The idea that you should feel bad about yourself if you place second to last in a competition is not so valid when it’s the Olympics.
After his 5,000 meter race on Sunday, Oak Park speedskater Emery Lehman posted a photo on his Instagram with the caption: “Bad news: 21st out of 22nd skaters today. Good news: 21st in the World today.”
Two-time Olympian and 21-year-old Emery Lehman is beaming with positivity and trying his best to enjoy his time in Pyeongchang before he competes for the team pursuit on Feb. 21, when he stands a better chance at winning a medal.
“My favorite part so far is getting to meet all the famous athletes,” Lehman said. “They were like heroes for me growing up.”
Emery said he also enjoyed the Opening Ceremony, but that the event felt incomplete because his team leader and mentor, Shani Davis, wasn’t there.
Lehman shared Davis’ disappointment that the five-time Olympian wasn’t named the U.S. flag bearer. Davis , five-time Olympian and gold medalist speedskater, tweeted out last week before the opening ceremony that he felt he deserved to be the flag bearer. After teammates’ votes locked at a tie, the flag bearer was decided by a coin flip that landed in Hamlin’s favor.
“I definitely feel for him. …I think Shani represents Team USA the best,” Lehman said. “You know he’s just such a great guy he’s always been so good to me, and he takes really good care of all the younger skaters that we all look up to him.”
Lehman first met Davis when he was 9, just after Davis had returned home to Chicago from his second Olympics with a gold medal. Lehman was skating as an amateur, and Davis had come to Oak Park hand Lehman an award for being the best in Pony B baseball
“I wasn’t good enough to be in Pony A division, but that was definitely the highlight of my childhood,” Lehman said. “I remember I wrote a paper about him afterwards, he made a big enough impact on my life that made me want to skate with him one day.”
Lehman never lost sight of that goal and as he continued improving, the opportunities to meet Davis also grew.
“I never missed out on a chance to get his autograph, and I got it as many times as I could,” Lehman said.
Lehman is not only feeling blessed to be present at the Olympics, he is also already planning the next phase. He is currently taking time off from his civil engineering studies at Marquette University.
“I need to start thinking about what I can do to make a living off the ice,” he said, “and so I’ve applied to a bunch of structural engineering jobs and internships.”
After the 2018 Winter Olympics, Lehman plans to time off training as a speedskater, but is reluctant to confirm retirement.
“I’m going to still try to train and get stronger but that transition into my other life off the ice is definitely going to be tough this summer,” Lehman said.
Meanwhile, his coach, Eric Cepuran, whom he trains with back in Milwaukee’s Pettit National Ice Center, insists Lehman has potential to grow as a better speedskater.
“I know his race was disappointing on Sunday, but if you look at his age compared to the other skaters, they’re much older than him,” Cepuran said. “This Olympics wasn’t his peak or his time to shine in the individual races — there’s plenty of those races to come.”
Anna Kook is a freelance writer.
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