Daniel Holloway
’s athletic resume is an impressive one. He is a former national
champion who has competed at the world championships twice, and won
an international-level race. And, someday he wants to be an
Olympian. All that would be impressive enough if the 18-year-old
Morgan Hill resident were just competing
in a single sport. But Holloway has Olympic aspirations in two
different sports – bicycling and speed skating.
Daniel Holloway’s athletic resume is an impressive one. He is a former national champion who has competed at the world championships twice, and won an international-level race. And, someday he wants to be an Olympian.
All that would be impressive enough if the 18-year-old Morgan Hill resident were just competing in a single sport.
But Holloway has Olympic aspirations in two different sports – bicycling and speed skating.
Holloway, who moved to Morgan Hill from the East Bay early last year and graduated from Live Oak High this year, lives for speed.
“If I do everything right, it can be done,” Holloway said, pointing to former two-sport Olympians Eric Heiden as his inspiration. And, he points out that his two sports hold their Olympic competitions two years apart, with cycling in the Summer Olympics and speed skating in the Winter Olympics.
Holloway’s cycling credentials certainly appear to be in place.
Earlier this month, he competed at the World Championships in cycling in Austria for the second straight year.
Then, he left for Europe just days after capturing the Tour L’Abitibi stage race overall juniors points championship in Quebec, Canada. And, the pace took its toll on the local teen, who was suffering from a sinus infection at the worlds.
But Holloway, competing for the U.S. Federation cycling team, still managed to finish in the Top 25 in the world in both the scratch and the pursuit events.
Currently riding for Bay Area-based Lombardi Sports’ cycling team and finishing up his season at the Hellyer Park Velodrome in San Jose, Holloway said he is looking for a pro contract next.
But his main aspiration, right now, remains the Olympics.
“I want to go to the Olympics and win a medal,” the sprint cycling specialist said. “The U.S. hasn’t had very much recognition at the Olympics or the Worlds in track (cycling).”
But Holloway has actually been competing in speed skating for longer than cycling, and also harbors dreams of competing in the Winter Olympics.
He grew up in Texas, where he learned how to skate almost as soon as he could walk, and competed in roller skating under the guidance of his father, Ernest, who helped operate a roller rink and coached local youth roller skating teams.
“He was born into a sporting lifestyle,” Ernest Holloway said. “His whole family was very active when he was growing up. Our activity was roller skating.”
As a youth, Holloway became so accomplished in skating that Ernest picked up and moved the family to the Bay Area in search of the best coaching he could find.
And, his father’s dedication to his sports career is anything but lost on Daniel.
“My dad’s been a big part of my success,” he said. “He’s always been there for me, coaching me and contributing the top equipment. Some parents understand that it does take time and money to succeed in sports.
“Now, we’re starting to see some results.”
Indeed, two years ago, Holloway won a national championship in speed skating for juniors.
Ironically, it was while competing in speed skating that Daniel Holloway got interested in cycling, according to Ernest Holloway.
After beating a fellow competitor at a speed skating event, Holloway was challenged to a bicycle race.
He took up the challenge, and finished third in his very first race.
Holloway then began using cycling as cross-training for speed skating. But cycling hooked him and he now says he prefers cycling to skating.
He made cycling his focus in 2002.
“There’s a lot more action and a lot more going on,” Holloway said.
That thirst for action has led him to the heights of the sport, at least at the junior level.
However, in order to regain his former status as a speed skater, Holloway said he’s contemplating a return to the ice.
“I’m kind of looking into skating full-time this winter,” he said. “I’m looking into making the Junior Worlds team.”
But it is the success that he has experienced in his cycling career that has prompted people to ask how much of an influence that other famous American cyclist has had on him.
“Yeah, I get questions about Lance all the time,” Holloway said. “(People ask me) ‘Are you going to be the next Lance Armstrong? I tell them, I’m trying my best to be the next Daniel Holloway.”
Besides, do you really think Lance Armstrong can speed skate?
