Many people dream about being able to compete in the Olympics for their country. Local
figure skating coach Kim Seybold-Catron at Ice Works in Aston, PA was able to live that dream
when she was only 22 years old.
Growing up in the small town of Marion, Indiana. There were no ice rinks around. Catron
and her brother had to drive over an hour away to even be able to skate. I got the chance to sit
down with Catron and talk a little bit about her journey to the Olympics and the experience of
being in that environment. The road to the Olympics, especially as a figure skater, is one steep
hill to climb. It takes a lot of training, time, and effort to be able to make it to the Olympic level.
I asked Catron when she realized that it was her dream to be an Olympic athlete. “I was around
11 years old. I would watch it on the TV and know that that was something I wanted to do.”
Catron says. Once she was able to see that dream, Catron talked about what it was like to ramp
up the training to be able to compete at that level. “The training became a lot more intense.”
But this dream of competing in the Olympics does not come easy. There were many
challenges Catron had to face to get to where she wanted to get. Catron stated, “We lived over an
hour away from the closest ice rink, so we had to travel” This challenge was one that never went
away. Catron’s parents made lots of sacrifices for Kim and her brother Wayne to be able to chase
this dream. “We had to be sure that this was something we wanted to do.” Catron says.
Once going through the qualifiers and being selected, Kim and her brother Wayne, who
were competing together, have made their ultimate dream come true. Catron stated that she felt
relief and joy in achieving this dream. It did not take long for it to sink in that she was an
Olympic athlete. “It kicked in right when we got there. We had to check in and get all the USA
swag. It just felt special”
Going into the competition, Catron said that her and her brother felt no pressure to perform well.
She had an idea that they were not going to medal. “It wasn’t about the medal for us.” Catron
says. “We didn’t have high expectations going in.” Catron chased a dream and soaked in every
moment during the competition.
Placing 10th overall in the competition, there were no sad feelings that Catron could not place
higher. “It was just a huge accomplishment to get to compete for your country. Not many people
have the opportunity to do what we did, so we just soaked it all in.” Catron was honored to even
get this opportunity in which she trained her life for. Having her brother competing by her side
was also a huge honor for her and her family.
As Catron looks back on her Olympic experience, one thing that really stood out as unforgettable
was being a part of the opening ceremony. Also, while competing she said she wil never forget
how the crowd was during her turn. “The crowd was so loud we could barely hear our music. It
was incredible.” Despite the Olympics being held in Calgary, Catron and her brother had
massive support from the crowd there.
After it was all said and done, she got to perform on the biggest stage anyone could perform on.
When asked if she would do anything different if she had the chance again, she responded with,
“No. We had no regrets. It was just a memorable experience.”
Catron got to live millions of people’s dreams of being an Olympic competitor. Today she is the
head figure skating coach at Ice Works in Aston, PA. She is helping kids train and be able to
compete at that level just like she did. This year there were 2 skaters from that rink that got the
invite to this year’s Olympics in Milano Cortina
