Deaf speed skater has Olympic aspirations
04/12/2012
By: Bonnie Gonzalez
Speed Skater Michael Hubbs has his sights on the 2014 Winter Olympics.
A graduate of the Texas School for the Deaf, Hubbs is fast on the ice. Now, he’s training to make it to the Olympics.
His career began when he was 10 years old with roller skating. He became a serious skater at the age of 12 and traveled for competition until the age of 16.
“By the time I was 16, I started skating on a national level. Later on, when I was 27, I went to the ice and I realized ice skating was quite a bit different from roller and inline skating,” he said. “It’s tougher because it’s more technical. It requires more sensitivity to the ice and requires more care to keep your center of gravity lower. It’s quite a bit more challenging and I enjoy it.”
Hubbs is training hard to attain his goal. Hubbs says he can sometimes spend up to nine hours, six days a week, on the ice.
“I know that as a deaf person, the deafness doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter if you can hear or if you’re deaf, you can still overcome that and I’m really fired up,” Hubbs said. “I love the ice, and I can’t imagine not skating on the ice.”
If you want to follow his journey to the 2014 Winter Olympics visit http://www.michaelwhubbs.com.
Source:
http://austin.ynn.com/content/sports/284139/deaf-speed-skater-has-olympic-aspirations