Among favorites to medal, US speed skater Kristen Santos-Griswold representing Utah on Olympic stage

SALT LAKE CITY — When Kristen Santos-Griswold laces up her skates for Team USA short track at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics next month, she won't just be representing the red, white and blue but all of Utah as well.

Try telling that to the native of Fairfield, Connecticut who grew up figure skating until she took up short track as a teenager.

"If it weren't for Utah, I wouldn't be where I am right now," said Santos-Griswold, who has spent the past 14 years in the Beehive State and is currently studying in the physical therapy program at the University of Utah. " It truly is the place to be for sports. I came here and got to train every single day while I went to school.

"I'm really lucky to be here," she added, "somewhere where there are so many opportunities not only in speed skating, but also canyoning, hiking, and just spending time in the mountains."

"Here" is also home to one of the premier speedskating venues in the world, the Utah Olympic Oval that was built for the 2002 Winter Olympics and still hosts national and international events to this day.

Santos-Griswold was one of eight skaters named to the U.S. short track team for next month's Winter Games in Milan-Cortina, Italy, which begin Feb. 6 with short track scheduled to kick off Feb. 10-20 at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.

The rest of Team USA short track includes three first-time Olympians to go with the five returners:

• Corinne Stoddard; 24; Tacoma, Wash.
• Julie Letai; 25, Medfield, Mass.
• Kamryn Lute; 21; New York, N.Y.
• Eunice Lee; 21; Tacoma, Wash.
• Andrew Heo; 24; Warrington, Pa.
• Brandon Kim; 24; Fairfax, Va.
• Clayton DeClemente; 26; Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

Santos-Griswold is one of the favorites to medal four years after the 31 year old nearly retired from the sport following a disappointing exit in Beijing.

Santos-Griswold was about two laps away from a likely bronze-medal finish in the women's 1,000-meter race in 2022 when she was bumped by an opponent — later ruled to be a penalty — and slid off course.

The experienced skater rebounded to finish fourth, but the timing of the crash and the fallout prompted Santos-Griswold to consider retirement before diving back into the speedskating world tour.

Now she's out to enjoy the journey as much as the destination.

"I was so hyper-focused on the Olympics and everything leading up to it," she admitted. "I thought about it every day; everything I did revolved around how it would affect me at the Olympics.

"When things didn't go my way there, it was that much more heartbreaking," Santos-Griswold added. "I realized that I forgot to enjoy the journey and enjoy my time there as much. I had fun, but it revolved so much around getting a medal — and now this time, I wanted to remember to enjoy the process and enjoy the journey."

That mentality has lifted Santos-Griswold to perhaps the best stretch of her career. She's won 37 World Cup and World Tour medals, two U.S. national titles, and made history as the first American to win the prestigious Crystal Globie given to the best overall skater on tour.

In 2024, Santos-Griswold won a historic four world championship medals, including gold in the 1,000 meters, and currently ranks first in the 500 meter, fifth in the 1000 meters, and second in the 1,500 meters — making her the top-ranked skater overall.

To that, she credits an ability to "relax" and "reset" after each race — whether she wins gold or crashes out on the pads — as well as a home life led by her husband and two wildly different dogs.

In addition to world-class short-track speed skater, Santos-Griswold is also a vegan and proud dog mom of two huskies, 13-year-old Bear and 7-year-old Koda whom she admits have wildly different personalities.

The two have even been her willing training partners on short runs and longer hikes during off days, and have led to several sponsorships, most recently with pet food supplier Nulo.

Mostly, though, she said Bear and Koda provide unconditional support to push Santos-Griswold toward her goals even after disappointing.

"I feel like I get to come home to people who love me no matter what, and that is the most pivotal thing.," she said. "They help keep me in check with reality."

That reality now involves a second trip to the Winter Olympiad — a trip Santos-Griswold vows to enjoy for everything it becomes, regardless of results.

"Obviously, the ultimate goal is to go to the Games and end up on top of the podium," she said. "But I'm really trying to take it one step at a time and remember to enjoy the journey there. I think that it's easy to forget how much the accomplishment of just going to the Olympics is when you are in that moment — and that's something I've tried to remember.

"Instead of putting all this pressure on myself to perform, just have fun with it. That's what I want to do. I want to perform well and end up on top of the podium. But I really, really just want to enjoy the experience."

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