Team USA speed skater John-Henry Krueger wins silver during his Olympic debut just 7 years after he took up the sport

  • John-Henry Krueger, 22, earned silver during the 1,000m speed skating final 
  • It was Krueger's Olympic debut after missing out on the Sochi Games in 2014
  • The skater from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, started training seven years ago
  • Canada’s Samuel Girard, 21, won the gold during the event 

Speed skater John-Henry Krueger, whose hero is Irish mixed martial artist Conor McGregor, showed true fighting spirit to clinch silver at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

Krueger, 22, secured the US its first individual speed skating medal since 2010 in the 1,000m final.

He missed out on the Sochi Games in 2014 through illness but finally made it to the Olympics and achieved glory at the first time of asking.

Speed skater John-Henry Krueger, 22, won silver during the Men's 1000m speed skating final

The skater almost beat Canadian Samuel Girard, but was overtaken in the end to earn second place. Krueger started skating seven years ago in Pennsylvania 

The skater almost beat Canadian Samuel Girard, but was overtaken in the end to earn second place. Krueger started skating seven years ago in Pennsylvania 

It was even more incredible as Krueger only began skating seven years ago at Pittsburgh Speedskating Club in Pennsylvania.

To make it to the Olympic winners’ podium he trained for up to eight hours a day.

Krueger said winning a silver medal was ‘the ultimate redemption.’

He said: ‘I'm finally able to put away the story about how I was a young kid who had swine flu and ended up missing the Olympics.

‘Now I'm the young kid from Pittsburgh who came back from an adversity and who ended up being the top in the world.' 

This was Krueger's (left) Olympic debut after he didn't make the team for the Sochi Games in 2014. Pictured is gold medalist Samuel Girard (middle) from Canada and bronze medalist Seo Yira (right) from South Korea 

This was Krueger's (left) Olympic debut after he didn't make the team for the Sochi Games in 2014. Pictured is gold medalist Samuel Girard (middle) from Canada and bronze medalist Seo Yira (right) from South Korea 

Towards the end of the race, three out of five skaters were taken out in a crash. Krueger (left) and Girard (back right) were left to race to the end. Girard beat Krueger for gold 

Towards the end of the race, three out of five skaters were taken out in a crash. Krueger (left) and Girard (back right) were left to race to the end. Girard beat Krueger for gold 

Krueger added: ‘Not only did I have to overcome the large athletic field that's in the sport, but there's always politics and other problems like in any other sport.

‘The journey me and my parents have been through the last four years has been filled with adversity.

‘Besides getting the Olympic medal, the second greatest thing is knowing all the decisions I made leading up to these Games were right. There were lots of hard decisions.’

While Krueger's parents was financially stable, their were still hard decisions for them to make in terms of paying for all the expenses that come with speed skating. 

Canada’s Samuel Girard won the gold, while South Korea’s Seo Yi-Ra claimed the bronze.  

Girad secured the gold after he narrowly avoided a crash in the final turn that took out three out of five of the speed skaters. 

The 21-year-old held off Krueger and earned his first Olympic medal. 

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