OREGON — Lucia Bergstrom wasn’t looking for attention when in 2021 she went ice skating on the frozen surface of the Tenney Park Lagoon on Madison’s Near East Side.
Members of the Madison Speed Skating Club, from left, Steve Mueller, of Oregon, Lucia Bergstrom, 13, of Madison, and Jerome Choi, of Madison, practice at the Oregon Ice Arena in Oregon. The club is marking 75 years of developing speed skaters, some of whom have gone on to win Olympic medals.
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Eric and Beth Heiden, one-time members of the Madison Speed Skating Club, were featured on the cover of Time magazine in 1980. Eric won five gold medals at the Lake Placid Olympics that year while Beth took bronze in the 3000-meter race.
The speed skating culture in Madison has been well documented over the years. These newspaper clippings and photographs are from the archives of the Wisconsin State Journal.
Members of the Madison Speed Skating Club, including Karl Stark, 67, fourth from left, and Charles Bergstrom, 49, practice together, regardless of age or ability. This practice session was on Monday night at the Oregon Ice Arena.
Martin Lichtman, left, coach and president of the Madison Speed Skating Club, talks through a drill during a practice session on Monday night at the Oregon Ice Arena. The club’s membership has ebbed and flowed over the years, and it now has about 25 members.
Dan “Sarge” Greene, a coach with the Madison Speed Skating Club, works with Jerome Choi, of Madison, during an off-the-ice session at the Oregon Ice Arena.
Bill Carow graduated from Madison Central High School, was a World War II bomber pilot and, in 1950, was one of the charter members of the Madison Speed Skating Club. Carow would go on to skate in the 1956 and 1960 Winter Olympic Games.
Kieran Collins, 16, a junior at West High School, skates at the Pettit National Ice Center in West Allis. Collins, a member of the Madison Speed Skating Club, has qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials at Pettit in early January.
Photos: Madison Speed Skating Club celebrates 75 years
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Members of the Madison Speed Skating Club, from left, Steve Mueller, of Oregon, Lucia Bergstrom, 13, of Madison, and Jerome Choi, of Madison, practice at the Oregon Ice Arena in Oregon. The club is marking 75 years of developing speed skaters, some of whom have gone on to win Olympic medals.
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Dan “Sarge” Greene, a coach with the Madison Speed Skating Club, works with Jerome Choi, of Madison, during an off-the-ice session at the Oregon Ice Arena.
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Members of the Madison Speed Skating Club, including Karl Stark, 67, fourth from left, and Charles Bergstrom, 49, practice together, regardless of age or ability. This practice session was on Monday night at the Oregon Ice Arena.
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Martin Lichtman, left, coach and president of the Madison Speed Skating Club, talks through a drill during a practice session on Monday night at the Oregon Ice Arena. The club’s membership has ebbed and flowed over the years, and it now has about 25 members.
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Lucia Bergstrom, 13, right, and her dad, Charlie, have a laugh during practice for the Madison Speed Skating Club at the Oregon Ice Arena in Oregon, Wis. Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
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Madison Speed Skating Club member Caleah Sitton, 10, right, of Middleton, gets ready for practice with the help of her mom, Christina Hayes, with brother Cormac Hayes, 3, looking on at the Oregon Ice Arena in Oregon, Wis. Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
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The skates of Madison Speed Skating Club member Lucia Bergstrom are from Jordon Stolz, of Kewaskum, a likely Olympic speed skater, during practice at the Oregon Ice Arena in Oregon, Wis. Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
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Steve Mueller, of Oregon, left, and Martin Lichtman, coach of the Madison Speed Skating Club, skate during practice at the Oregon Ice Arena in Oregon, Wis. Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
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Members of the Madison Speed Skating Club, Hudson Lee, 8, left, and Caleah Sitton, 10, both of Middleton, practice at the Oregon Ice Arena in Oregon, Wis. Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
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Martin Lichtman, left, coach and president of the Madison Speed Skating Club, and member Karl Stark get ready for practice at the Oregon Ice Arena in Oregon, Wis. Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
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Hudson Lee, 8, of Middleton, who is a member of the Madison Speed Skating Club, waits for practice to start with his dad, Ernest, at the Oregon Ice Arena in Oregon, Wis. Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
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Members of the Madison Speed Skating Club, from left, Karl Stark and Steve Mueller, practice at the Oregon Ice Arena in Oregon, Wis. Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
Barry Adams covers regional news for the Wisconsin State Journal. Send him ideas for On Wisconsin at 608-252-6148 or by email at badams@madison.com.
