Reston Teen Advances In Olympic Speedskating

Maame Biney, the U.S. Olympic speedskater who hails from Reston, has advanced out of her opening heat, but reportedly called it a "nerve-racking" finish.

She finished in second in the 500-meter short-track speedskating heat, which was good enough to earn her a spot in the final 16.

Biney hopes to race three more times on Tuesday in the quarterfinals, the semifinals, and the final in a bid for the gold medal.

“Jeez, that was nerve-racking!” said Biney, according to the Washington Post. “My legs were like ‘Eee-yowww!’ But it was good! It was good!"

Biney was born in Ghana and came to the United States at age 5. She first took figure skating lessons at SkateQuest in Reston, and it was there that her instructor suggested she should consider speedskating rather than figure skating.

At just 18 years of age, Biney is the first African-American woman to qualify for the U.S. Olympic speedskating team.

Image via Team USA