Keith Bryant’s first moment being caught up in the Olympic Movement was as a 10-year-old in Manlius, New York, a leafy suburb of Syracuse, watching the Lake Placid 1980 Winter Olympics and seeing Eric Heiden win five gold medals.
Fast forward to this fall and after hearing from the board of US Speedskating that it had chosen him as the new chief executive officer, a full-circle moment for Bryant came when the first person to congratulate him on his new position was none other than Heiden.
Bryant succeeds Ted Morris, who held the position for 13 years and ushered in an era of financial and competitive success for the organization. Bryant is no stranger to speedskating even with his first Olympic experience as a fan; he used to run the Olympic job opportunities program for the USOPC and as such, helped several speedskaters get jobs that would allow them to also focus on training for the Games.
“When I saw Ted was retiring, I said, ‘Sorry Ted that you’re retiring, but if I had to pick one NGB to run, it would be speedskating,’” Bryant told me as we watched competition during the recent U.S. Short Track Championships & Fall World Cup Qualifier at the Olympic Oval in Kearns, Utah. “I have friendships that have lasted 20-plus years that are from speedskating.”
