Farifield speed skater Santos among the state natives to qualify for Winter Games

Fairfield native Kristen Santos is headed to the Winter Olympics after she qualified in short track speed skating.

Santos, 27, secured her bid with a victory in Saturday’s 1,500-meter race at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Salt Lake City. That came on the heels of wins in the 500-meter and 1,500-meter events on Friday.

Other Connecticut natives to qualify include Hannah Soar, 22, of Somers, and Southport’s Mac Forehand, 21, both in freestyle skiing. Soar is the third-ranked mogul skier in the world and No. 1 in the U.S.

“It’s surreal,” Santos said via the Team USA site. “I feel like I can’t stop crying every time I talk about it, but I’m so overwhelmed. I’m so happy. I’m really glad my family was all here to experience it with me.”

Beijing will be the Olympic debut for Santos, who narrowly missed qualifying four years ago.

In November 2017, Santos was competing at a World Cup practice session when another skater accidentally ran over her hand and wrist, leaving her in a cast. One month later, her training having been disrupted by surgery, she placed fourth at the 2018 Olympic trials. She missed the team by one spot.

But this time around, she’s redeemed herself. Heading into the 2022 trials, Santos was the topranked American woman in short track speedskating and the U.S. record holder in the 500 meter and 1,000 meter events. She is also expected to compete on the 300 meter relay team, which qualified for Beijing for the first time in 12 years.

“My main goal this World Cup season was just to qualify Olympic spots for Team USA, but obviously I wanted to do even better than that,” Santos said via NBC Sports.

Santos grew up in Fairfield and took up short track speed skating at 9 years old, with her first lessons coming at Yale. By 2006-07, she was a junior national champion.

Following graduation from Fairfield Warde High School, Santos moved to Salt Lake City and attended the University of Utah.

The Beijing Games will take place Feb. 4-20. Santos will be bidding to become the first American woman to medal in Olympic short track speed skating since 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia.