Jessica Smith

Jessica Smith (born October 14, 1983) is an American long track speed skater and short track speed skater and former World Champion inline speed skater.

As a young girl, Smith was involved in a variety of activities including ballet, modeling, roller skating, and ice hockey.

She eventually settled on roller skating and made the United States' Junior World Inline Championships Team at age 12.

She won 15 gold medals at the junior level before moving up the senior level at age 16.

By 2007, Smith had collected 16 senior World Championships gold medals.

After 2007, Smith switched to short track speed skating on the ice in hopes of making the Olympics.

She would remain with Dunn until she gave up inline in 2007.

At age twelve, Smith became the youngest inline skater to make a Junior World Team.

Over the next three years, she collected 15 gold medals at the junior level.

At sixteen, she made the Senior World Team.

She collected 16 senior gold medals over the next few years, wrapping up her inline career with a Pan American Gold Medal in 2007.

At the 2007 Inline World Championships, she suffered a shoulder injury that required surgery.

After 2007, Smith transitioned to short track speed skating.

It was a tough decision – she was making a living as an inline skater and transitioning would require that she move away from her family in Metro Detroit for the first time.

But, winning and making money was not enough for Smith so she make the switch.

"I decided to pursue my final goal and dream of becoming an Olympian," she explained.

"The only way to do it was to make the switch".

She moved to Salt Lake City and joined Derek Parra's Wheels on Ice Program.

According to Smith, the transition from an elite athlete in inline to a beginner in short track was difficult and "humbling".

Smith briefly moved to Milwaukee to try long track speed skating, but did not like it.

"If you put me next to someone, I can outrace [them]," she explained.

"But if you put me on the line by myself, I just can’t pull it together."

She returned to Utah where national short track coach Jae Su Chun saw something in Smith that made him believe she could be elite.

She made the US World Cup team each year from 2008–10.

She made the 2009 World Championships, but narrowly missed the 2010 Olympics.

After the disappointment, Smith rededicated herself to the sport and made the 2011 and 2012 World Cup and World Championships teams.

She won a bronze at the 2011 World Team Championships and a silver at the 2012 World Championships.

When national coach Jae Su Chun was dismissed from the team in 2012, Smith stayed with him, forgoing support from the national team.

Smith made the US World Cup and World Championships Teams in 2013.

At the 2014 Olympic Trials, she won all three events.

As of 2014, Smith holds the US National Record in the 500 meters and has won twelve World Cup medals.

Jessica Smith was born in Dearborn, Michigan to parents Rick and Reina Smith.

She began roller skating at age one, competing in her first race at age two.

In addition to skating, Smith took ballet and tap dancing lessons, and modeled.

Staying scrape and injury free while skating proved to be too much of a burden, so she dropped ballet, dance, and modeling.

She began to play ice hockey while continuing to roller skate.

After inline skating and playing hockey competitively for several years, she decided to concentrate on inline to see how far she could take it, citing a preference for individual sports over team sports.

Smith grew up in Melvindale, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit.

She graduated from Cabrini High School in Allen Park, Michigan.

Smith was coached by her father until age nine when family friend, Rob Dunn, took over.