfully transition to the ice, and has since competed alongside Goetz and Jackson in the team sprint event. "It's a team effort [in speed skating], so we all want to help each other instead of just a personal accomplishment. I thrive in a team atmosphere because I don't put as much pressure on myself being out there and people only looking at me. I'm having more fun and am more relaxed because I'm with two of my really good friends. It makes me more comfortable, especially knowing I have two incredible athletes behind me that aren't going to be mad at me if I do mess up. I have love for all three sports that I've competed in [including track cycling], but I've never felt that drive as I have with ice speed skating. I really, really enjoy being out there on the ice and getting to push myself every day." (usspeedskating.org, 30 Aug 2023) OCCUPATION She works as a copywriter for a sporting goods company in the United States of America. (Facebook profile, 22 Oct 2023; LinkedIn profile, 15 Oct 2023)

www.facebook.com/brownemckenzie