Kristen Santos motivated by near miss to aim high on Olympic debut

Sitting out the PyeongChang 2018 Olympics was difficult for Kristen Santos.

But that heartbreak is what has kept her motivated for the next four years.

In 2017, she picked an injury that needed surgery a month before the U.S. Olympic Trials and could only finish just outside the automatic qualifying spots for the Games.

This time, Santos - who has had a breakout season - was the first skater to book a spot in the U.S. team for Beijing 2022.

And she could become the first American woman to win an Olympic short track medal in 12 years.

Olympic dream revived

Santos' career was growing from strength to strength before the trials for PyeongChang.

The former U.S. junior champion had scaled up from the World Junior Team and the 2016 Youth Olympic Games in Lillehammer, where she was part of the gold medal 3000m relay team.

But then during practice at a World Cup event in 2017, just a month before the U.S Trials, a fellow skater's blade sliced her hand and wrist.

"And then when I found out that I could skate, that I had to wear this arm cast, that I had to have people tie my skates for me, dress me… At that moment I had absolutely nothing to lose going into trials, so I was able to skate without the pressure and without putting pressure on myself,” she said in an episode of the On Her Turf podcast.

Santos almost made it, but fourth place was not quite enough.

And missing out on PyeongChang made her hungrier.

“I think right then and there I had realised, even if I had made the team, the way I was skating at that moment, I wasn’t going to make a difference at the Games, I wasn’t going to win,” Santos recalled.

“But that pushed me so much further these past four years, to know that that’s what I really want."

The Olympic dream delayed

Four years later, the U.S. record holder in the 500m and 1000m arrives in Beijing as a genuine medal contender.

She made some ‘"smart moves" over the last two seasons that has served as confirmation that she’s currently among the top short trackers.

"I know I’m capable of a lot in my sport, but it comes down to race strategy, moves during racing, things like that,” Santos said in an interview with Team USA.

"The main thing it comes down to is making smart moves — making a pass in the race at the right time, knowing when to stay in the back of the pack and when to go to the front, not using energy when you don’t have to."

Santos, who recently graduated with a degree in Kinesiology, explained how she stays focused: “I know that even when I’m very tired and I want to give up, even it’s that one extra lap that I can get in, that’s going to give me the confidence I need and the extra boost that I need to be able to do this,” she said.

"That one lap every single day — that’s 365 extra laps a year. That little extra bit every day makes such a big difference when it’s all put together and I think that’s really made me get this big jump forward.”

Santos' recent seasons have been a step in the right direction.

A huge leap for the girl who enjoyed time on ice as a figure skater aged three before switching skates at nine.

Her 2021-2022 season was highlighted by three podium finishes in the World Cup.

Santos - whose nickname at the rink is ‘Puff’ - picked up two bronze medals in the 1000m and 1500m at the Ice Ribbon, the venue for the Olympic events in Beijing.

October's World Cup victory in Nagoya, the first of her career, put her in a confident position ahead of her Olympic debut.

She told NBC Sports, "The first two, I was able to be a little bit more unexpected to people and they didn’t know exactly what I could do or what I would do.

"And then in the next set of World Cups, they kind of knew if I was coming around it was time to block someone."

The power of “positive talk”

Santos who was born and raised in Fairfield, Connecticut, but now lives in Salt Lake where she trains eight hours a day and six times a week with Team USA, is also chasing history.

Lillehammer 1994 was the last time an American woman clinched gold in short track with Cathy Turner retaining the 500m title she won at Albertville 1992.

That could change at the Ice Ribbon with Santos peaking on and off ice.

She said, "I’ve definitely learned how to calm myself down going into a race, how to focus on myself and give myself positive talk, things like that..

"One thing that has helped is keeping a training log, a notebook where I write down everything I do in practices. … It’s a physical representation of how hard I’ve worked and how far I’ve come, a reminder of what I am capable of."