Eric Heiden, winner of an unprecedented five individual Olympic gold medals in long track speedskating. He's the owner and surgeon at Heiden Orthopedics in Park City, Heber City, and Salt Lake City. Pictured here at the 2024 YSA JANS Winter Welcome at the Stein Eriksen Lodge, with a note from Maria Arias. Photo: Brian Boudreau

PARK CITY, Utah — Eric Heiden remains the only speedskater in Olympic history to win gold in all five events in a single Game. Some consider him the best overall speed skater (short and long distances) in the sport’s history.

Thirteen-year-old Maria Arias, who recently moved from Colombia to Park City, is getting to know Heiden “up close and personal.” Back in Colombia, Arias competed in inline skating, one of the nation’s most popular sports. Now, in Park City, she’s found her place in the speedskating community, supported by Youth United.

Park City Speedskating Club's Maria Arias who came from inline skating in Columbia. — Park City Speedskating Club’s Maria Arias came from in-line skating in Colombia. Photo: Brian Boudreau

“The club is about 25% minorities, and Maria has really come out of her shell since she joined us,” said Brian Boudreau, head coach and president of the Park City Speedskating Club.

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Arias has also seen early success on the ice. At a recent international speedskating event in Salt Lake City, she reached the finals and even won one of the races, competing among 250 athletes. “She made major strides in a short time, especially never having been on ice before,” Boudreau said. “It sort of surprised me; I didn’t think winning a first-ever race on ice was possible. She was a warrior out there.”

At the Youth Sports Alliance’s Jans Winter Welcome fundraiser, Arias, one of 25 Athlete Greeters, had a chance encounter with Heiden. Speaking through a translator, she asked him to buy a drawing ticket, mentioning that she skates with the Park City Speedskating Club. Unaware to whom she was talking, she made a lasting impression on Heiden, one of 10 Olympians there representing as many sports.

Later in the evening, Heiden sat down at an unassigned open spot at his table. He saw a card in front of him, one of the hundreds of heartfelt, handwritten notes prepared by young athletes from a dozen different sports, 70 from the Speedskating Club alone, and the only one she had created. Coincidentally, when he opened the card, it was written in Spanish by Arias. “I told Eric, ‘This is fate,’” Boudreau said. “This is what this event is all about, connecting him to someone like Maria through sport.”

The encounter resonated with Heiden, a staunch supporter of local youth sports.

Speedskater and Park City High School alum Casey Dawson also had a standout moment recently, breaking a 16-year record in Wisconsin for the 5,000 meters and clinching the U.S. Championship in the 5,000 for the second consecutive year. “He qualified to compete in the fall world cups in Japan and China in the 1,500m and 5,000m. He’s already qualified for the men’s Team Pursuit,” his mother, Tammy, told TownLift.

This year, fall competitions usually held at the Utah Olympic Oval were relocated to Canada due to delayed safety equipment deliveries, as cited by the International Skating Union. This allowed Dawson to attend the 2024 Jans Winter Welcome. The Park City Speedskating Club has also upgraded its padding system, ensuring that the Park City Ice Arena is prepared for future events and young athletes like Arias.

Dawson is set to compete today in Japan in the Four Continents Championships.