Brittany Bowe is one of the many athletes who will represent the United States in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China! The 33-year-old Florida-native will compete as part of the speedskating team, and even though she’s hopefully going to bring home a gold medal for Team USA with her ice-skating abilities, Brittany is an incredibly versatile and talented athlete! Here are five important things to know about Brittany before cheering her on in the Beijing Olympics.
1. Brittany’s been in the Olympics twice before.
This isn’t Brittany’s first rodeo! She competed in the last two winter Olympics for Team USA. She made her Olympic debut in Sochi in 2014, where her team placed 6th in the Team Pursuit competition, via her team bio. She also came in 8th place in 1000m, 13th in the 500m, and 14th in the 1500m. She won a bronze medal during her second Olympics for the Team Pursuit competition in 2018. She also came in 4th for the 1000m race, 5th for the 500m, and 5th in the 1500m. Seeing how she did better during her second competition, maybe the third time’s a charm!
2. She’s a world champion speedskater.
Outside of the Olympics, Brittany has proven herself as one of the best speedskaters in the world. She has seven gold medals from speedskating world championship events from throughout her career. Most recently, she won the gold in the 2021 and 2019 world champion 1000m races. She’s also won overall gold medals for world sprint championships in the past.
3. She’s a world record holder.
With so many championships for the 1000m races, it’s no surprise to learn that Brittany is the current world record holder for the 1000m event! She set her current best in March 2019, while competing in Salt Lake City, Utah, via Speedskating Results. Her time clocked in at 1.11,61. She was also the past record holder for the 1500m event! She broke the record held by Canadian speedskater Cindy Klassen for 10 years before her in November 2015. Unfortunately, her time at the top was short-lived, and she was dethroned by Heather Bergsma a week later. The record is currently held by Japanese speedskater Miho Takagi.
4. She’s an advocate for gay athletes.
Brittany has been a strong advocate for inclusion in sports, especially among members of the LGBTQ+ community. “As a gay athlete, Brittany reaches a community that is often times affected by prejudice and exclusion,” her bio on her website states. “Brittany’s hope is that people can draw from her experiences on and off the ice — from her success as well as her shortcomings, from her determination and perseverance to overcome, and from her strength and confidence in her identity and sexual orientation.”
5. Besides speedskating, she’s also been an inline skater and basketball player
Before dedicating herself to speedskating, Brittany played other sports! She got her start skating, not on the ice, but at the roller rink! She was an inline skater from 2002 until 2008. After rising the ranks of inline speedskating, Brittany hit the court and played point guard for Florida Atlantic University, before she dedicated herself to only speedskating.