Casey Dawson stepped off the ice in Milwaukee with the kind of relief that comes only after years of unfinished business. The 25‑year‑old long‑track skater from Park City, Utah, earned his place on the 2026 U.S. Olympic team by winning the men’s 5,000 meters at the U.S. Speed Skating Trials.
His qualifying race unfolded at the Pettit National Ice Center, where the country’s top athletes gathered to chase limited spots for the Milan‑Cortina Winter Games. For Dawson, the moment carried extra weight. He missed the 5,000 meters in 2022 after a prolonged battle with COVID‑19 kept him from traveling until hours before his first race.
This time, he arrived healthy, prepared, and determined to reclaim the event he never got to skate on the Olympic stage.
Dawson’s Breakthrough Performance
Dawson won the 5,000 meters in 6:12.857, securing the first men’s long‑track spot of the trials and completing a personal arc he has been chasing since Beijing. He described this season as smoother and more controlled, a stark contrast to 2022, when he tested positive for COVID‑19 more than 50 times and missed both the opening ceremonies and his signature event…