Laura Michelle Rodriguez

Reason for choosing this sport

Roller skating became a hobby for her family. She later made the switch from roller speed skating to speed skating on ice.

Ambitions

To win a gold medal at the Olympic Winter Games. (Athlete, 09 Feb 2023)

When and where did you begin this sport?

She began roller skating at age nine. She took up speed skating on ice at age 14 at the Utah Olympic Oval in the United States of America.

Other information	SWITCH TO ICE After achieving some good results in roller speed skating, she and her family considered her chances of making the transition to ice. In 2018 her mother went to the United States of America in search of training options, and in 2020 Laura Michelle did her first try-out on ice. The whole family eventually ended up relocating to Salt Lake City, UT, United States of America. "When [fellow Colombian speed skater] Diego Amaya won the medal [in the mass start at the 2020 Youth Olympic Winter Games in Lausanne, Switzerland] the Colombian Skating Federation staged a national championship in Salt Lake City [UT, United States of America]. It went well for me there and I decided to stay in ice speed skating." (diarioadn.co, 01 May 2021)
Hobbies	Swimming, archery. (Athlete, 09 Feb 2023)
Memorable sporting achievement	Achieving the qualifying standard to compete on the World Cup circuit. (Athlete, 09 Feb 2023)
Most influential person in career	Her family. (Athlete, 09 Feb 2023)
Hero / Idol	Dutch speed skater Irene Schouten, Italian speed skater Francesca Lollobrigida. (Athlete, 09 Feb 2023)

Name of coach

Mitchell Whitmore, USA

Sporting philosophy / motto

"Insist, persist, and never give up." (Athlete, 09 Feb 2023)