KANSAS CITY, Mo. — At the Winnwood Skate Center in the Northland, some young athletes are just beginning their journey to chasing Olympic glory.
Momentum picks up amongst Infinity Racing Kansas City whenever Team USA hits the international stage.
Felan Jonjevic, 11, threw skates on when she was just five-years-old.
"She was a kid who just sort of would always fall down like standing still, she was one of those kids," PaKou Her, Jonjevic's mother said. "But a child who struggled to walk without falling manages to skate fairly well."
Even though in-line speeding skating isn't an Olympic sport, Jonjevic is well-aware that many of those competing at the winter games started on wheels before making the switch.
"Ice skating is sort of scary because of the blades," Jonjevic said. "But I feel like it's pretty easy to get the hang of it."
Her talked about how watching the Winter Olympics has impacted her daughter.
"We were watching some of the qualifying rounds, the women's short track and long track races," Her said. "And she is acutely aware of what they're doing technically. So, it's interesting to watch her and she talks about how they're holding their body."
According to Her, watching the athletes helps her daughter envision being in the Olympics one day.
"She talks about how still their heads are when they're skating," Her said. "And it's been really fascinating to hear her just sort of as she gets older and simply has the cognition and the ability to talk about that kind of stuff. And then imagine herself doing it."
Brian Simpson, the head coach of Infinity Racing Kansas City, notices a bump in interest every four years.
"If they want to be on team USA, we will help them get to team USA, whether that be team USA in line or team USA short track or long track," Simpson said.
His son, Branden, has trained under two-time Olympic medalist Katherine Rutter.
"Me, I prefer short track. I'm not really an endurance guy," Branden Simpson said. "I like sprints, I like moving fast, the passing is really fun getting real low touching the ice being almost perpendicular with it. You're on a one millimeter thick blade. And that's 17 inches long and sliding around on that being on the edges is like no other feeling."
He hopes one day to show the world in the Olympics.
"If you want attain greatness, all you have to do is work hard and train and have fun with it," Branden Simpson said.