Salt Lake Community College cheered on several students and alumni during the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Kristen Santos, Georgia Birkeland, Corinne Stoddard, Ethan Cepuran, Erin Jackson, and Ryan Pivirutto represented the United States and SLCC as members of the U.S. Speedskating (USS) team. Peta Owens-Liston, assistant director of public relations at SLCC, said the college is incredibly proud of its students and alumni Olympians.
“Not a lot of colleges across the country have so many Olympic athletes walking around on campus,” she said. “It’s wonderful that we can provide them access to education, as well as to our fitness technician program, while they are training for competition. Now we get to cheer them on as they compete in the 2022 Olympics.”
According to a post on SLCC’s blog, the college and U.S. Speedskating collaborated to provide higher education for Olympian hopefuls.
“In 2018, SLCC joined USS in support of speedskaters as the official higher education provider for students trying to realize their dream of competing in the Winter Games while also being able to attend college,” the blog post reads. “Jackson and Santos were enrolled at SLCC when the program began in 2018.”
Ted Morris, executive director of U.S. Speedskating, said of the collaboration, “The U.S. Speedskating and SLCC partnership has provided an amazing opportunity for our athletes to simultaneously pursue their athletic and academic goals.”
The athletes have been studying at SLCC while also training at the Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns.
“With SLCC covering tuition costs, our athletes now have a head start on their professional careers when their skating careers end,” Morris said.
After becoming the first Black woman to represent Team USA as a long-track speedskater four years ago, Jackson continued to make history in Beijing, becoming the first Black woman to win an individual Olympic medal in speedskating.
According to her personal website, Jackson earned an associate degree in computer science from SLCC in 2020 and is currently working toward a second degree in exercise science and kinesiology.
Cepuran, a SLCC alum, helped secure a bronze medal — the second Olympic medal for U.S. Speedskating at the time — in the men’s team pursuit.
SLCC alum Santos finished second place in her last qualifying race of the Beijing Games, relinquishing her opportunity to appear on the podium.
“While I’m disappointed with how the results turned out, I’m not disappointed in myself. I went out there and did everything I possibly could,” Santos told Team USA.
It remains unknown if the athletes will return to campus after the Olympics, Owens-Liston said, adding that the college will continue to share the Olympians’ progress on their social media and continue to offer outreach to athletes with hopes of competing in the Winter Games.
Shane Domer, high performance director for U.S. Speedskating, praised the support that SLCC provides the program.
“Our partnership with SLCC has enabled us to deliver world-class sports science support to our athletes. The SLCC sports science staff have been a tremendous resource in the areas of performance assessment, research, and education for our staff,” he said. “We feel that this level of support gives us an advantage over our competition.”
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