Conor McDermott-Mostowy

Other information

TATTOO He has the word 'success' tattooed on his arm. "Success is always a moving target. For me, I always first ask, 'Does my success come at a cost to others?' It's a great motto to live by so I had the word tattooed on my arm. The tattoo is a reminder for me. It means that I know I'm here. It reminds me to be satisfied. If I don't medal, I can do plenty of things after that. I need to take inventory often and be happy just working toward this goal. It's an ongoing process. Plus I have other ambitions so speed skating will not be the zenith of my life. I plan to go for more Olympics in 2026 [in Milan-Cortina], then move on to other life goals. I'll walk away with my head up no matter what. That's the thing about success: it's not about the crowds, the competition, or the outcome. I know it's there." (mensjournal.com, 01 Jan 2022) BEST SEASON In March 2021 he described the 2020/21 season as the best of his career so far. "What started as a season of uncertainty with a new team, new coach, and the threat of COVID cancelling competition for the year, has ended up being the best year of skating I have ever had. This year [2020/21] I have achieved every goal I had, more than I thought possible. I focused on the 1500m, dropping a lot of time, and making it a competitive distance for me. I made the World Cup team and subsequently qualified for [the 2021] world championships, allowing me to go to the Netherlands for a month and compete against the best in the world. At [the 2021] US championships I skated PBs in both the 1000m and 1500m walking away with a gold and bronze respectively. In a year of physical distancing, I have become closer to my teammates." (Instagram profile, 09 Mar 2021) POSITIVE ROLE MODEL In 2021 he chose to speak publicly about being a gay athlete, saying that he came from a positive background of acceptance within his family and fellow skaters. "I can't think of anything [negative] that's ever been directed at me specifically. I've heard of some skaters saying homophobic stuff, not about me, but just in general. I've never had a bad experience with anybody personally. As a gay athlete, I think visibility is extremely important. [Sports] is an area in which gay people are underrepresented, and hopefully by seeing more 'out' athletes, more gay people will feel comfortable coming out and participating in sports. I guess making it as an 'out' gay athlete would be great to maybe be a role model for somebody and inspire somebody else to pursue the Olympics. If a happy coming-out story, a happy athletic story, can help someone, that's great. And also to put myself out there. If anyone had ever wondered if I'm gay, now they'll know. If anyone feels uncomfortable asking me, they don't have to ask me. I can put myself out there and kind of go back to focusing on skating." (Instagram profile, 28 Oct 2021; outsports.com, 15 Mar 2021; fox9.com, 19 Mar 2021) SCIENTIFIC STUDIES He has studied neuroscience at Macalester College in Saint Paul, MN, United States of America. His choice of college was influenced by the skating opportunities available. "I've had a lot of family go to Macalester, but I also wanted to be in a place where I could skate and go to school. And actually right in Roseville, there is John Rose Oval, which has an outdoor speed skating oval, and that factored into my decision a lot. My academic interests include biomedical applications of CRISPR [DNA sequencing] technologies, novel HIV treatments, and social justice in medicine and the sciences." (macalester.edu, 01 Feb 2021; LinkedIn profile, 02 Nov 2021)

www.facebook.com/conor.mcdermottmostowy

Injuries	Illness affected his performance at the 2022 US Olympic Trials in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He missed a spot on the US team for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. (LinkedIn profile, 01 Apr 2022)
Hero / Idol	His grandmother. (Athlete, 10 Feb 2023)

Training Regime

He trains at the Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns, UT, United States of America. "The average training day consists of two workouts with a break in the middle for lunch. We usually skate in the morning, then have off-ice training, weights, or a bike ride in the afternoon."

Sporting philosophy / motto	"A poor result is only a failure if you don't learn from it. I lost a lot when I was younger, and I think all that losing contributed to my success now. I never got comfortable with where I was and learned from every race I lost." (mensjournal.com, 01 Jan 2022)
Memorable sporting achievement	Winning silver in the mass start at the 2018 Junior World Cup event in Salt Lake City, UT, United States of America. "It was the first international mass start I had ever done, and I surprised myself with the result." (Athlete, 09 Feb 2023)
Most influential person in career	Short track coach Lee Hyun-Jung. (Athlete, 10 Feb 2023)
Hobbies	Climbing, reading, travel, cycling. (Athlete, 15 Nov 2023, 10 Feb 2023)

Reason for choosing this sport

He initially competed in short track before taking up speed skating in 2016/17 on the advice of a coach. "I switched from short track to long track speed skating in 2018 after making the 2017 long track junior world team. Part of [what I love about the sport] is that I'm not really into team sports, because at the end of the day, if you don't do well, there's no one you can blame except yourself, and I like that aspect of it. It's also just an amazing feeling to go that fast. At our fastest, we skate at about 35 miles per hour - or I do, some people skate faster than me, obviously."

Ambitions

To compete at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan-Cortina. After he retires from competition, he plans to attend medical school. (Athlete, 15 Nov 2023; LinkedIn profile, 19 Oct 2023)

Name of coach	Ryan Shimabukuro [national], USA
When and where did you begin this sport?	He took up short track at about age 10 and began long track speed skating at age 17. "I learned to skate when I was two, so it's really something I've always done, but I was never interested in playing hockey or figure skating. When I was about 10 years old, my family and I were skating on the C&O Canal in [Washington] DC when it froze over and some guy went by on speed skates and I said, 'I want those skates!' So my parents found a local club in DC for me to try speed skating, and the rest is history."