Who Is John-Henry Krueger? Wiki, Skater, Net Worth, Silver Medal & Facts To Know

John-Henry Krueger was born in 1995. He is an American short track speed skater. He trains under the Dutch short-track team in Heerenveen with coach Jeroen Otter. He is an American National Champion in the 500-, 1,000-, and 1,500-meter events. Krueger competed in the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in speed skating in the 1,000- and 1,500-meter individual events, as well as the 5,000-meter team relay event. He got a silver medal in the men’s 1,000-meter event. Krueger was born in Peters Township, Pennsylvania, to parents Bryan and Heidi Krueger. He started speed skating when he was just 5, and then eventually, he joined the Pittsburgh Speed skating Club with his older brother Cole. Interestingly, his mother Heidi, was a coach with the club, and taking the advice of former Olympian Eric Flaim, she started taking her sons to Washington D.C. twice a week for training for skating. John-Henry Krueger started skating when he was just 5 years old when his mom, a figure skating coach, brought him to their local ice rink in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Krueger and his older brother, Cole, both loved to race. Cole eventually got into speed skating and his younger brother Krueger followed him into short track soon after. Krueger turned in a breakout performance soon after, winning three medals at the 2012 World Junior Championships at age 16. He soon got famous as a short track prodigy and was awaiting eagerly for the 2014 Olympics when unfortunately, he was struck with swine flu. He could not compete at the Olympics in Sochi because of his flu. Once recovered, he quickly turned his focus towards the 2018 Olympic Winter Games. in PyeongChang. At the 2015 National Championships, Krueger won three out of four events and taking the overall gold rank. In 2016, he ended his individual medal drought on the World Cup circuit by winning a bronze medal in the 1500 m. It was the first individual World Cup medal won by a U.S. short track skater in two years. Krueger has spent the last few years traveling the world in search of top coaching. He spent a year in South Korea working with Apolo Ohno’s one-time coach before he moved ahead to the Netherlands in 2017 to train under a Dutch team.

American speed skater John-Henry Krueger won his first medal for the United States in short track speed skating in eight years in Pyeongchang this year, cruising home in second place after a chaotic finish in the 1000m. The American National Champion, who is a Pittsburgh native, got applauded from the Pittsburgh Penguins after his second-place finish. Krueger slid down the wall where his coach watched, fell to his knees and pressed his head to the ice. Such was his reaction after months and years of hard work, toil and dedication paid off brilliantly well. He was terribly disappointed by his swine flu and had been waiting eagerly for the Olympics this year. Krueger, 22, won the silver medal in the 1,000-meter short-track speed skating event, thereby making him the first American man to win an individual short-track medal since Vancouver. In a sport which is governed by and tested by razor-thin margins and near-imperceptible vagaries, Krueger knew only too well when and how much to lead. On Saturday, he nearly didn’t escape his quarterfinal heat. A Dutch skater bumped him, sent him spinning out of the pack and seemingly out of contention. He finished in the fourth place. He needed third position. But thankfully, then the judges called a penalty on the Dutch skater, moving Krueger up to third and into the semifinals. Four years ago, Krueger was well positioned to make the U.S. team headed for the Sochi Games in 2014. But just before the trials, his mother, Heidi, found him sick with swine flu and as a result, Krueger couldn’t compete. So the win at this 2018 Olympics was even a better achievement and a vindication after past doubts and disappointments. “The most important part of short track is just keeping your composure and your calm,” Krueger said. Krueger was unable to get into the lead immediately as he had in other races, but he managed to work his way around to the front. Samuel Girard who eventually won the race, gave him a tough competition and proved ultimately too strong. Behind Krueger a high-speed crash took out the rest of the field and left him needing only to get around another lap and a half for second place. “It is definitely not a bad thought to have on the last lap, knowing I had second,” John-Henry said. “I just wanted to stay on my feet. There were so many thoughts rushing through my head.”

The net worth of the skater is currently unknown.

John-Henry Krueger has his own official page on Instagram @jhkgr. He uploads his random photos and photos from his competitions on his Instagram handle.