GREENWOOD— Sixteen-year-old Quinn Derheimer is lacing up at the rink where he first found speed skating.
“I started here, where we are right now, Perry Park,” Quinn said.
Quinn first landed on the ice because of his sister.
“My sister did figure skating and I was like why not I try it,” he said. “So I just did hockey. I didn’t really like playing hockey. I just liked getting on the ice and going fast.”
That speed caught the attention of a group of speed skaters.
“They saw me and they were like do you want to try some speed skates and I was like yea, sure,” he said. “So they found my dad and they talked and I put on some speed skates and the rest is history.”
His family wasn’t familiar with the sport at the time.
“We weren’t a skating family, at least from speed skating,” said Jon Derheimer, Quinn's dad. “But just like any sport, you support your kids and you learn about it and you volunteer to help. I’ll be a timer or whatever they need me to do, lap counter, I’ll be there all the way.”
Ten years later, Derheimer’s commitment is unquestionable.
“Other than just simply being a little crazy, he’s just got a passion for speed skating,” Jon said. “Quinn is one of those guys who, once he starts on something, he wants to see how far he can take it, and speed skating is no exception.”
It's a mindset that has gotten him to an elite level in the sport.
“In speed skating terms, my fastest lap is 8.3,” Quinn said. “In miles per hour, that’s like 25 to 30 miles per hour on the ice, and on one leg that’s like 4 or 5 G-forces.”
Quinn has already competed in Italy, China, Canada — several times — and across the United States, including the Junior World Cup.
“If you have a dream and a passion for it, you can definitely do it,” he said.
To chase that dream, Quinn spends weekdays in Milwaukee training and returns to Indiana on weekends to see family. His routine includes a 5 a.m. wake-up call and two practices a day.
“And then I go to bed around 7 or 8, so I get a total of nine hours of sleep, cause sleep is the best recovery you can do,” he said.
Schoolwork still matters, too. He completes his classes online through the Indiana Gateway Digital Academy.
“From a parent’s point of view, I have to look past all of this and education is critical,” Jon said. “With InGA and their flex program he can do it in an airport, hotel room, off ice and that’s how we make it work.”
All of it is leading toward one ultimate goal: the 2034 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
“I look at it like priorities and our entire family’s priority for Quinn is to see him succeed and we’re all behind him,” Jon said. “So yea, I’ve missed work days, I’ve missed holidays, and you know what though it’s okay because when Quinn wins the entire family wins. It takes a village to create an Olympic speed skater and we’re behind him 100 percent.”
“Some days you’re not going to want to get on the ice but you have to do it,” Quinn said. “And if you keep going then you’ll make it.”
