Maria Lamb

Hobbies

Cycling, hiking, cooking, baking, sewing, knitting. (NOC Media Guide, 2014)

Reason for choosing this sport

She switched to speed skating after finding figure skating too slow.

Most influential person in career

Coach Tom Cushman. (Athlete, 10 Mar 2012)

When and where did you begin this sport?

She took up speed skating in 1994 at age eight.

Injuries	A throat infection and severe migraines nearly stopped her from competing in the US trials for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi. She was in hospital two days before the trials, but successfully qualified from the event. (nbcolympics.com, 01 Jan 2014) She was involved in a car crash while travelling in a taxi in November 2013 that resulted in a back injury. (twincities.com, 19 Feb 2014) A few weeks before the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, she fell while training and severely cut her right ankle. (marialamb.com, 12 Feb 2012) In 2010 she was diagnosed with piriformis syndrome, a muscle disease which causes pain and tingling in the buttocks. Initially doctors said it would end her skating career, but by the end of the 2009/10 season she was completely rehabilitated. (marialamb.com, 12 Feb 2012)
Sporting philosophy / motto	"I skate because I love it. I've never been the person that races for one Olympic performance every four years. I skate and I race because that's truly what I love to do." (ONS, 19 Feb 2014)

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