Tucker Daniel Fredricks (born April 16, 1984) is an American

speed skater Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors racing, race each other in travelling a certain distance on Ice skate, skates. Types of speed skating are long-track speed skating, short-track speed skating, and marath ...

and the former US record holder in the 500 meter event. He competed at the

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, and

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

Winter Olympics. Fredricks was born in

Janesville, Wisconsin Janesville is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 65,615, making it the List of cities in Wisconsin, tenth-most populous city in Wis ...

, where he graduated in 2002 from Joseph A. Craig High School. He began skating in 1994 when a friend of his father took him skating in lieu of playing

hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...

. He considers his greatest accomplishment to be winning the gold medal in 500m at the 2003 World Junior Championships. On November 17, 2007, at the World Cup Race in

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, Fredricks beat the previous American 500m record (34.42) which was originally held by 2002 Olympic gold medalist Casey Fitzrandolph, with a time of 34.31.

Career wins

* 1st, 500m 2003 World Junior Speedskating Championships * 3rd, 500m 2002 World Junior Speedskating Championships * 1st, overall 2002 U.S. Junior Speedskating Championships * 1st, overall 2003 U.S. Junior Speedskating Championships * 1st, overall 2003 U.S. Junior Speedskating Championships * 25th, 2006 Olympic Winter Games, Men’s 500m * 12th, 2010 Olympic Winter Games, Men’s 500m (World Cup overall 500m champion) * 26th, 2014 Olympic Winter Games, Men’s 500m

Current record

Highlights

Fredericks has been a World Cup 500m medalist winner 30 times (11 times gold, six times silver and 13 times bronze). In addition, in 2007 he won the bronze for the World Single Distance Championships, and was the World Cup overall 500m champion.

References

External links

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fredricks, Tucker 1984 births Living people American male speed skaters Olympic speed skaters for the United States Sportspeople from Janesville, Wisconsin Speed skaters at the 2006 Winter Olympics Speed skaters at the 2010 Winter Olympics Speed skaters at the 2014 Winter Olympics Joseph A. Craig High School alumni 21st-century American sportsmen