US Speedskating Names Mark Greenwald as Executive Director

posted by Linda Jager - Jul. 06, 2010 12:23 AM

KEARNS, Utah (July 6, 2010) - The US Speedskating Board of Directors is pleased to announce the appointment of Mark Greenwald as executive director. Greenwald brings over two decades of experience to the organization as a two-time Olympian and an internationally recognized executive in the sport of speedskating.

A native of Park Ridge, IL, Greenwald began his career as a long track speedskater in 1979. Quickly rising through the US Speedskating pipeline, Greenwald joined the U.S. National Team in 1983 in the sport of short track speedskating. He transitioned to long track in 1986, and by 1990 he was the U.S. National Champion in the 5000m and 10000m distances and represented the U.S. in the 1988 and 1992 Olympic Winter Games. Following a successful competitive career, he relocated to Calgary in 1993 and began a successful 16-year tenure moving from coach to an eventual executive position with the Calgary Olympic Oval.

Greenwald completed his undergraduate degree in Kinesiology, and received a MS in Kinesiology/Motor Learning from the University of Calgary. Known worldwide in the sport as a builder of renowned speed skating programs, he worked to develop areas of involvement that provided University of Calgary students opportunities to explore and learn in the Olympic Oval environment supporting research and practicum opportunities through the Oval Research Group; an initiative he envisioned, as well as serving on the Olympic Oval High Performance Fund Committee, a group that awarded grants to promising students performing research in high performance sport. Greenwald created the Oval Research Group building a formal context and bridging the relationship between students, coaches and researchers for the advancement of high performance sport research initiatives.

Outside the sport of speedskating, Greenwald has also worked on the foundation of many new sport initiatives, such as the National and Western Women’s Hockey Leagues, both semi-pro initiatives for female hockey players and the highest level of play outside of World Championships and Olympic Games. He was a founding member of the WWHL and served as one of the original Governors of league for the Olympic Oval X-Treme - the most accomplished female hockey team in the world next to the Canadian National Team, and a team that has provided the base for many of its members.

"US Speedskating is pleased to have Mark join us as our executive director,” said US Speedskating President Brad Goskowicz. “His extensive experience as a world class competitor and program director in both long and short track speedskating makes him a great fit as we rebuild our long track program and extend our very successful short track program. Mark will bring a new energy, as well as stability, to US Speedskating as we move forward toward Sochi in 2014. Mark has the full trust and respect of the US Speedskating Board, evidenced by the unanimous Board resolution to offer him this position," added Goskowicz.

"It is an honor to have the opportunity to build on the tradition of excellence that US Speedskating has established over many years, and I look forward the challenge of ensuring such a proud legacy," said Greenwald. "US Speedskating is a sport with a strong base of values and long tradition of producing both great champions and great people. It's combines discipline, dedication, hard work and precision, yet still maintains excitement and action with an X Games appeal. I look forward to ensuring the needs of the current athletes and membership, while also courting a new generation of participants into this fantastic sport and organization."