

Men
USA
Austin Kleba
- Date of birth27 Jul 1999
- Height1680 CM
- ProfessionAthlete
- HometownSalt Lake City
- Place of birthGeneva, IL
- Start skating / He began speed skating in 2014 in Glen Ellyn, IL, United States of America. /
- HobbiesMaking and recording music. (Instagram profile, 10 Aug 2023)
- LanguagesEnglish
- CoachRyan Shimabukuro [national], USA
- ChoreographerN/A
- Former CoachN/A
- Practice low seasonN/A
- Practice high seasonN/A
- General Interest
- Sport Specific Information
"If it doesn't hurt, you're not doing it right." (Athlete, 16 Nov 2019)
US short track skater Apolo Anton Ohno. (Athlete, 16 Nov 2019)
US speed skater Joey Mantia, and coach Ryan Shimabukuro. (The Speedskating Video Podcast YouTube channel, 11 Dec 2022; Athlete, 16 Nov 2019)
In mid-2013, while he was still playing ice hockey, he sustained shoulder injuries and needed orthopedic surgery followed by a six-month recovery. Three months after he returned to training, he dislocated his shoulder, and later in mid-2014 he sustained another shoulder injury. (shawlocal.com, 25 Jul 2017; teamusa.org, 26 Mar 2015)
Competing at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. (Instagram profile, 25 Feb 2022)
ICE HOCKEY TO SPEED SKATING
He began ice skating at age three on hockey skates and played ice hockey competitively for 12 years before shoulder problems influenced his decision to switch to speed skating in 2014. "My doctor had a serious talk with me about the benefits and downsides of staying in the sport [ice hockey]. He said there was a 100% chance that I would injure my shoulder again and need to get reconstructive surgery. The time off for this would probably mean the end to my career as a hockey player. So I decided to try something new instead, and start off on a clean slate. I was a fast hockey player, that was probably my best part of hockey that I was good at. My mum always kind of joked, 'Oh, you should try speed skating'. I saw the Olympics all the time, and I thought it was really cool, but I was so involved in hockey. There's actually a huge advantage being a hockey player in speed skating. In the start of a race, you can tell who's a hockey player. They're just such a big advantage for the start, because a lot of speed skaters don't have that fast twitch that you get from playing hockey for so long." (teamusa.org, 09 Nov 2021, 26 Mar 2015; shawlocal.com, 25 Jul 2017; US Speedskating YouTube channel, 02 Nov 2016; olympics.com, 12 Feb 2016)
MUSICIAN
He has been making music since age 14 and has taken music theory classes. "I really like the recording aspect of it. That way I can jam out with myself. I love to go jam out with other people, but in most cases I don't have a full day to find a group of people to play with. Having my own recording stuff I can loop my own sounds and work on my own music. [US rapper] Mac Miller's part of the reason I got into music. He's not just rapping, he's making music. It's a song. I really respected him as an artist, and that's what got me into making and producing my own music." (Instagram profile, 10 Aug 2023; teamusa.org, 09 Nov 2021)
He began ice skating at age three on hockey skates and played ice hockey competitively for 12 years before shoulder problems influenced his decision to switch to speed skating in 2014. "My doctor had a serious talk with me about the benefits and downsides of staying in the sport [ice hockey]. He said there was a 100% chance that I would injure my shoulder again and need to get reconstructive surgery. The time off for this would probably mean the end to my career as a hockey player. So I decided to try something new instead, and start off on a clean slate. I was a fast hockey player, that was probably my best part of hockey that I was good at. My mum always kind of joked, 'Oh, you should try speed skating'. I saw the Olympics all the time, and I thought it was really cool, but I was so involved in hockey. There's actually a huge advantage being a hockey player in speed skating. In the start of a race, you can tell who's a hockey player. They're just such a big advantage for the start, because a lot of speed skaters don't have that fast twitch that you get from playing hockey for so long." (teamusa.org, 09 Nov 2021, 26 Mar 2015; shawlocal.com, 25 Jul 2017; US Speedskating YouTube channel, 02 Nov 2016; olympics.com, 12 Feb 2016)
MUSICIAN
He has been making music since age 14 and has taken music theory classes. "I really like the recording aspect of it. That way I can jam out with myself. I love to go jam out with other people, but in most cases I don't have a full day to find a group of people to play with. Having my own recording stuff I can loop my own sounds and work on my own music. [US rapper] Mac Miller's part of the reason I got into music. He's not just rapping, he's making music. It's a song. I really respected him as an artist, and that's what got me into making and producing my own music." (Instagram profile, 10 Aug 2023; teamusa.org, 09 Nov 2021)
"I played ice hockey and decided I wanted to go faster."
Ryan Shimabukuro [national], USA