Playing the Field: Alyson Dudek

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Photo by Jenna Graham

In Playing the Field, we profile women who are making an impact in the world of sports, either in competition or behind the scenes. For this installment, we spoke with Olympic speed skater Alyson Dudek.

Olympic bronze medalist and Hales Corners native Alyson Dudek has no clue what she’s going to do next with her life. She’s rather excited about that.

The two-time Olympian has been speed skating since she was seven years old, first with West Allis Speed Skating Club and then with Team USA in Salt Lake City, Utah. She missed part of her senior year at Divine Savior Holy Angels when she qualified for her first World Cup squad. Other than some night and online courses, she’s not attended college.

She’s 24 and she’s taking a break.

Following the Sochi Olympics, Dudek decided to take a full year off from competing. The only life she’d ever known was on the track, so she took a step back to relax, reevaluate and try to figure out what she wants to do. Having less than a jam-packed calendar isn’t exactly Dudek’s comfort zone. The staggering amount of alone time where she can just think and let her mind go nuts is frankly not entirely appealing.

“After Sochi we had world championships, actually, just a couple of weeks after, which is not exactly the most fun because no one’s really motivated after the Olympics,” she said. “That was the last time I competed, so that was in March (2014). I’ve skated here and there, throughout the summer but I’ve taken this season completely off and I’ve really enjoyed it. It’s been really nice. I’ve done two Olympics. I’m at an age where I could definitely do another Olympics, even another two Olympics, but I might want to do something else with my life. I don’t know what that is yet, but I’m just taking some time.”

One thing Dudek has done with all her free time is travel. Sponsorship opportunities, supporting the US team at the World University Games and taking part in the current season of the CBS reality competition “The Amazing Race” have afforded her the chance to travel in many different ways. She’s is enjoying the freedom of being a tourist. No morning training wake-up calls or need to rest her legs means she’s enjoying the scenery and a glass or two of wine along the way.

Displaying both a fear of the unknown and the self-assuredness it takes to know that she can take a year off from being a world-class athlete before deciding whether or not to try for another Olympics, Dudek is refreshing and noticeably not that different from other 20-somethings.

“The thing is, ever since I was younger, I’ve always had that drive and passion to be an Olympian and that was my main goal,” she said. “Everyone picks their paths and that’s the path that I picked. Honestly, I’m not burned out. I’m actually am at the top of my career and I could keep going and keep getting better, it’s really just a personal preference. I’m not saying I’m done, I’m not saying I’m going to keep going. I’m just taking some time right now and we’ll see.”

Dudek won a relay bronze in Vancouver and while she didn’t leave Sochi with hardware, she met or exceeded her goals. So though a surface look might say Sochi was disappointing, Dudek says she’d be content if her performance there was her last.

“On paper it doesn’t look like (Sochi) went as well as I wanted it to, because I won bronze in Vancouver and then I came home with no medals this time, but I actually skated better,” she said. “I had really difficult heats, which challenged me, which were great and I got two personal best times and I skated some of the best I’ve ever skated in my entire life. So when I look back at how I actually raced, I skated better than ever. And that’s how it is with our sport. Our sport is cutthroat and brutal.”

Speed skating, especially the short track that is Dudek’s specialty, takes a special kind of mental fortitude (and possibly dysfunction). There are so many outside factors that influence the outcome of a race that preparation and talent are almost inconsequential to the outcome. The heat a skater is drawn into, the ice surface, whether another skater falls—there’s an almost infinite number of things outside a skater’s control that will affect the final standings.

“There are just so many different factors that play into one single race that will work against you. It really is that the best skater doesn’t necessarily win. That’s just the nature of the sport, we all understand that. You just have to expect the unexpected when you toe the start line,” Dudek said.

Speed skating isn’t a wildly popular sport. Dudek has grown up competing with and against many of the same skaters her whole life. Her Team USA teammates are as close as family. And when it comes time to qualify for the Olympics, her teammates that know every inch of her ability are also her competition. It’s another layer of mental difficulty added to an already stressful sport.

Dudek admits that short track involves a lot of chaos, but she also knows that she and her teammates wouldn’t have it any other way. They thrive on it.

The fact that her closest friends become her competition is just one side of the story. Dudek points out that she and her teammates wouldn’t be near as good as they are if they didn’t have each other to help them find their greatness.

“I’ve grown up with (my teammates) and you live together, train together, travel together. Laughed. Cried. We train together eight hours a day six days a week,” she said. “We push each other, we challenge each other, we’re there for each other, we encourage each other. We all have this relationship that is so deep. We’ve seen each other through the best times and the worst times. Without each other, we’d never be at the level we are today. We’d never be the skaters that we are. We have to push each other every single day. And then when (Olympic) trials come around, there’s a mutual understanding. It’s the nature of the sport and everybody understands that. Trials are brutal. Nobody likes trials. It’s so insanely stressful. But then you get on that start line and it’s me against four other skaters, not names. They’re just other competitors that I have to beat.”

Knowing that an athlete could train for four years in a sport that receives little attention, especially outside Olympic years, doesn’t come ready-made with sponsorship deals or national attention and then factors outside anyone’s control will be the thing that determines who stands on the medal podium is difficult to fathom. Dudek has an “it is what it is” attitude about the outlying factors. She said those who skate know all about it long before they get to the Olympic level and that it’s not entirely possible to explain to those who don’t do it. She clearly thrives on the fast-paced, unpredictable nature of it, but admits that her relationship with short track is “love/hate.”

The future might hold a broadcasting or journalism career, work that combines her love for health, fitness and “really good food,” a trip through college or more time on the oval. No matter what she ultimately decides, she knows speed skating and this career that’s encompassed much of her youth will continue to have an impact on her. And she doesn’t regret any of the decisions that led her here.

“Skating will always be a part of my life. I’m always going to be a part of the speed skating family, a part of the Olympic family. Once you're an Olympian, you’re always an Olympian. It will always be a part of my life … I mean, I’ve had a great career; I’ve had a lot of fun. I’ve had ups and downs. I’ve learned a lot. It helped me become the person I am. I’m open. I’m not afraid to try different things, go places, talk to people and put myself out there and the sport is a huge part of that. It’s amazing how that can transform you as you grow older.”

Alyson Dudek can currently be seen in CBS’s “The Amazing Race,” which airs Fridays at 7 p.m.