Pius XI short track speedskater Eliza Rhodehamel eyes up Olympics

Pius XI short track speedskater Eliza Rhodehamel

A sophomore from Pius XI High School who is also a short track speedskater has dreams of one day competing in the Winter Olympics. That is one of the reasons why Eliza Rhodehamel is this week's FOX6 High School Hot Shot.

WEST ALLIS, Wis. - A sophomore from Pius XI High School who is also a short track speedskater has dreams of one day competing in the Winter Olympics.

That is one of the reasons why Eliza Rhodehamel is this week's FOX6 High School Hot Shot.

"I started synchro or synchronized figure skating," said Rhodehamel. "And we had this camp where we did a little exercise where we sprinted across the ice on our toe-picks. And so later on, my mom saw a flier at our rink, and it was like try speed skating and my mom remembered that and got me into the sport, and now we're here."

Rhodehamel considers herself more of a short track skater than a long track skater.

"Long track doesn't seem very appealing," Rhodehamel said. "Well, you need a bunch of technique. That's the main part. And then you also need power and muscle and endurance."

Rhodehamel trains at the Pettit National Ice Center.

Her dream is to compete for Team USA at the Olympics.

Rhodehamel has already taken a step in that direction by competing at the Youth Olympic Games in South Korea.

"It was really fun," she said. "I got to meet new people, stay in the village. That was pretty cool. I was the flag bearer for the Youth Olympic Games. There was a lot of eyes on us, and it was super loud, and it was just the atmosphere was really cool."

Rhodehamel is competing at the 2024 US Speedskating Short Track Age Group Nationals in Michigan.