Jonathan Kuck

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

Jonathan Kuck
Kuck at the World Allround Championships 2013 in Hamar
Personal information
Born (1990-03-14) March 14, 1990 (age 33)
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.

PersonalEdit

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.

CareerEdit

2014 Winter OlympicsEdit

TrialsEdit

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]

2010 Winter OlympicsEdit

GamesEdit

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 ChampionshipsEdit

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
Season Place 500m 5000m 1500m 10000m points
09/10   36.31 (3) 6:23.47 (4) 1:45.36 (1) 13:15.62 (4) 149.558
10/11 5 35.97 (9) 6:17.88 (8) 1:43.12 (2) 13:11.24 (6) 147.693
11/12 6 36.90 (10) 6:27.15 (8) 1:48.41 (11) 13:30.88 (6) 152.295
12/13 13 37.41 (18) 6:27.62 (9) 1:48.44 (12) 112.318

World Junior ChampionshipsEdit

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

Personal bestsEdit

Event Time Date Avg. speed Location
500 m 35.97 Feb 12, 2011 30.64 mph (49.31 km/h) Calgary
1000 m 1:09.25 Jan 4, 2011 31.89 mph (51.32 km/h) Salt Lake City
1500 m 1:43.12 Feb 13, 2011 31.85 mph (51.26 km/h) Calgary
3000 m 3:42.69† Oct 8, 2011 29.64 mph (47.70 km/h) Milwaukee
5000 m 6:16.28 Mar 23, 2012 29.28 mph (47.12 km/h) Heerenveen
10000 m 13:11.24 Feb 13, 2011 28.34 mph (45.61 km/h) Calgary
Team pursuit 3:41.58‡ Feb 27, 2010 30.37 mph (48.88 km/h) Vancouver

Key: ‡ = National Record † = Track Record

Last updated March 2, 2010.

ReferencesEdit

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

External linksEdit