Kyle Carr

Christopher Kyle Carr was born September 15, 1986, in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, to mother Lisa (née Godown, now Cervantes) and father Chris. His grandfather, George Carr, worked at the Frenchtown Roller Rink for 30 years where Kyle and future Olympic teammate Chris Creveling spent much of their early roller skating careers. Carr began skating at age one. At age three, he had his first roller skating competition, and at age seven he boldly told his mother that he was going to make the Olympics. At age thirteen, he broke his wrist while inline skating. Shortly thereafter, coach Shawn Walb introduced Carr to ice short track speed skating. Carr fell in love with the new sport and gave up inline skating in 2001. After his junior year of high school at Governor Mifflin, he moved to Marquette, Michigan, in 2004 to further his training at the US Olympic Education Center. ==Skating career==

Carr participated in the 2005 Junior World Championships. In the fall, he made the senior World Cup team, and won a gold medal in Slovakia. When he did, he found he was a considerably slower skater and considered quitting. Frustrated, he approached his coach who informed him that the fall did not matter as Carr already had enough points to make the United States' Olympic Team. "At that point, all that frustration and anxiety turned into happiness and gratitude", Carr recalled. Carr finished fourth overall and is expected to compete in the men's relay at the Olympics. Thanks to the anonymous donation of an Atlanta-area businessman through GoFundMe, Carr will be joined in Sochi, Russia, site of the 2014 Olympic games, by his mother. Carr plans to retire after the Olympics. "I'm at an age now where I kind of want to progress with my life", he said. "I'd love to speedskate forever, but it doesn't pay the bills." After retiring, he plans to finish his degree in exercise science and work with elite athletes on their training regimens. As of 2014, Carr is part of the team that holds the national record in the 3000 meter relay. ==Personal life==

Carr is engaged to longtime girlfriend Siobhan O'Rourke. The wedding date was originally set for September 5, 2014, but was moved to September 19 so that Carr's teammate and best friend J.R. Celski could attend. Carr has a younger sister, Bethany Camp. Carr has a pet dog, cat, and bunny. In his free time, he likes to play basketball and ride his bike. He enjoys music with a strong beat, including hip hop and techno. During the off-season, Carr works in commercial real estate. He has volunteered with Operation Christmas Child and has participated in National Multiple Sclerosis Society fundraisers. Carr lists basketball player LeBron James as the greatest influence on his life because of the adversity James overcame to win multiple NBA Championships. ==References==