Campton Hills native Austin Kleba all smiles after 27th place finish in Olympic speed skating debut

BEIJING, China — Campton Hills native Austin Kleba was just off his 500 meter speed skate personal best during his Olympic debut on Saturday, but the way he smiled for the next couple hours made it seem like he’d just broken the world record.

“It’s an awesome experience to be at the Olympics with the best in the world,” Kleba said. “I’m so happy to be here and it’s been surreal for sure.”

Kleba finished 27th in a stacked field of the world’s top 30 skaters in the 500m event, which is regarded as the equivalent of track and field’s 100 meter dash for long track speed skating. The 22-year-old, who graduated from St. Charles North High School, finished in 35.40 seconds — about 1 second behind gold medalist Tingyu Gao of China, who posted an Olympic record time of 34.32 seconds.

Ranked 22nd entering the event and skating in the first of 15 pairs, Kleba had to wait an extra 20 minutes to make his Olympic debut at Beijing’s National Speed Skating Oval while ice crews repaired a series of divots at the finish line.

Wearing a blue uniform with mostly white sleeves and pant legs, and a large logo of the U.S. flag on the upper-left side of his chest, Kleba started in the outer lane. A blue hood covered his head and glasses as reflecting lenses kept his eyes hidden.

Paired with Canada’s Antoine Gélinas-Beaulieu, Kleba surged ahead during the opening stretch but Gélinas-Beaulieu quickly made up ground from the inside lane. By the halfway point in the race, it was clear the Campton Hills native would win the pairing.

As he skated through the finish line at 35 mph, Kleba raised his hand in celebration, then slipped and fell on his chest. He was unhurt after careening into a padded area that bordered the ice rink.

“The ice seemed a little softer than it normally has been the past couple of days,” Kleba said. “I think the rink was a little warmer, but the ice seemed pretty fast.”

Korea’s Min Kyu Cha (34.39 seconds) finished second behind Chinese gold-medalist Gao, and Wataru Morishige of Japan (34.49 seconds) took third. Wisconsin teenager Jordan Stolz finished in 13th place (34.85) to lead the Americans.

Kleba’s debut Olympics could very likely be finished after just one event. But that depends on U.S. teammate Joey Mantia, a 36-year-old speed skating icon who’s scheduled to compete in the men’s 1000m event on Friday as well as the men’s mass start event on Saturday. Kleba is the U.S. substitute for the 1000m if Mantia elects to rest for the mass start.

While Kleba believes Mantia will race in both events, the Campton Hills native is staying prepared and training as if he’ll be back on the ice this week.

“I’m excited to see what happens,” he said. “Whether I’m skating or not, they’re going to be great races.”