Peter Riches

Club / Team

Aldwych Speed Skating Club: London, ENG

Injuries	In early 2017 he crashed into another skater and sliced the top of his knee as well as piercing his arm. He competed two weeks later at the 2017 European Youth Olympic Winter Festival in Erzurum, Turkiye, but at that event his knee became swollen and scans showed a partial laceration to his quadriceps. He did not skate for the next six months. (swlondoner.co.uk, 01 Feb 2018)
Other sports	He has competed in both short track and speed skating at international level. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Dec 2019)

Reason for choosing this sport

His father, David Riches, has worked as head of expeditions at Westminster School in London, England, and first took Peter ice skating at age seven while on a trip to the Finland Ice Marathon. He has been involved in skating ever since.

Hero / Idol

US short track skater Anton Apolo Ohno. (swlondoner.co.uk, 01 Feb 2018)

When and where did you begin this sport?

He began ice skating at age seven with his father. He initially took up short track, and tried speed skating in 2014 during a weekend British speed skating camp in Inzell, Germany.

Sporting philosophy / motto	"I want at least eight Olympic medals. I want to be one of the best skaters in history. I want to know that if I'm going to put my life into something, I want to be the best at it." (swlondoner.co.uk, 01 Feb 2018)
Other information	MOVE TO THE NETHERLANDS In 2019 he moved from London, England, to Heerenveen in the Netherlands for better training opportunities. He previously trained at the Aldwych Speed Skating Club in Guildford, and would also do inline skating in Richmond Park in London. However, the lack of a 400m track in Great Britain meant that he would often travel to The Hague in the Netherlands to train. In September 2019 he announced that he had decided to relocate to the Netherlands. "For me, to skate both long track and short track at the level to which I aspire, I saw no better opportunity [than moving to the Netherlands]." (Instagram profile, 15 Sep 2019; GB speed skating Facebook page, 02 Sep 2015) INJURY UPSIDE After suffering a laceration to his quadriceps muscle in 2017 he was not allowed to skate for six months. He used the time to pass his high school exams, and also spent time studying speed skating footage from previous Olympic Winter Games, until his muscle was completely rehabilitated. "The injury was a blessing in disguise definitely, as I don't think I would have trained as hard." (swlondoner.co.uk, 01 Feb 2018)

www.facebook.com/peter.riches.940

Name of coach

Richard Shoebridge [national, short track], GBR