Shane Dobbin

Memorable sporting achievement	Winning four inline skating world titles. (Athlete, 08 Nov 2017)
Other sports	He is a four-time world champion in inline skating. (shanedobbins.blogspot.com, 28 Jan 2010)
Hero / Idol	US speed skaters Chad Hedrick, Derek Parra and KC Boutiette. (ONS, 01 Feb 2014)

When and where did you begin this sport?

He began inline skating at age eight. He switched to speed skating in 2008 in the Netherlands.

Sporting philosophy / motto	"Train smarter, not harder." (stuff.co.nz, 06 Feb 2018)
Famous relatives	His older brother Kalon has competed in inline skating and speed skating at international level. (SportsDeskOnline, 06 Feb 2015; Athlete, 12 Mar 2012)

Reason for choosing this sport

He and his older brother Kalon would do laps around their parent's service station forecourt on inline skates, initially because they enjoyed going fast. He switched to speed skating because he wanted to win a medal at the Olympic Winter Games.

Awards and honours

He was New Zealand's flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi. (insidethegames.biz, 07 Feb 2014) In August 2011 he was named Canterbury Alpine Ice Speed Skating Club's Speed Skater of the Year. (speedskating.co.nz, 29 Aug 2011)

Name of coach

Kalon Dobbin [brother], NZL

twitter.com/shanedobbin
instagram.com/shane_dobbin/

Club / Team

Hauraki Ice Skating Club: Auckland, NZL

Most influential person in career	His family. (Athlete, 08 Nov 2017)
Other information	RETIREMENT AND RETURN He retired from competitive speed skating after participating at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi. He was encouraged to return to the sport by fellow New Zealand speed skater Reyon Kay, who wanted to compete alongside Dobbin in the team pursuit at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang. "I got a call from Reyon explaining the possibility of the team pursuit. He looked at our times versus everyone else who competes in the team pursuit and he worked out we could theoretically be ranked third if we were all skating to our potential." (stuff.co.nz, 06 Feb 2018)