Joey Cheek American speed skater Date of Birth: 22.06.1979 Country: USA

Biography of Joey Chick

Joey Chick is an American speed skater specializing in middle and short distances. He became interested in speed skating after watching his neighbor, Brian Anderson, skate. Chick gained fame after the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, where he won a bronze medal in the 1000-meter race, narrowly missing out on a bronze in the 1500-meter race by eight hundredths of a second.

In 2003, Chick won bronze medals in both the 1000-meter and 1500-meter races at the World Championships in Berlin, with Dutch speed skater Erben Wennemars taking gold in both events. He once again stood on the podium in 2005, this time at the World Sprint Championships, where he was once again outperformed by Wennemars.

On January 22, 2006, Chick became the world champion in sprint, defeating Russian athlete Dmitry Dorofeyev and Dutch skater Jan Bos. At the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, Chick won the 500-meter race among men, setting an unofficial world record. In the 1000-meter race, he came in second, behind his teammate Shani Davis. As a result of his performance, Chick was chosen to carry the flag for his country at the closing ceremony of the Olympics.

During the broadcast, sports commentator Bob Costas mentioned that Chick had been rejected by Harvard University, urging the administration to reconsider their decision. Currently, Chick is studying at Princeton University. He had planned to attend the 2008 Olympics in Beijing to support his fellow athletes, but his visa was revoked by the Chinese embassy just hours before his departure.

Chick is also known as one of the founders and president of the International Athletes Coalition, Team Darfur. The coalition aims to raise awareness about the crisis in Darfur, Sudan. During a press conference after winning the 500-meter race at the 2006 Olympics, Chick announced that he would donate his prize money of $25,000 to the international humanitarian organization, "Right to Play." He later did the same with the $15,000 he earned from winning the 1000-meter race. To date, Chick's total donations have exceeded $390,000.