Nick started speed skating at five years old when his father took him to the Wisconsin Olympic Rink in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Nick’s father grew up skating on frozen, flooded baseball fields and ponds in West Allis, Wisconsin. He instilled a passion for skating in his son and young Nick quickly gravitated to the sport. Whether it was driving Nick all over the Midwest to competitions or just providing moral support, Nick credits a majority of his success to his parents, Butch and Althea, who are his number one fans. Nick’s dad was inducted into the Hall of Fame in the Contributor category in 2024.
Nick always dreamed of skating in the Olympics. In 1998, just before the Olympic Trials for the Nagano Games, Nick was diagnosed with mononucleosis. He was unsuccessful at qualifying and his Olympic dream was postponed for four years. In 2002, a healthy and determined Nick made the U.S. Olympic Team and competed in the Salt Lake Games placing sixth in both the 1500m and 1000m races, finishing just a few tenths of a second off the medal winning pace in both races. Nick was determined to return to the games in 2006, and stake his place on the podium. Unfortunately, the 2006 season was one that would make Nick take a step back from the sport. He missed qualifying for the Olympic team, and knew he must evaluate what he was doing wrong and make the necessary changes. He was determined to use the disappointing season as inspiration for the future.
“After achieving my life long goal of skating in the Olympics in 2002 and being just out of the medals, I now know I can go and have a chance of winning Olympic gold. I was given everything I need to become the best in the world and now it’s all up to me,” said Nick.
Following the 2010 Olympics Nick retired from the sport of speedskating as an athlete and now works for US Speedskating as the High Performance Programs Manager. “For the past 25 plus years, this sport has given me and my family so much. It is my turn to do what I can to give back to the sport.”