Olympic Athlete Profile (1 of 25)- Heather Richardson (USA, speed skating)

Since we are generally based in North Carolina, I thought a profile of American speed skater Heather Richardson, 20, of High Point, NC, would be a great place to begin with our series which will profile Winter Olympic athletes from around the globe. She is an alumnus of High Point Central High School.

Richardson, who turns 21 on March 20, currently resides in Salt Lake City, Utah, where she worked at a Bed, Bath and Beyond part-time during her training. She clinched a place on the US Speed skating team in three events (500 meter, 1,000 meter and 1,500 meters) during the U.S. Speed Skating Championships in Kearns, Utah, in December.

The North Carolina native actually stared out as an inline skater before switching to the ice two years ago. She will compete on Tuesday in the 500 meters race at 4:00 p.m. (eastern time). Richardson will round out her Olympics debut with the 1,000 meters race on Thursday, also at 4 p.m. and the 1,500 meters on Sunday, Feb. 21 at 6 p.m.

Richardson is the second speed skater from the Triad region of North Carolina to compete at the Winter Olympics. Speed skater turned Darfur political activist Joey Cheek from Greensboro won gold at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Italy.

When asked by the local newspaper "The News-Record" what she missed most about home, Richardson replied: "A Cheerwine slushie would be great right now."

Her teammates include Jilleanne Rookard and Jennifer Rodriguez, also known as J-Rod.

In an interview with Winston-Salem NBC affiliate WXII, Richardson said she was both nervous and excited about competing in Vancouver, adding that she was amazed that her journey which started at a roller skating rink in High Point had taken her to the Winter Olympics.

Richardson is not the only female speed skater from a Southern state. Long-track speed skater Lauren Choewinski, 21, who now also resides in Utah, grew up in Rock Hill, SC, (my mom's hometown) just outside Charlotte, NC. Like Richardson, Choewinski started out roller skating. She started her journey at the Roller Magic roller skating rink in Rock Hill.

OLYMPICS UPDATE: I actually experienced one of those proverbial busy days where not much got accomplished, so I wasn't able to watch any Olympic footage.

But, I did find out that American short track speed skater Apolo Ohno became the most decorated American winter athlete ever when he won a silver medal in the 1,500 meters. On his Twitter page, Ohno congratulated the gold medal winner Lee Jung-Su of South Korea. "The Vancouver Sun" reported that Canadian Charles Havelin, a pre-Olympic favorite failed to get passed the semi-final rounds in the short track event.

American Hannah Kearney won gold in women's free-style skiing, but the big news in Canada was that their competitor Jennifer Heil (pictured) got a silver.

Heil told "The Vancouver Sun" that while she wanted to win gold, she was pleased with the outcome:

"Of course, I wanted gold but I won silver----I'm happy with my performance---I really felt like I was standing on the shoulders of so many Canadians."

The Twitter page for Team USA hockey reported that players Phil Kessel, Brian Burke and Ron Wilson had arrived in Vancouver.

Dutch speed skater Sven Kramer set an Olympic record with his gold-medal performance in the 5,000 meter race.

Anastazia Kozmin won Slovakia's first Winter Olympic gold in the 7.5 kilometer biathlon.

"The Washington Post" reported that Romanian women's luger Violete Stramaturaru crashed during her competition which forced out of the games, reminding spectators of the tragic event that claimed the life of a Georgian men's luge competitor during the games' opening day.