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Excerpts from Post Dispatch Article of 2.10.07

St. Louis' speed skaters are proud of their Olympic
tradition. At least one skater with ties to the area
has represented the United States in 11
consecutive Winter Games. The next generation is
working to keep the streak alive.

The current generation isn't ready to go quietly.
J.P. Kepka, bronze medalist in the short track
5,000-meter relay in Turin, took time off to get
married and seems to have rebounded from
injuries. Kepka finished fourth in the 500-meter
final at the World Cup Short Track championships
last weekend in the Netherlands.

Keep an eye out, though, for a pair of St. Louisans
who switched from short track and are making
waves in long track. Patrick Meek and Matt
Plummer represented the United States at the
World University Games last month in Turin. Meek,
21, was a member of the U.S. contingent that
finished eighth in team pursuit. He also finished
11th in the 10,000 meters and 26th at 5,000
meters. Plummer, 19, finished 16th in the 500
meters, 15th at 1,000 meters and 33rd in the
1,500.

Meek, a graduate of St. Louis University High in
2004, called his trip to Turin "one of the coolest
skating experiences I've ever been a part of. It was
a miniature Olympics. We stayed in the village. It
was even better than being with the junior world
team. We'd see Swedish hockey players in the
village and eat with the Lithuanian curlers in the
cafeteria."
The pair have much in common. Both ran cross
country in high school, which helped build their
stamina and improve their starts in skating.
Plummer, who graduated from Chaminade in May,
considered continuing his running career in
college but in the long run focused on skating to
narrow the choice of schools. Like Meek, he
enrolled at the University of Utah, a stone's throw
from the Olympic long track oval in Salt Lake City.

Both also were members of the St. Louis Metros
skating club.

"The Metros do a great job of everything with so
little financial support," Plummer said. "All the
coaches volunteer, but I had multiple Olympians to
help me out. They make their tradition known. It
helps you stay with the sport. I wouldn't be here
without them."

Each made a splash shortly after converting from
short track to long track. Meek made the jump two
years ago, in part because he was tired of the
pounding from the spills and collisions in short
track. After less than a year, he was ranked in the
U.S. top 10 at 3,000 and 5,000 meters.

"The hardest part was the mental side," Meek said.
"Matt and I had grown up racing other people,
racing across the line. Everything in long track is
against the clock. But the racers are more
supportive."

Plummer started racing on the long oval this fall,
and his transition has been even faster, "extremely
surprising," he said. "I reached my goal and more."
After the World University Games, Plummer
finished first in the 500, 1,500 and 5,000 meters at
the U.S. Junior Long Track Championships in
Roseville, Minn. He'll represent the United States
at the World Junior Championships later this
month in Innsbruck, Austria.

"Coming from short track, you're used to turning,"
Plummer said. "In long track, the turns are much
more wide, so short trackers bring an advantage
of tighter, faster turns."

The pair has one final thing in common: their
long-term goal is making the Olympic team in
Vancouver in 2010.

"Matt's done a really good job," Meek said. "He's
been like my brother growing up, and it was nice
seeing him do so well. Being together in Torino
was great. He really is like part of the family. To be
together in Vancouver would be awesome."