Krueger turns to Hungary for help
John-Henry Krueger, a Peters Township native who captured a silver medal in the 1,000-meter short-track speed skating event during the 2018 Winter Olympic Games held in Pyeongchang, South Korea, has switched countries.
Krueger, who last week met President Trump during a ceremony at the White House, said he is making the move to Hungary because of financial reasons.
“I was and am still proud to have represented the nited States during my career but have been faced with an unsustainable situation where if I continue pursuing my career with the US team I will bankrupt myself and my family,” Krueger told USA TODAY Sports via email.
“Overall the financial costs necessary for me to perform competitively at the international level are unsustainable with the lack of sufficient financial support from US Speedskating and the (United States Olympic Committee).”
In a story in the Washington Post, it was reported Krueger has long been at odds with the sport’s governing body in the United States and felt he was better served training elsewhere.
Krueger first trained in South Korea and then the Netherlands in the build-up to his Olympic success.
On Facebook, Krueger’s mother, Heidi said her 23-year-old son “accepted the Hungarian’s offer to represent Hungary.”
USA Today reported Heidi Krueger requested US Speedskating to commit to covering John-Henry’s training expenses in the Netherlands for the next four years, which total around $28,000 annually. The Kruegers also wanted a shift in the Olympic selection process to allow for a “coach’s pick” for the fifth spot on the team. Such a system may have allowed for Keith Carroll, a member of the U.S. men’s world-record relay team that also featured Krueger, to compete in Pyeongchang. Carroll’s hopes of getting a spot were hampered by an untimely injury just before trials.
“People think that Olympic athletes are swimming in money,” Heidi Krueger told USA Today in a telephone interview. “It is the furthest thing from the truth. I am already bracing myself for the trolls who say this is an unpatriotic move. I would say to them, try to live in our shoes for a while. Every single nickel that I make goes to speedskating. It will take us until the next Olympics to pay off the debts.”
The Kruegers first held an extensive teleconference with and then sent a letter to US Speedskating after the short-track world championships in March. The letter also gave US Speedskating chief executive Ted Morris a list of coaches that the Kruegers would not be prepared to work with, including recently departed national team coach Anthony Barthell and five others.
Krueger’s older brother, Cole, has been competing for Hungary the past two years, though he did not qualify for the PyeongChang Olympics.
Krueger is the most promising skater heading into the 2022 Olympics in Beijing. Krueger swept all three distances at the U.S. trials in December – 500, 1,000 and 1,500 meters – and was the only American short-tracker of either gender to qualify in all four events, which includes a relay.
Krueger became the first Washington County native to win an Olympic medal since Canonsburg’s Bill Schmidt won bronze in the javelin at the 1972 Summer Games in Munich, Germany.
Krueger became the first American man to win an individual short-track medal since the Vancouver Games.