Abigail McCluskey

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Club / Team	Kelowna Speed Skating Club: Canada
Name of coach	Remmelt Eldering [national], NED
Reason for choosing this sport	She was inspired to start skating after watching the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver.
When and where did you begin this sport?	She began skating in Kelowna, BC, Canada. She got involved in short track at age 14, and took up speed skating at age 16. "I was born and raised in Penticton. When I was 14, I decided I wanted to start speed skating and the closest club was in Kelowna. Grade 10 and 11 [training] was twice a week and by grade 12, I was up there three days a week until I graduated high school. And then I moved to Calgary."

Sporting philosophy / motto	"The harder I work the luckier I get." (Athlete, 17 Jan 2021)
Most influential person in career	Coach Nancy Goplen. (kelownadailycourier.ca, 28 Mar 2020)
Hero / Idol	Canadian speed skaters Clara Hughes, Christine Nesbitt, and Cindy Klassen. (globalnews.ca, 05 Feb 2021)
Ambitions	To compete at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. (globalnews.ca, 05 Feb 2021)
Other information	DEALING WITH NERVES She has trouble controlling her nerves ahead of competitions. "I struggle with nerves quite a bit. I've always struggled with it. Forever. I have a tendency to puke before races from being so nervous. I've accepted it at this point [speaking in 2020]. I've gotten used to it, but I'm still working at trying to fix it a little bit. There's a lot of nerves involved. I'm still learning how to be around the cameras and not getting spooked by the bigger names in the sport." (globalnews.ca, 05 Feb 2021; kelownadailycourier.ca, 28 Mar 2020)
Hobbies	Baking, gardening, looking after her dog. (Athlete, 17 Jan 2021)
Superstitions / Rituals / Beliefs	She always ties her right shoe or skate before her left, and she puts new laces in her skates before every major competition. (Athlete, 17 Jan 2021)
Memorable sporting achievement	Qualifying for the 2020 World Single Distances Championships. (Athlete, 17 Jan 2021)