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Austin Kleba

United States

SportSpeed Skating
FederationIDSSUSA12707199901
NOCUnited States
Born27 Jul 1999 in  Geneva, IL
GenderMen
ResidenceSalt Lake City, UT, USA
OccupationAthlete
LanguagesEnglish
Personal Bests
EventRecordDateLocation 
Personal Bests
  Event RecordDateLocation 
    500m 34.56 03 Dec 2021 Salt Lake City, UT  
    1000m 1:08.27 05 Dec 2021 Salt Lake City, UT  
    1500m 1:47.49 21 Oct 2022 Salt Lake City, UT  
    5000m 6:58.27 10 Mar 2017 Salt Lake City, UT  
    10000m 15:35.48 26 Mar 2016 Milwaukee, WI  
General Interest
General Interest
Memorable sporting achievementCompeting at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. (Instagram profile, 25 Feb 2022)  
Sport Specific Information
Sport Specific Information
Reason for choosing this sport"I played ice hockey and decided I wanted to go faster."  
General Interest
General Interest
Most influential person in careerUS speed skater Joey Mantia, and coach Ryan Shimabukuro. (The Speedskating Video Podcast YouTube channel, 11 Dec 2022; Athlete, 16 Nov 2019)  
Hero / IdolUS short track skater Apolo Anton Ohno. (Athlete, 16 Nov 2019)  
Sport Specific Information
Sport Specific Information
Name of coachRyan Shimabukuro [national], USA  
When and where did you begin this sport?He began speed skating in 2014 in Glen Ellyn, IL, United States of America.  
General Interest
General Interest
Sporting philosophy / motto"If it doesn't hurt, you're not doing it right." (Athlete, 16 Nov 2019)  
HobbiesMaking and recording music. (Instagram profile, 10 Aug 2023)  
InjuriesIn mid-2013, while he was still playing ice hockey, he sustained shoulder injuries and needed orthopedic surgery followed by a six-month recovery. Three months after he returned to training, he dislocated his shoulder, and later in mid-2014 he sustained another shoulder injury. (shawlocal.com, 25 Jul 2017; teamusa.org, 26 Mar 2015)  
Other informationICE HOCKEY TO SPEED SKATING
He began ice skating at age three on hockey skates and played ice hockey competitively for 12 years before shoulder problems influenced his decision to switch to speed skating in 2014. "My doctor had a serious talk with me about the benefits and downsides of staying in the sport [ice hockey]. He said there was a 100% chance that I would injure my shoulder again and need to get reconstructive surgery. The time off for this would probably mean the end to my career as a hockey player. So I decided to try something new instead, and start off on a clean slate. I was a fast hockey player, that was probably my best part of hockey that I was good at. My mum always kind of joked, 'Oh, you should try speed skating'. I saw the Olympics all the time, and I thought it was really cool, but I was so involved in hockey. There's actually a huge advantage being a hockey player in speed skating. In the start of a race, you can tell who's a hockey player. They're just such a big advantage for the start, because a lot of speed skaters don't have that fast twitch that you get from playing hockey for so long." (teamusa.org, 09 Nov 2021, 26 Mar 2015; shawlocal.com, 25 Jul 2017; US Speedskating YouTube channel, 02 Nov 2016; olympics.com, 12 Feb 2016)

MUSICIAN
He has been making music since age 14 and has taken music theory classes. "I really like the recording aspect of it. That way I can jam out with myself. I love to go jam out with other people, but in most cases I don't have a full day to find a group of people to play with. Having my own recording stuff I can loop my own sounds and work on my own music. [US rapper] Mac Miller's part of the reason I got into music. He's not just rapping, he's making music. It's a song. I really respected him as an artist, and that's what got me into making and producing my own music." (Instagram profile, 10 Aug 2023; teamusa.org, 09 Nov 2021)
 
Social Media
Social Media
www.facebook.com/Kleebs49  
twitter.com/AustinKleba  
Championships results
Year Competition Event Rank  
Championships results
    2021/2022 Four Continents Championships 500m1  
    2021/2022 Four Continents Championships Team Sprint1  
    2021/2022 Four Continents Championships 1000m2  
    2022/2023 World Single Distances Championships Team Sprint6  
    2023/2024 World Single Distances Championships Team Sprint6  
    2021/2022 World Sprint Championships Overall14  
    2022 Olympic Games 500m27  
    2022 Olympic Games 1000m29  
World Cups
Year Competition Event Rank  
World Cups
    2023/2024 Beijing Team Sprint1  
    2023/2024 Stavanger Team Sprint2  
    2022/2023 Heerenveen Team Sprint3  
    2023/2024 Quebec, QC Team Sprint3  
    2022/2023 World Cup Classification 500m24  
    2022/2023 World Cup Classification 1000m32  
    2023/2024 World Cup Classification 500m36  
    2021/2022 World Cup Classification 500m45  
    2021/2022 World Cup Classification 1000m47  
    2023/2024 World Cup Classification 1000m51  
    2019/2020 World Cup Classification 500m58  
    2018/2019 World Cup Classification 1000m63