SALT LAKE CITY, UT (Good Things Utah) – Conor McDermott-Mostowy put on his first pair of skates at age 2. Conor says he wasn’t a great skater. He even says his past coaches told him they didn’t peg him to be someone at his caliber. Conor says if you learn something than it’s not a failure. He says he’s setting his sights on the next Olympics.
Conor was born in Washington, DC and now lives in Salt Lake City. He took up short track at about age 10 and began long track speed skating at age 17. “I learned to skate when I was two, so it’s really something I’ve always done, but I was never interested in playing hockey or figure skating. When I was about 10 years old, my family and I were skating on the C&O Canal in DC when it froze over and some guy went by on speed skates and I said, ‘I want those skates!’ So my parents found a local club in DC for me to try speed skating, and the rest is history.”
Conor has been open about coming out of the closet in 2021 after his first national championship. He’s had thousands respond positively to him and says its becoming easier to accept. McDermott-Mostowy said: “As a gay athlete, I think visibility is extremely important. (Sports) is an area in which gay people are underrepresented, and hopefully by seeing more ‘out’ athletes, more gay people will feel comfortable coming out and participating in sports.”…