Jonathan So is the youngest short-track speedskater on America’s national team, competing on the world stage at just sixteen years old.

This Virginia-born athlete started skating when he was five, and he hasn’t taken his foot off the gas since. Before online classes became an international reality, he was so dedicated to his sport, he started completing his high school diploma remotely in order to keep up with his rigorous training schedule and, in turn, achieve his goal to skate at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games.

And So made waves at the junior level before graduating to the big leagues. In 2014, he became a Junior National Champion, and was recognized by the Juniors again in 2017 when he was named “Junior Development Skater of the Year.” The following year, he finished his last season on the Junior World Short Track Team to train with the Short Track National Team Program at the prestigious Utah Olympic Oval. During his time there, he was thrilled to skate with his skating idol, three-time Olympian J.R. Celski.

Recently, So debuted at the world cup in Canada and then in Salt Lake City, before reaching the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics. Him and his three other teammates left decorated in gold for their performance in the Mixed Relay. Individually, he proved himself as one of the fastest 1,000 meter skaters, after qualifying for the Olympic Final A, and taking home fourth place, neck-in-neck with the other podiums by a fraction of a second.

Outside of skating, So enjoys playing videogames or basketball, and also loves all things music, whether it’s listening, singing, dancing, or rapping.