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Men

Thomas Insuk Hong

flagUSA
  • Date of birth02 Jul 1997
  • Height172 CM
  • ProfessionAthlete, Coach
  • HometownLaurel
  • Place of birthSeoul
  • Start skating Club He began skating at age four in Columbia, MD, United States of America. Potomac Speed Skating Club: United States
  • HobbiesWatching sport, cooking. (teamusa.org, 01 Aug 2017)
  • LanguagesEnglish, Korean
  • CoachN/A
  • ChoreographerN/A
  • Former CoachN/A
  • Practice low seasonN/A
  • Practice high seasonN/A
  • General Interest
  • Sport Specific Information
"Over-prepare and pay attention to detail." (Athlete, 08 Nov 2018)
US basketball player Kobe Bryant. (Athlete, 05 Dec 2019)
His grandmother. (Athlete, 05 Dec 2019)
He has required 40 stitches to a chin injury during his career. (Athlete, 08 Nov 2018)

He experienced knee pain at age 13 that almost forced him to end his short track career. (isu.org, 09 Nov 2018)
To finish on the podium at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. (isu.org, 09 Nov 2018)
Competing at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, and breaking the world record in the 5000m relay with the US team at the 2017 World Cup event in Shanghai, People's Republic of China. (Athlete, 08 Nov 2018)
OTHER ACTIVITIES
He is a coach at United Capital Blades Speed Skating Club in Washington, DC, United States of America. He has also served as a member of the athletes' advisory council of US Speed Skating. (ucbspeedskating.org, 22 Oct 2020; teamusa.org, 10 Jul 2020)

GRANDMOTHER
His grandmother has played an influential role in his short track career. "It used to be common in Korean culture for the grandmother to be very present in the lives of the grandchildren. So my grandma used to take my sister to skating practice, then me. As I began improving she would be encouraging and slightly coaching me. She had no prior history in the sport but she had an eye for it. Even today, she watches most of my practices back in Maryland [United States of America] and if I have a bad day, I'll ask her how I did. She'll always say things I need to hear. From my technique, to how explosive or how weak I look, she'll mention it all." (isu.org, 09 Nov 2018)

KOREAN HERITAGE
He was born in Seoul, Republic of Korea, but moved to Maryland, United States of America, with his mother, sister and grandmother at age four. (nbc4i.com, 05 Sep 2017; baltimoresun.com, 01 Nov 2015)