Jonathan Kuck

Jonathan Kuck (born March 14, 1990) is an American speed skater and silver medalist in the Winter Olympics.

Jonathan Kuck
Personal information
Born (1990-03-14) March 14, 1990
Urbana, Illinois
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight175 lb (79 kg)
Sport
Country United States
SportSpeed skating

At the 2010 Winter Olympics, Kuck won a silver medal in the team pursuit along with Brian Hansen and Chad Hedrick. Kuck has also won four medals at the World Championships, a silver medal at the World Allround Championships, and a silver medal at the World Junior Championships.

Personal

Kuck started speed skating when he was ten and has competed internationally since 2008.[1] He is an alum of Countryside School and University Laboratory High School. He obtained a Bachelor of Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, majoring in engineering physics with a minor in computer science.[2] He is currently pursuing a PhD in computer science at Stanford University.

Career

Trials

On December 27, 2013, Kuck won the Men's 5000-meters by more than 6 seconds at the U.S. Olympic Speedskating Trials in Utah to earn a spot on the U.S. Olympic team competing in Sochi in February.[3]

Games

In the 10000 m, Kuck placed 8th with a time of 13:31.78. He was the highest American finish.[4]

The American pursuit team consisted of Kuck, Chad Hedrick, Brian Hansen, and Trevor Marsicano. Kuck, Hedrick, and Marsicano eliminated Japan in the quarterfinal, which advanced them to face the heavily favored Netherlands in the semifinal.[5] Kuck, Hedrick, and Hansen then beat the Dutch team by .4 seconds, with a final time of 3:42.71.[6]

The American team were defeated by the Canadian in the gold medal final. The same trio that skated the semifinal trailed Canada in the gold medal final by as much as 0.73 seconds early in the race, trimming that margin to 0.21 at the finish with a time of 3:41.58. The Canadians hit the line at 3:41.37 to win the gold medal, leaving the American team with silver. The bronze went to the Netherlands, which set an Olympic record in the B final with a time of 3:39.95.[7]

World Allround Championships

During the 2009- 2010 season, Kuck competed in the 1000m, 1500m 5/10,000m in World Cup events. Kuck won a silver medal at the 2010 World Allround Championships

During the 2010-11 season, Kuck consistently placed in the top 10 on the World Cup circuit. He capped the season with a World Championship title in the Team Pursuit. In November 2011, Kuck won the 3000m title at the U.S. Single Distance Championships.

Results
SeasonPlace500m5000m1500m10000mpoints
09/1036.31 (3)6:23.47 (4)1:45.36 (1)13:15.62 (4)149.558
10/11535.97 (9)6:17.88 (8)1:43.12 (2)13:11.24 (6)147.693
11/12636.90 (10)6:27.15 (8)1:48.41 (11)13:30.88 (6)152.295
12/131337.41 (18)6:27.62 (9)1:48.44 (12)112.318

World Junior Championships

Kuck was the 2008 and 2009 U.S. Junior Speedskating Champion and took second overall at the 2009 World Junior Speedskating Championships.

Personal bests

Event Time Date Avg. speed Location
500 m35.97Feb 12, 201130.64 mph (49.31 km/h)Calgary
1000 m1:09.25Jan 4, 201131.89 mph (51.32 km/h)Salt Lake City
1500 m1:43.12Feb 13, 201131.85 mph (51.26 km/h)Calgary
3000 m3:42.69†Oct 8, 201129.64 mph (47.70 km/h)Milwaukee
5000 m6:16.28Mar 23, 201229.28 mph (47.12 km/h)Heerenveen
10000 m13:11.24Feb 13, 201128.34 mph (45.61 km/h)Calgary
Team pursuit3:41.58‡Feb 27, 201030.37 mph (48.88 km/h)Vancouver

Key: ‡ = National Record † = Track Record

Last updated March 2, 2010.

References

  1. Zaccardi, Nick (2010-03-31). "Kuck makes name for himself with two silvers". United States Olympic Committee. Retrieved 2010-07-13.
  2. "Jonathan Kuck, Olympic Speedskating Profile". Retrieved 2014-02-18.
  3. Associated Press (27 December 2013). "Kuck, Rookard Earn Return Trips To The Olympics". Leaker. Archived from the original on 29 December 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
  4. "Speed Skating at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games: Men's 10,000 metres". Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2020-04-18. Retrieved 2010-07-13.
  5. "Speed Skating at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games: Men's Team Pursuit (8 laps) Quarter-Finals". Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2020-04-17. Retrieved 2010-07-13.
  6. "Speed Skating at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games: Men's Team Pursuit (8 laps) Semi-Finals". Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2020-04-17. Retrieved 2010-07-13.
  7. "Speed Skating at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games: Men's Team Pursuit (8 laps) Finals". Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2012-11-02. Retrieved 2010-07-13.
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