Olympic Speed Skater Eddy Alvarez
Olympic Speed Skater Eddy Alvarez is trying to win a place in his first Winter Olympics in short track speed skating.
He has a grueling speed skating training schedule that is eight hours a day, six days a week.
Speed skaters go forty miles an hour around a rink.
All speed skaters lift weights, run and cycle.
They skate on two razor-sharp blades.
His nickname is Eddy the Jet and he's only 23 years old.
He roller skated as a kid in Miami and transitioned to speed skating as a child.
He started speed skating when he was seven years old.
He has won National and World Cup medals in speed skating.
Two years ago he had a devastating knee injury that nearly derailed him.
He was bed ridden for a month.
And of course his doctor said he would never skate again.
I've found that when a doctor says that to an athlete, the athlete must prove him or her wrong! Eddy tore his patella tendons.
He found this out by getting an ultrasound on his knees.
Apparently they were in threads and he didn't know it.
There were a total of 12 tears.
His patellas were like dangling strings and the doctor was impressed that he could skate in the condition his knees were in.
That's the reason he didn't qualify for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.
He didn't skate for 24 months after surgery on his knees.
He got depressed and the only thing that has kept him going is his family.
Eddy knows that it would mean the world to his family seeing him at the Winter Olympic Games on the podium with a medal as a speed skater.
After recovering, Eddy's now considered one of the top prospects to compete in the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi Russia.
He works out six to eight hours a day for a 42 second race.
Now that's what I call dedication! Soon to be Olympic speed skater, Eddy Alvarez' speed skating dream is to stand on the podium with a medal on his chest at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games.
In a video he takes us through his daily speed skating workout routine.
I watched it and it's absolutely grueling.
The cross-over to build lactic acid and box squats with weights are incredible.
The box jumps and other jumps look painfully tough to do.
They all take incredible strength.
I guess if you're dedicated and you want something that not many athletes achieve, you get used to it but I'm not as dedicated as a prospective Olympic speed skater.
But if you're going to compete in the Winter Olympic Games you need to be more than dedicated.
He has a grueling speed skating training schedule that is eight hours a day, six days a week.
Speed skaters go forty miles an hour around a rink.
All speed skaters lift weights, run and cycle.
They skate on two razor-sharp blades.
His nickname is Eddy the Jet and he's only 23 years old.
He roller skated as a kid in Miami and transitioned to speed skating as a child.
He started speed skating when he was seven years old.
He has won National and World Cup medals in speed skating.
Two years ago he had a devastating knee injury that nearly derailed him.
He was bed ridden for a month.
And of course his doctor said he would never skate again.
I've found that when a doctor says that to an athlete, the athlete must prove him or her wrong! Eddy tore his patella tendons.
He found this out by getting an ultrasound on his knees.
Apparently they were in threads and he didn't know it.
There were a total of 12 tears.
His patellas were like dangling strings and the doctor was impressed that he could skate in the condition his knees were in.
That's the reason he didn't qualify for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.
He didn't skate for 24 months after surgery on his knees.
He got depressed and the only thing that has kept him going is his family.
Eddy knows that it would mean the world to his family seeing him at the Winter Olympic Games on the podium with a medal as a speed skater.
After recovering, Eddy's now considered one of the top prospects to compete in the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi Russia.
He works out six to eight hours a day for a 42 second race.
Now that's what I call dedication! Soon to be Olympic speed skater, Eddy Alvarez' speed skating dream is to stand on the podium with a medal on his chest at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games.
In a video he takes us through his daily speed skating workout routine.
I watched it and it's absolutely grueling.
The cross-over to build lactic acid and box squats with weights are incredible.
The box jumps and other jumps look painfully tough to do.
They all take incredible strength.
I guess if you're dedicated and you want something that not many athletes achieve, you get used to it but I'm not as dedicated as a prospective Olympic speed skater.
But if you're going to compete in the Winter Olympic Games you need to be more than dedicated.
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