(Nexstar) - Cooper McLeod, a long track speed skater from Washington state, began his journey in the sport at a young age, inspired by the 2010 Winter Olympics. "I started at a roller rink when I was about ten months old," McLeod said, describing his early introduction to skating. "I started inline racing at three years old, saw the 2010 Winter Olympics, I was like, yeah, I want to do that."McLeod explained that his early skating experience involved starting on quad skates, which gradually led to inline racing. By the age of eight, he was already inspired by the Winter Olympics to pursue speed skating as a career.Training with Chang Ho Lee, a former Korean national team coach, was a significant step in McLeod's development as a skater. "Getting to have a baseline with him was really, really important and super impactful for getting me started in skating," McLeod noted.He moved to Utah in 2020 to further his training. Reflecting on the sensations of racing, McLeod described it as feeling like "floating and flying," especially when reaching speeds of up to 40 miles per hour. "There's nothing quite like going about 40 miles an hour, you know, on your own power," he said. McLeod has already achieved notable success, placing third in the 500 meter and fourth in the 1000 meter at the World Championships last year. He expressed excitement and a sense of surrealism about competing in his first Olympics, stating, "I am here now, and I'm very excited to have the opportunity to go and try to compete for USA." McLeod shared that he likes to keep things light and fun before races, often listening to 80s hits to stay relaxed. "If you're a little too tense, you're not going to be having a good time. If you're not having a good time you're not going to do well."All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by Nexstar. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by Nexstar staff before being published