Filipino-American J.R. Celski Defies Odds To Win Olympic Medal

On Saturday night, J.R. Celski was standing on top of a podium, smiling, and waving.

The 19-year-old speed skater from Federal Way, Wash., had just won the 1,500m short-track bronze medal at the Winter Olympic Games and it was clearly written all over his face.

Thousands of those in attendance at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, Canada, returned his heart-felt gesture, smiling and waving back. It was a customary exchange of gratitude between spectators and medalist that is sure to be repeated a total of 257 more times during the 17-day gala event.

Though there will not be a more improbable occurrence than this one.

At the U.S. trials in Marquette, Mich., on Sept. 12, Celski crashed into the protective barriers around the track after slipping during a race. In one of the worst accidents you will ever hear about in this accident-friendly sport, his razor-sharp skate blade somehow became lodged deep inside his thigh.

Celski had to remove the blade himself, and after he did, he could see all the way to his femur bone. And his quadriceps muscle was severed in half.

Blood gushed out onto the ice and he was rushed to Marquette Hospital. "I thought at one point I was going to die that night, for sure." Celski would later say.

And he almost did.

Surgeons performing the emergency procedure that night used 60 stitches to close the gaping wound. They said that Celski only missed cutting the femoral artery in his left leg by one inch, and if he had, depending on the angle in which it was cut, the budding young superstar could have bled to death right there on the spot.

"I guess the moments when we're down and out are the moments when we learn the most about ourselves. When I was lying on the ice, I was in defeat at first. I thought my whole career was over," Celski said.

"But I guess in those moments is when we truly define ourselves. I definitely learned that I was much more stronger than I thought I was, both mentally and physically."

After overcoming the odds to win a medal in his first Olympic event—just five months removed from that horrific accident which almost took his career and his life—I don't think anyone is going to argue with his assessment.

And starting on Wednesday, Celski will have the chance to win another medal or two. He'll be competing in the 1,000m short-track and 5,000m short-track relay events, and hopefully he'll be going just as fast as he went on Saturday.

"I love the way I feel when I am skating that fast," Celski said.

Born in Monterey, Calif., to Robert Celski and Sue Celski (née Sabado), J.R. has two older brothers, Chris and David, and a sister-in-law, Brit.

He's Polish, Irish, and German on his father's side and Filipino on his mother's side. His maternal grandfather and grandmother were born in Baguio City and Manila respectively.

Celski and his family have never been to the Philippines I am told, but when the Olympics are finished maybe they can venture over for a victory tour.

The island nation, after all, doesn't have any Winter Olympic participants of its own.

And J.R. Celski is the next best thing.

Photo courtesy of David Hecker/AFP/Getty Images