Cooper McLeod

Hobbies	Music, baking. (Athlete, 09 Feb 2023)
Injuries	He sustained injuries in a bicycle accident that affected his ability to train ahead of the 2022/23 season. (usspeedskating.org, 12 Sep 2023) At age eight he broke both arms after crashing into the wall at the ice rink. He was in a cast for six weeks. (kirklandreporter.com, 07 Oct 2015)
Other sports	He has competed in roller speed skating at national level in the United States of America. (kirklandreporter.com, 07 Oct 2015)

Reason for choosing this sport

He became interested in skating on ice after watching the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, and friends of his family owned a skating rink.

Most influential person in career	Coach Chang Lee, and his father. (usspeedskating.org, 12 Sep 2023; teamusa.org, 07 Nov 2015)
Awards and honours	At age 14 he was named Long Track Male Junior Development Skater of the Year by US Speedskating. (teamusa.org, 07 Nov 2015) In 2008 and 2014 he was named Northwest Regional Inline Skater of the Year in the United States of America. (kirklandreporter.com, 07 Oct 2015) In July 2011 he was named SportsKid of the Month by Sports Illustrated Kids Magazine. (kirklandreporter.com, 07 Oct 2015)

Name of coach	Ryan Shimabukuro [national], USA
When and where did you begin this sport?	He began skating at 11 months old and entered his first inline skating competition at age three. He took up short track and speed skating on ice at age eight.

Sporting philosophy / motto	"True success comes from increasing your effort to meet your imagination, not decreasing your imagination to meet your effort." (Facebook profile, 03 May 2022)
Other information	MISSING BEIJING 2022 He believes that missing out on the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing has ultimately had a positive effect on his career. "I wasn't ready for the moment because I wasn't mature enough yet. Not making the Olympics was terrible, but it was a result of that. I believe that even though it was terrible at the time, it helped teach me things that I'm going to be able to carry a lot further into my career. In the long run, I think it's going to end up being a great thing. I had a lot of hopes for the 2022/23 season, and they ended up paying off. It was a whole long summer of hard work, training and personal growth within that, so seeing it pay off was fantastic." (usspeedskating.org, 12 Sep 2023)

www.facebook.com/cooper.mcleod.378
twitter.com/supercooperusa

Memorable sporting achievement	Making his first World Cup team. (Athlete, 09 Feb 2023)
Ambitions	To compete at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan-Cortina. (usspeedskating.org, 12 Sep 2023)