KEARNS, Utah — These days at the Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns, you'll find all sorts of skaters. From those training for competition to young kids just learning about the joy of a clean sheet of ice.
The oval is where you'll also find Derek Parra, as the speedskater who won gold in the 2002 Salt Lake City Games now serves as the arena's director of sports.
"You can see great stories of kids that have come up and moved on and are winning medals through our program," he said just days ahead of Utah making its final pitch to win the 2034 Olympics. "To see them out here learning like this, the one thing that goes through my mind is, man, I started late and I wish I would have started earlier."
Parra believes many kids who now use the Oval will be the perfect age when Salt Lake City hosts its second Olympics.
While the facility has adult and youth hockey, curling, and figure skating for all ages, it should come as no shock that Parra's heart lies with speedskating.
Skaters who train at the oval do so with some of the best, and on an ice sheet that has set a world record every single year.
"It's the world's fastest ice," explained Olympic hopeful Zachariah Hess. "It's high altitude, the best reputation."
Hess moved from Georgia just to compete and train at an elite level at an elite location.
"I love it," he said of the Oval. "Enough to move my whole job, my life out here. My family raised a GoFundMe to support me to move out here and I'm trying to chase whatever I can."
As Hess dreams of future Olympics, Parra still remembers his gold medal win in the 1500M event and the awards ceremony like the day it happened.
"When it happens, it's like you're in shock. You know, it’s like a dream," he said. "My recollection of that moment on the podium, hear the national anthem, closing my eyes. And in that brief second, seeing the faces of people that helped me get there."
Parra hopes he can now be that mentor to athletes in 2034.
"Being that person now on the path of somebody else, I'm diving in," he said. "I've told my story for 22 years, I can't wait to hear the stories of these kids out here or kids in Park City or kids all over the country, and what they were thinking on July 24 when the announcement came out."
So regardless of whether you’ve put on your skates for years or have never stepped foot on the ice, Parra's message is to get inspired.
"Whether you're a recreational person that you want to come in or you want to hope you have Olympic dreams, that's life. That's human drama, that's that sport. That's dreaming, and that's what I'm most excited about."
