Photo by Steve Penland

Name: Lily Miller

Age: 14

Hometown: Oak Park, IL

Club: Franklin Park Speedskating Club

Coach: Steve Penland

US Speedskating: Who inspires you in speedskating?

Lily Miller: This season, I competed in the Long Track Championships in Milwaukee and was inspired while watching Brittany Bowe, Heather Richardson and Sugar Todd skate.  They all got season bests and Bowe and Richardson set track records.

When I practice at the Pettit, it is common to be working out on the oval at the same time as Bonnie Blair, Dave Cruikshank, Shani Davis and Emery Lehman.  It’s inspiring to see Olympians skating as I’m training for my meets.  It encourages me to commit more to my training.  I also get to see other skaters at all levels working hard – skaters like Brandon Molenda, Sarah Warren, Colleen Scholtz and Hannah Bosman.  They inspire me and push me to work harder.

Emery Lehman graduated from my high school – Oak Park River Forest – last year.  I first met Emery when I tried short track speedskating at the age of 8.  I’ve watched how hard he has worked.  Watching Emery achieve his place on the Olympic team and seeing him compete at Sochi was exciting.

USS: Where will you be in 10 years?

LM: I will have graduated from college, hopefully I will be travelling, working hard and training at speedskating.

USS: What other sports do you play?

LM: Badminton-I compete on the freshman Badminton team at school.  In the past, I’ve played soccer and done gymnastics.

USS: What are your other hobbies?

LM: I am in psychology club and enjoy reading, drawing, photography and music.  I love comedy shows.  This summer, I will be busy with dryland training, a language immersion program in Toulouse, France and a service project in Appalachia this summer.

USS: How did you get involved in speedskating?

LM: I started skating at 2.  By third grade, I had become bored with figure skating.  Around that time, someone recommended that I try speedskating as I loved to race around the track with my dad and grandfather.  For the first few years, I loved racing short track and did a few long track pack meets.  In the last few years, I didn’t do much racing.  This year I committed to Long Track, I train in Milwaukee and love everything about long track.  It is great that my coach, Steve Penland, has been dedicated to helping me at each stage of interest.

USS: Greatest accomplishment?

LM: This season, my greatest accomplishment was achieving at least one personal best time at every competition and time trial.

USS: Favorite subject in school? 

LM: English-I love to read

USS: What are your goals for speedskating in the next few years?

LM: I’ll be working hard at dryland training this summer and am looking forward to next season. I will continue to work on improving my technique and times.

I love competing and training but I also really enjoy the downtime when I hang out with other skaters. I have friends from around the country because of speedskating. Making my first trip to Salt Lake for AmCup this year was fantastic. My family learned to curl, we visited the Olympic Museum and skied in Park City.