The Front Row with JASON ELLIOTT Sept. 1, 2012

The Summer Olympics may be long over, but the gold medal dreams for Team USA haven't stopped for Coeur d'Alene speedskater Chelsi LeGault.

LeGault, a 2011 graduate of Coeur d'Alene High, qualified for the USA Outdoor Senior World Inline Speed Team during nationals two weeks ago at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

SHE COMPETED last year on the junior world team and competed in worlds in South Korea.

"Last year, I tried not to look nervous and keep my positions the best I could in those races," LeGault said. "Because the U.S. has fallen off the map a little for speed skating at worlds, most countries look to see if the U.S. is behind them and stay ahead of us."

Road race courses are on a closed loop with no bank on a stretch of closed road. Inline skating is essentially on roller skates, however the wheels are narrow and in a line, rather than side-by-side and fat like on roller skates.

This year at senior nationals, LeGault won the overall division and set a new track record in the 500-meter event, finishing the event in 47.825 seconds.

After qualifying for worlds last year, LeGault had a quick turnaround from nationals and traveling to South Korea. This year, she left on Thursday morning to travel to Rome for the event, which starts on Sept. 8, after finishing in the top six at nationals.

"It has always been one of my dreams to go to the world championships and compete for the USA," said LeGault, who trains at Skate Plaza. "I'm really proud to be one of the top girls in the country to get to go race. It's exciting to get there and race against the top people in the world. This year, I'm a little more confident knowing what the experience is like. This time, I know what to expect and what the races are going to be like."

LeGault, who is 5-foot-8, added that she’s a little nervous when it comes to the competition.

“Some of the girls from the Netherlands are twice my size,” LeGault said. “Those from Columbia, their legs are so big — it’s almost intimidating standing on the line and it feels like they can crush you.”

LEGAULT STARTED speed skating at age 8 when her father, Joe, had her come to a practice to watch the sport.

“He speed skated when he was younger,” LeGault said. “Then we moved from Tacoma and after a session, he wanted me to watch the class. After 10 minutes, it clicked for me and I wanted to do it ever since.”

Getting to know her fellow USA teammates has been easy.

“After we qualified for the team, we stayed in the dorms at the training center for two weeks,” LeGault said. “Most of them I’ve gotten to know over the years skating and growing up. It’s going to be like a big family reunion, because that’s what we’ve become.”

At the world competition, coaches will put the six athletes in two events each — with LeGault likely to compete in the 10-kilometer and the marathon (26.2 mile) races. Competitors must pay $4,000 to go — which includes the airplane ticket, hotel and entry fees for each event.

“I just want to be able to stay up front and show them I’m ready to race,” LeGault said. “Last year, the timing was really short. This year, we won’t skate the first day (after arriving) to get the jet lag out of our systems. We’ve got almost a full week to get used to the track and will get more time on our skates before the racing starts.”

“When we’re over there, we won’t get much of a chance to sightsee,” LeGault said. “We’ll have to get into race mode right away.”

To follow LeGault’s progress, visit www.speedskateworld.com.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at jelliott@cdapress.com.