J. R. Celski

John Robert Celski, better known as J.R. Celski, was born on July 17, 1990, in Monterey, Calif. His parents, Bob and Sue Celski, and older brothers, Chris and David, welcomed him into their family. As a 3-year-old, Celski began speed skating, and at the age of 4, he joined an inline speed team that was coached by Mike Pattison in Federal Way, Wash. His love for the sport quickly blossomed, leading to him competing nationally at the age of 6 and winning his first national championship in Fresno, Calif., at the age of 8. In 2002, at the age of 12, he made the transition from inline skating to ice skating and began training in Tacoma, Wash., with the Puget Sound Speed Skating Club. Celski moved to Long Beach, Calif., at the age of 14 to train with SCSSA and coach Wilma Boomstra and pursue his dream of competing in the Olympics. In 2006 he won his first international competition when he represented the United States in Miercurea Ciuc, Romania. After graduating from Lakewood High School in Lakewood, Calif., in 2008, he moved to Salt Lake City and joined the U.S. National Short Track Team, and 2009 was a big year for him as he chased his Olympic dream. In the 2009 Junior World Championship, he earned a gold medal in the 500-meter, breaking the previous junior world record, a silver medal in the 1,500-meter, and a gold medal in the 3,000-meter relay. Celski followed those accomplishments up with gold medals in the 3,000-meter individual, and 5,000-meter relay, along with bronze medals in the 1,500-meter and 1,000-meter at the 2009 World Short Track Speed Skating Championships. After making his first Olympic team in 2009, he won his first Olympic medal, a bronze, in the 1,500-meter, then went on to win a gold medal in the 5,000-meter relay at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. When he came home from the Olympics, he took some time off to pursue a new beginning in filmmaking. After returning to the ice in 2011 to pursue another Olympic dream, he became the first person to skate under 40 seconds in the 500-meter, breaking the world record in 2012 in Calgary, Canada, with a time of 39.937 seconds. Celski made his second Olympic team in 2014 and won a silver medal in the 5,000-meter relay at the Sochi Winter Olympic Games. Later in 2014, Celski underwent hip surgery and began competing again in the fall of 2015, at which time he set his sights on the 2018 Winter Olympics. In 2015 he and the crew from MAD Northwest won an Emmy for "The Otherside." In January 2018 he qualifed for the U.S. Olympic team, representing the U.S. at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang, South Korea.